Lookin' For Feedback

Alrighty... since I didn't get the chance to show my updated Photoshop mocks in class on Wednesday, I'd like to get some feedback if possible before Monday. So go ahead, take a peek at the two screenshots, and tell me what you think. I left off the Google Chrome template so you could see the whole page more cleanly.

Guess Who's Redesigning Their Website?

So maybe someone leaked out the word that C.O.D. was taking dead aim at the uncultured Art League sites infesting our state, as the Danville Art League just wrote this on their Facebook wall this past Sunday:

"DAL is working on a NEW WEBSITE! What NEW FEATURES would you like to see implemented on it?"

Well, since they're asking... I sent them a link to my blog here, so they can check out the homepage mockup at left, via Photoshop.

Web Page Sketches And Logos

Here are some quick sketches of how the home page and Featured Artist pages will be composed. I didn't stray much at all from my earlier drafts, but I did add an artist directory to the second page. One suggestion I took from the classroom feedback was to minimize the bottom navbar/footer. No need to have that navbar the same size as the one on top.

I'll also add to the featured artist page a link to that artist's own website if there is one - it'd be a nice feature to have, so people could look further into a particular artist's catalog of work. I don't want to show the artist's entire collection here... just keep it to three main pieces. I'm mentioning this here, as I forgot to add that to the sketch at left.

Gridwise, this won't be too difficult to arrange once I get started on that. However, I would like to try and extend the man navbar a bit further out on the sides than the rest of the page, just to break up the total box look.

As for the logos, I'm not sold on any one of the few logos I've sketched out so far. I'll really need to dig into the font catalog to pick out something that'll fit with the city of Danville. It's a rural community, nestled east of Champaign, and very close to the Indiana border. So in other words, I'll be looking for a more homey and antique font than one that's polished and sleek. I don't want anything TOO antique, or it'll give the impression the Art League's filled with grandmothers and retirees, which is definitely not the case here.

The Art League Homepage & Featured Artist Page Wireframes

Here are some quick sketches of what I'm planning to do for the Danville Art League homepage and Featured Artist page. Nothing really fancy in the way of overloading the pages - just keeping it simple, keeping it clean, and keeping it to the point. The colors are just used now for clarity, so I'll be tweaking that as I go along.

Same thing for the font you see here... right now, I'm just pointing out where things will be, so I'm not too concerned about fonts, pics or colors just yet. This is just the wireframe of where I'd like everything to be positioned.

Making Quick Sitemaps Online

This little site might just be the fastest way to build a sitemap, and it's all online and free. SlickPlan is a web-based flowchart generator that's built to do one thing - make those flowcharts and sitemaps about as easily and quickly as you can.

The Art League Site Brief

Alrighty... after perusing the Danville Art League's less than stellar display of their website, I typed out a brief summary of what this League's about, what they've got, what their site's got, and what their site really needs to work on:

DANVILLE ART LEAGUE SITE BRIEF

INTRODUCTION

The Danville Art League began in 1938 as an art club with 12 members. In just 11 years, that number grew to over one hundred. In 1955, the Art League held its first Art In The Park festival, which continues to this day. The DAL was reorganized and restructured in 1991 after membership declined due to few classes and lack of community interest. To increase the member size, the DAL was opened to a 60-mile radius around Danville. The DAL experienced a rebirth in the 90’s thanks to introducing the Town and Country Amateur Exhibition, the Holiday Art Sale, offering more classes and informal art sessions, and operating Gallery 126.

At the turn of the new millennium, the Art League was flourishing, with 300 members showing their artwork in the First National Bank branches, the Vermilion County Museum, and at Provena United Samaritans Medical Center, among others.

In 2010, the DAL raised more than $120,000 to purchase a vacant Red Cross building, and after two months of repairs and remodeling, moved into its new home on the corner of Franklin and Seminary Streets in downtown Danville. The DAL also expanded its range of classes to include more childrens’ classes and workshops for families and seniors.

DANVILLE ART LEAGUE MISSION STATEMENT

“All people are entitled to exposure in the arts. Our goals are to stimulate creativity and art appreciation through classes and/or informal sessions at the Art League studio or in the field, to appreciate and understand the accomplishment of others, to provide artist with places to exhibit their work and to act as a resource center for members and the public.”

Art League sites that catch my eye

Heyo... so for Project Numero Uno in my Web Design class at C.O.D., we're taking on a few local art league websites that are in dire need of aesthetics. Before we jump right in and see what's wrong with those sites, we need to surf the web and check out a few that get it right. So here are a few that, to me, have got an eye for appealing and inviting design:

The Art Students League Of New York

Keep it clean, keep it simple, and keep it consistent. This page doesn't irritate your eyeballs with any flashy overuse of color or unneeded garish background images. With this clean and somewhat minimal look, you can find exactly what you need at a glance. A white background just works so much better, as the art itself looks that much more colorful. No need for any text to get in the way of appreciating the art.

Rehoboth Art League

The appeal of this site feels more homey and comfy compared to the New York site, and for a smaller league like this one in Delaware, the soft pastel colors work well.

Art League Of Rhode Island

What's the most important thing to an Art League? Why, the ART, of course. And this site does an excellent site of showing the art of its members. On every page of this site, members' artwork is displayed right on the top, and what's also nice is that the art on the home page isn't the same every time... I've seen roughly 10 different variations of artwork shown on the home page, so that's pretty nice in itself.