Academic Research Center Needs New Website Design

Economic development research center needs new website design for its information portal. No design restrictions! THIS SITE MUST BE SEO FRIENDLY, so very limited text as images please.

Fragile States Resource Center

Desired Color Scheme: See logo; we are open to new ideas Desired Style: See sample sites; we are open to new ideas Accepted File Formats: Layered Formats (.psd or .tiff) Please note that this entire site needs to be completely indexable by Google and other search engines, so please consider NOT using images for any major text elements like, tagline, main/footer navigation and sections headers. The contest is for a home page, but the winner will be expected to provide both a home page and a blank template page for the inside pages. The second page should be very little extra effort. DESIGN SPECS The design needs to achieve the following: 1) Convey professional image – giving the impression that this center is an authority in our subject matter. 2) Provide clear and easy to use navigation 3) Facilitate and encourage users to learn about the website’s content and participate in the creation of additional content 4) Call to action – design needs to encourage people to engage with the site’s interactive features and post content OVERALL STYLE The colors need to match the logo posted on http://fragilestates.org/logo/. We are open to ideas and creativity around color scheme, layout and other user experience aspects of the site beyond this one condition. Use the below website as a starting point: http://www.templatemonster.com/category.php?type=&tid=15589&search_words=+-+Any+-&from_=-any-&to=-any-&cat=&style=&author=&x=38&y=10 This structure and layout fit our general needs well. But please improve upon this any way you want. You may also want to look at: http://www.templatemonster.com/category.php?type=&style=&search_words=+-+keyword+-&cat=&author=&tid=16519&x=49&y=13 The structure is not as good, but it is more attractive to the eye, suggests a larger organization behind the site, and has better colors. http://www.templatemonster.com/category.php?type=&style=&search_words=+-+keyword+-&cat=&author=&tid=16824&x=0&y=0 This might also give you some ideas. I liked how they arranged the links in the left and right columns. http://www.gsdrc.org/ This site has a similar mission, but is badly designed. http://www.danielpipes.org/ This site is possibly the most (even too) marketing oriented among academic sites. It offers some creative ideas on how to display information. Note how it disperses ads. We can learn some useful ideas from here. DESIGN DETAILS Include the following content on the homepage: Design should use new the organization’s name (“Fragile States Resource Centerâ€) and logo prominently in the heading. Put a Search (with search box) someplace. Use a mouseover menus where indicated such as those used on: http://www.finetuxedos.com/ http://www.spme.net/ TOP NAVIGATION LINKS Blog | Discuss | Data Center | About Us LEFT NAVIGATION LINKS Home Email Bulletin About Us [mouseover] Management Consulting Themes [mouseover] Rethinking Aid Non-financial Help MNCs Stabilizing Borders Regionalism Competition & Trade Promotion Unity Building Decentralization Creative Accountability Empowering People Definitions [mouseover] Development Institutions Identity Group Trust & Progress State-Society Links Nation States State Nations Fragility Nexus 10 Guidelines [mouseover] Ten topics (to be provided) Countries [mouseover] To be provided Maps Must Reads Advertisements. These should be incorporated into the site in a smart way that does not distract from the site’s core function as an academically oriented portal. See, for example, http://www.danielpipes.org/ RIGHT SIDE: Book (picture of book available at http://fragilestates.org/cover/) Box for Latest News Topics listed inside Box for Latest Postings Archives Links Ads below (again see how http://www.danielpipes.org/ incorporates ads) CENTER A new perspective on one of the world’s greatest challenges – fragile states. The Fragile States Resource Center (FSRC) supports the knowledge needs of the international development community in relation to governance, conflict and social development. Funded by the UK Department for International Development, the FSRC aims to help reduce poverty by informing policymaking and enhancing professional knowledge and competencies. Box to highlight special featured content (such as new articles, new postings, new events). Blog entries below FOOTER Copyright enquiries@fragilestates.org Feedback | Disclaimers | Site Map SUMMARY We are really open to any suggestions for how this site should look and feel. The information presented above must be included, but do not hesitate to experiment with how it might be arranged to make the site more attractive. We will be actively involved in giving prompt feedback to help you match your designs to our expectations and win the contest. NOTE: As a condition of this contest we will need a signed copyright release. Thanks for participating and good luck!

Every design category has flexible pricing for all budgets. Web page design starts at $799.