I created this design in an effort to incorporate the marketing material Lincoln uses for admissions recruiting. The “Dream Big” theme and splash of red is a part of the branding used in that material. The web strategies committee also expressed an interest in utilizing a design with a home page that displays without scroll. The news and upcoming events items are dynamically generated, giving a large portion of the page fresh content on a regular basis, preventing the site from having a “stale” air about it. The navigation structure is new and also rolls out a second bar when the tabs are hovered.
Clicking on the image below will take you to a developmental site where you can see the basic functionality of the hover navigation. When the site is developed, the bottom-level navigation bar that you see here will be links. In this mock up design, it’s only displaying the sub-navigation text to give everyone an idea of what content is planned for each area.
Overall, I prefer the look of Mock 1. It was a little more classy and professional. There are some parts of this one that I like– the icons with Virtual Tour and Listen to KJLU are a nice shape and size and color. I think these could overlay on the bottom of Mock one (where there is a lot of blue) to give it more color and interest.
I do like the compartmentalization (borders) of the navigation and image links but they could be a little softer. I think Mock 2 has too much grey. I agree with James Raum’s comments. Will the large picture change and will it be on every page? If so will it change slide show style or when a link is clicked or a page is refreshed? I think a blend of Mock 1 and Mock 2 could be the best option.
I love the roll over sub menus that pop up letting you know the different areas found under those main (non-dynamic) tabs. I think this design is a great representation of Lincoln and much of the content found on our site.
On Mock 2 I prefer the tabs at the top better than Mock 1. I don’t like the coloring on Mock 2 as much. I like the Blue Tiger Portal on Mock 2.
I think this one would work great for portable devices like PDAs or Cellphones. This Mock needs more color or pop.
I like both versions; would also like to see a combination of the two. Mock 2 does have too much grey, but the info is great.
I really like #2 functionally, but #1 is more vived and eye catching. If I were to be formally voting, I would vote for #2.
I like the tabs at the top of Mock up #2 but it seems that there is a lot of wasted space on the sides of the page.
I like mock 2 better. I think it has more eye appeal!
I like mock 1 overall, but I like the tabs at the top of mock 2, so some combos of the two could make a WOW page. I would hope we would get a new picture with the President in her renovated office space and use campus pictures and students as much as possible to really showcase our beautiful campus. As a staff person I use the Faculty staff tab to navigate into items I need to access on the website so I would hope a Faculty staff link would be visible on the home page so I am not SEARCHING to find things.
Is there anyway to put a scrolling marquee that would roll announcements, such as school closings??
Image is everything; mock 1 works best.
I really wish you would look at http://www.mineralarea.edu. The website is clean and neat but has the ability to give a lot of information without going through tabs. Drop downs dominate this site, just roll over your cursor and the drop down is activated. Staff phones are listed without having to call the switchboard. Students information can be displayed there too. The log-in is secured and requies a given user and password similiar to the one currently in use. In my opinion it is not how a site looks as how it navigates. If you cannot get the information you require then the site is nearly worthless. The library is also integrated into the site. School closings, time, and tempature are displayed too. This site is deceptively simple looking, but is full of really accessible and needful information.
I like the appearance of mock-up 1. In 2, much space is wasted in the Big Dream area. Which ever one is finalized, I’d like to see the Soldiers Memorial on the site. It is the focal point of the University and tells much of the story. I also believe the contents in the drop down should appear directly below the tab, and in a color that does not blend in but rather stands out.