These project proposals will be the research projects we work on as a final major project for the class, to flesh out our web portfolio.
Project 1 - LIBREsources
Purpose
The purpose of this website would be to catalog many of the GOOD free resources that people can use in their creative works, with licensing that allows free use (with or without attribution). The word "LIBRE" in the title is there to differentiate it from just "free," because just because it doesn't have a cost doesn't mean it doesn't come with strings attached.
One thing I've come to appreciate when doing creative work, whether that's for web design, Flash animations, or other works, is the totally free (as in cost), and Free (as in freedom) resources that other designers have made available. I have hoped to find a site that catalogs many of these resources to make them easier to find, but I've only found pages here and there with specific types of resources, or major dumps of free content with no measure of quality control.
Target Audience
The target audience would be web designers, graphic artists, animators, musicians, or anyone else who needs a specific kind of content and may not have the money to pay a professional, or the liberty to use content under restrictive licensing. This would mostly be an adult audience with some older teenagers who are learning the ropes.
Look and Feel
The style of the site would be simple and clean, with a good balance of professional and fun. Ideally, graphics and fonts would come from the sources that the site catalogs, as an advertisement for what can be done with these resources. The color scheme should be semi-neutral at least, with light backgrounds (or light images as backgrounds) and the navigation text should use bold, dark colors to provide contrast.
Navigation would probably be sidebar-style, with links for the different categories (images, sounds, etc), and subsections for the different licenses.
Similar sites
Project 2 - Border Radius Design
Purpose
The purpose of this website would be to advertise a web design company named Border Radius Design (working title).
This project is somewhat self-serving in nature. While I don't want my entire livelihood to be at the whim of the market, it would be nice to have my own side business as an option.
Target Audience
The target audience would be anyone who needs design work, which could mean nearly anyone, so the site needs to appeal to the general public.
Look and Feel
The site needs to look professional, clean, and modern. A local bakery may need a whimsical website, a vape shop may want something more edgy, and a local pharmacy may want something more professional, so the design has to be clever enough to show that Border Radius has the skills to pull off varied designs.
The color scheme should be professional, but bold, and perhaps use some design guidelines from Google's Material Design, using bold colors with shades of those colors for contrast.
Navigation should be minimal. The main page should contain most of the info a customer needs to make a decision, with more in-depth information in other links.