Minor Project 3: NHMA Project Brief

Company

New Haven Manufacturers Association

Objective

NHMA wants a website that will convey how necessary manufacturing is in today's world.  They want to use the site as a way to draw in new members and make it easy for existing members to get information.  They also want to take advantage of today's technology, while keeping in mind simplicity.  Another important aspect, is they want to have a lot of backlinks to other sites throughout their own.

Look & Feel

The current available site for the association looks very dull and out of date.  The colors are dull and the overall look says "boring".  I do like that they have their "logo" constantly at the top of the page, and that's something I would keep, although I would definitely redesign their logo.  Although it is easy enough to navigate, they are not taking advantage of today's technology.

Plans for Design/Layout

My design layout would have one bold color throughout the site; probably a dark blue.  The pages would have a sense of a grid structure, to keep things organized.  I would like the homepage to have a main video embedded, along with some facts about manufacturing to draw in interested people, & current events going on with the program.  There would also be decorative links to the associations many social network pages. 

Type Choices & Typesetting

I would like to use a plain, simple typeface for the body of the page such as Arial or Helvetica.  For titles, and the logo, I would use a sans serif as well, but it would be bigger & bolder.

Visual Hierarchy

I would like the website to lead the viewer in, so the Header at the top will sport a brand new logo design, along with pictures relating to the association.  This will lead down to a Navigation Menu separating the different options:

• About
• Membership
• Events
• Legislative
• Education
• (Facebook, Twitter, Etc. located in buttons on the header possible)

Use of White Space

Because I want the page to show simplicity as well, there will not be a background color for the site.  It will actually just be white, with the addition of the elements that I've mentioned.  Certain pages will contain pictures with their information, as well.

Description of Color Choices

As I mentioned, I'd like to use a dark blue to showcase the strength of the company.  The light blue & yellow currently in use, make the site look like a nursery.  The deep blue will look a lot more professional.  Everything else will consist of black & white, or a variation of the blue (besides pictures).

Navigation, Ease of Use, Usability, Accessibility

The website will be extremely easy to navigate, especially for older users who may have trouble with computers.  The typefaces will be easy to read, and the menus will be easy to find and navigate.  I'm hoping to make my site, so that it is compatible with the form based system that NHMA is already using to input information into their site.

Target Audience & Demographic

The targeted audience consists of existing and future members of NHMA, & people interested in Manufacturing who want to know more about it.

Timeline 

I need to start sketching out layouts and details, then move on to wireframes, and a mockup in photoshop.  I'll use illustrator to make the logo, and possibly edit it in photoshop.  I will follow the class timeline as I do each step.

Model Sites

www.nam.org

http://www.nea.org/ - I love the look of this site, but if I implemented this design, it would be less cluttered, as NHMA is not as complicated an association.