Well, here it is…my first attempt at the cawebsitedesignrationale. Although the assignment called for 4 pages of color mock-ups using my Wireframes as the foundation, I added an extra wireframe/mock-up called “Browse Page 1.” It helped me to take the conceptualization stage of my website design a bit further. By including this additional page it gave me a “better picture” of my overall layout and design, as well as providing the visual organization I needed to go forward.

In order to complete the Design Rationale, I put a lot of time and effort into research on the Internet locating several types of Colonial font types and paint colors, hex values, and logo types. In addition, I found colonial wallcovering samples, borders, and historic photographs as possible options in my website design.  However, I decided that the rich wallocverings used at Colonial Williamsburg and other historical sites would send the “wrong message” when it comes to telling the story of diverse ethinic groups, so I chose to a more “humble” approach to setting the tone for my historically-accurate Colonial Website. As a result, I used Photoshop to transform a black and white photo and used it as a background image in my title box at the top of each website page.  It took some playing around to get the right look. I may still have to work on it a bit in order to see the two structures behind the website title. I also created my own logo, TeachArch, using Photoshop for the rendering and touch-ups. My overall goal was to create a website that is teacher-friendly, easily navigatable, visually-appealing, and balanced in presenting historically-accurate information on the different types of ethnic architecture in Virginia during the Colonial period.

I look forward to your comments!