For my first client project I will be designing a website for a Nottingham based 60s rock band called Ready Steady 60s. This client was suggested to me by my lecturer, Shaun, and then I got in contact with the singer/guitarist of the band who also works in the university.
The client has asked for a site that represents the 60s style and includes the band's logo and colour scheme (see above). The client also wishes to be able to update the website without having any html or css knowledge so suggested a content management system such as Wordpress.
The project brief states that the web site should be fully accessible on a mobile device. Over the past three weeks I have been learning how to create responsive web designs by using percentages for widths rather than pixels; this makes the sections and content within resize when the browser window is reduced in size. I have also learned about using media queries to create cut off points (in pixels) when the web content changes to accomodate for a resized browser window.
I have created a simple responsive template in Dreamweaver just to put the responsive design techniques into practice but this is not yet ready to show to the client. I am currently looking at the sites of other bands and also researching 60s imagery to get a better idea of what I will incorporate into my design.
I feel the biggest challenge of this project will be transforming my custom design into a Wordpress theme. I have learned a little about the Wordpress language (PHP) in my Tuesday seminars and also read magazines and online articles about the Wordpress interface which should give me a good foundation to work on this project. I also started looking at editing Wordpress themes this morning and will continue in further detail next week. I have been told that Wordpress design is very popular and an essential skill for web designers so the knowledge I gain in this project will be very useful in the future.
