The California National Guard (CalGuard) was looking to rebrand it's public facing website. As part of the rebranding, the site needed to be based off the new (at the time) California State Template that had only half a dozen approved color palettes. The key was giving the CalGuard site a personality of it's own while still adhering to the state template enough that it would be easily recognizable at first glance as a California State website.
Work:
I created a mockup set that based itself off the California State Template and the chosen color palette. From provided wireframes, I created a number of sample layouts that would work well with the CalGuard's content while not being an exactly replica of other state public websites. Specific assets on the homepage had to be preserved in it's size, location, and visibility but was customized to fit the overall design and look more modern that what was provided.
My role was as lead designer, participating in a small development team on the front-end development and also managing the design and development phases of this project with a larger CMS solutions partner.
My role was as lead designer, participating in a small development team on the front-end development and also managing the design and development phases of this project with a larger CMS solutions partner.
Homepage mockup with a focus on using images (placeholders at top) to engage the user, dynamic feeds to surface news and current events, the ability for varied media and the necessary banners as required for all state govenment websites.
Three column layout with a narrower left and right columns for secondary inforamtion and large middle content area for Department information pages. A traditional look that would be easily understood by a large demographic.Images placeholders and bio highlights help break up the page.
Two Column layout with a wide content area and significant right sidebar that would hold quick links, and important highlighted information that otherwise would be too far down the page. A second option for a Deparment information page.
Custom publication layout that presents the cover and important issue information along with a summary of that issue's content. Below is a dynamic list of related publication issues/articles.
Landing page layout that is strictly used as a gateway page, directing interested visitors to the division of CalGuard they may want to join. The use of images (placeholders shown) help draw in the user.
