Art Website Redesign - $500

This project is a redesign of an existing website - http://www.wildapple.com - and will require four layouts (home, secondary page, search results, and the primary search page). Final layouts will need to be in fully layered PSD or PNG files.

Tagline:
no tagline

Accepted File Formats:
PNG, PSD (fully layered)

Wild Apple has completed a long process of changing the functionality of its website - http://www.wildapple.com - and it's time to update the design as well.

There are four layouts we'll want to see - one for the home page (that can be slightly different than the rest of the site, as it is in the current version), a primary section page (for example: http://www.wildapple.com/artists/index.html), search results (current example here: http://www.wildapple.com/fineart/ca…rchByRoom=, and the search page (current version here: http://www.wildapple.com/fineart/catsearch.aspx)

Do not worry about functionality - all of that will be carried forward from the current site. What we want is to creat a new design for that functionality following the guidelines given below.

One other note about the layouts you'll be creating - do not include anything that's not on the current site for placement. For example: do not add a site search box - there is no site search - what you see on the current site is what you get. The only exception is an email signup - we will be adding that so feel free to include it in your layout(s).

First prize for this contest is $500 and we've set aside $100 for a runner up or two runners up if there are other compelling designs. Feedback will be provided frequently - at least every two days for the duration of the content.

Here's the formal project description:

Project Description Website Makeover

-This project is all about look and feel the structure and functionality remain the same.

-The site should feel human, not corporate.

-The site should be inviting.

-The site should be elegant and tasteful, but not formal

-Cleaner and less cluttered than now but not slick or ultra modern still inviting

-The site needs to make it obvious that this is an ART company, and should incorporate our artwork throughout.

-Need to be able to easily (automatically?) update and freshen artwork throughout the site

-Easy navigation you intuitively know where you are in the site and how to get where you want to go. Usability is IMPORTANT. Easy to understand primary, secondary, and tertiary navigation is a must.

-Could use movement in a gentle not annoying / distracting way

-The final layout will be XHTML/CSS standards compliant (no code necessary though for this contest)

-The preference is for the layout to fit in a standard 800 x 600 monitor, but if you can't execute the design you want we'll also look at 1024 x 768

-For all pages except for the home page, the logo should appear in the top left corner of each page
The home page can have a different layout than the rest of the site, but in general the website should look consistent throughout. There can be variations - one column, two columns, three columns - all within the same framework.

-Use HTML text whenever possible, especially on the navigation and page headers (instead of text rendered graphically which is invisible to search engines)

-Layouts should have a purpose. There should be a VERY good reason for every item in a layout (eye candy is not a good reason).