Plone Redesign Michelle Heap Senior Multimedia Designer (Web) IT Services University of Leicester

Why redesign the website? Websites date and design evolves Consistent quality across the Universitys website Attract more visitors and potential students Communicate with the audience more effectively Make the site easier to use, help the audience find what they want

Fixed width design... All sites will become fixed width: Fluid layout - the webpage's actual width is determined by the visitor's monitor resolution and how large their browser window is set Fixed layout - have a "fixed" number of pixels determining the width of the site

Why fixed width? The website owner has more control over the layout of their site. It will look the same to all who visit Multiple style sheets and graphics arent required to cater for different resolutions – e.g. banner images The main disadvantage is scrolling for users with monitor/browser settings smaller than the site's minimum width (800 x 600 only 1.5% of visitors last year)

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

Who will be affected? All magazines – Alumni, Business, Research, Staff, Study with us Information pages – maps, indexes, directories etc Office and Service sites Departmental, College, Project, Institution, Group and Centre sites (all use same template at the moment)... everyone in Plone

Redesign highlights... New position for the title (H1) The entire width of the banner image will be visible. All departments will need a banner image/s Default orange and grey will become lagoon (blue) only search in current section will be replaced by advanced search

Redesign highlights... Streamlined table options – new colours that reflect the visual identity colour palette and a reduction in available finishes (no shadow or glossy options) Tables used for layout (no borders) will have a key line visible in edit mode More colours will be available in the visual identity colour palette. Plus 50% versions of the more popular colour schemes

Possible problems... Banner images with content concentrated in the left-hand might be covered by the new location for the H1 - departmental heading All banner graphics have been resized but I might not have caught them all

Possible problems... Image sizes - in the central column (three columns) is 540px, anything any larger will be hidden. Portlet images will automatically resize Issues with readability of text due to the lack of contrast

How we can help... Make the most of your content – formatting and layout, banner images, image slideshows, portlet usage etc Skins – match with printed material Image library & Streaming Media Service Brand identity, design guidance and usability for anything screen-based