Q: Todd, you're designing the brand-new, super-exciting NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program site, launching this fall. Can you give us a preview, and regale us with tales of adventures you've faced along the way?
A: I’m very excited by the challenge that this particular website presents. I work with a partner programmer, Lucas Geis, who has told me this is the most challenging home page he’s ever built. And this is coming from a seasoned veteran.
The new website has much more of a scrapbook or collage like look to it, almost hand made. Though something like this may not seem overly complicated, getting it to consistently display correctly can present a problem.
More than just the technical challenge is catering to a high-school aged audience. I wanted to help design a website that would speak to them and get them engaged. It was a difficult balance trying to make it as kid friendly as possible without making it too cute and losing your credibility. This is a fine line to draw.
I thought I was pretty good at using a variety of styles as a designer before I encountered this project. Luckily, I had my daughter who is a sophomore in high school here to help. She was a really big help in the process. She could tell me what worked for this age group that I had never designed for.
Though there is the old Young Writers Program website, I must admit I haven’t looked closely at the old site. Because of this, I can’t say that I have been influenced much by it. I used some of the same colors, like the light blue from the NaNoWriMo site, but I had a lot of lead way and the new website has more of a sibling relationship or is even a distant cousin to the other websites. There is similar content to the previous website and similar areas to go so that it is still user friendly and a little familiar. The new site has a fun, quirky, "roll your sleeves up and dive in" feel, where writing is fun
Here are a few sneak peak images of the new YWP website:
YWP Home Page
YWP Profile Page
Learn more about Todd Blank Design here