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/cate…&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/cate…&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/cate…24&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!