Wikipedia just redesigned, actually, but it was a mere refonting which most users barely even noticed (the most noticeable change was that the headers were converted from sans-serif to serif). There was a slightly-more-ambitious redesign that emphasized white space (like this one), but the foundation threw out nearly all of the changes because users didn't like them.
I'm not saying unsolicited redesigns like this don't have value, but there's a decent reason why an unsolicited redesign like this will never go over with its audience: Wikipedia is the ultimate design-by-committee product, and the users have a lot of say as a result.
Also, Wikipedia has to hit a wider body of users, from dumbphones to outdated browsers. That's a problem with redesigns like this in general: They're not thinking in these terms because they're designing for the high end. Wikipedia is a site that needs to prioritize the low end because it's run by a nonprofit foundation whose goal is to spread information, not just create a snazzy user experience.
It goes against everything we know about product design, and I agree it could look nicer, but the current design approach works for the Wikimedia Foundation.
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Wikipedia just redesigned, actually, but it was a mere refonting which most users barely even noticed (the most noticeable change was that the headers were converted from sans-serif to serif). There was a slightly-more-ambitious redesign that emphasized white space (like this one), but the foundation threw out nearly all of the changes because users didn't like them.
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3028615/the-beautiful-wikipedia-...
http://associationsnow.com/2014/04/wikipedia-redesign-barely...
I'm not saying unsolicited redesigns like this don't have value, but there's a decent reason why an unsolicited redesign like this will never go over with its audience: Wikipedia is the ultimate design-by-committee product, and the users have a lot of say as a result.
Also, Wikipedia has to hit a wider body of users, from dumbphones to outdated browsers. That's a problem with redesigns like this in general: They're not thinking in these terms because they're designing for the high end. Wikipedia is a site that needs to prioritize the low end because it's run by a nonprofit foundation whose goal is to spread information, not just create a snazzy user experience.
It goes against everything we know about product design, and I agree it could look nicer, but the current design approach works for the Wikimedia Foundation.