Project 03 Preliminary

[sndbox]

Here are my ideas for Project 03!
I used http://www.somaligov.net as my bad website (and who knew the Somali Government had a website?!)
I took a lot of inspiration from other government websites. Most of them have really clean and point focused designs, so that's what I decided to go with.

In the First Design, I liked that grey color in the original design (top image), so I decided to keep it within the design and use some transparent Black accents, and White text. I think by using those muted colors it really helped bring out the colors in the emblem and the picture.

In the Second Design, I decided to actually use one of the browns from the sand in the image and incorporate that as the header/footer rather than the original grey. Instead, I used Black & White accents, especially with the text.

Depending on the information, there will most likely not be as much text in certain areas. I know it looks like a lot right now, but that is all mostly filler text in the mean time.

Excited to hear everyone's thoughts on this!

[meekster_]

I like the grey a lot !! very calming and professional looking ! the layout is super nice too !

[Instructor]

Thank you again for the combined roughs, Sandra. It makes it super easy to check over your designs.

Usually, I'm all about 'dat contrast, but I really like the sand colored second design better. It's much more visually interesting to me. Between the sand colored framing header and footer, the great contrast of your navigation, the use of a background photo and the transparent background of your text container, it has a great texture to it. It's super clean also. Everything is easy to find, read, and use and it collapses nicely into a mobile design that doesn't lose your branding. I like compacting the article on the mobile version too. That will let people navigate the site easier and find what they're looking for.

I'd recommend snagging some more photos for the inner pages. They do get a little plain in fact. Maybe make it like your home page, but with different background photos for each inner page. Make sure the top and bottom margins are the same on your homepage textbox right now there's a little more top than bottom margin. Try justifying your bodycopy on both your computer and mobile version.

Nice work! Here's hoping Somalia's Targets can open soon.

[missStormy]

I like the sand color theme too, it draws more attention while keeping an organized look. I agree more images would more it look stronger but it might be hard to get content specific for that site.

Stormy

[JamesC46]

In either designs, I think you should give margins on each side of your body and stick to a single column for your body text to make the reading more linear. I think this design is demonstrated well within your mobile designs and should help you transition from desktop to mobile without too much work. Thanks for sharing.

[suiish]

I like the first black and white design better than the colored one. It really fits the theme of your website and gives it a cleaner look.

[wilson_iii]

I dislike the brown color, because it is too light. The black colored nav does a good job contrasting from the background. This looks great though, miles better than "welcome to wordpress". Keep it up!

[Gr8K8]

I really like the sand colored version. It really livens up the feel of the website. I would consider moving the emblem/title section in from the sides a bit to give it a little more margin room.

[SkellyboneJones]

The sand color feels really professional and contemporary at the same time, and I prefer it. Not to say that the B&W design isn't worth pursuing either, but it just feels a bit more 'cold and disconnected' in the way that a government site typically does (but maybe shouldn't) so the sand design feels really refreshing.

[KJX]

Hey

I like the cream/tan top bar design the best. That color gives the viewer a realist feeling that matches the websites vibe.

-KJ