After much experimentation, this was the first 'could be used' iteration of the template.

The section navigation palettes stack to represent where the Prisma section sits within the hierarchy. Each title is 'clickable' so you can return to the level above.

I removed the horizontal cascade from the palettes (as in Slide 1), as I felt this was not necessary to represent the concept of stacking, and only wasted space.

Further definitions not given earlier:

• Usted esta aqui = You are here (with reference to the 'breadcrumb' trail beneath)
• 'Lorem ipsum...' = Non-sensical filler text

About Prisma

Prisma is a popular family magazine by Milamex that has been in publication for over 40 years. It is one of many key activities, and is used throughout this presentation to illustrate how a typical ministry might be represented on the website.

Milamex would like to make freely available on the website articles from past issues of Prisma. This is how such a page might look, sitting quite deep within the hierarchy.

I was very pleased with this template design, but only until I arrived at this stage.

To me it is not clear from the navigation that the article belongs to the Prisma section. In fact, at this level, the Prisma link is just one of many, with nothing to distinguish it as a key activity.

Microsites

I felt that Prisma should be more strongly branded. I realised also that this would be a need for all the other key areas of Milamex's work. As a solution, I sought to re-engineer the section navigation to allow for 'microsites' - mini sites within the wider Milamex website that could be more self-contained.

To illustrate this, the following slide regreses up to the Publications section, the parent folder for such a microsite.

If I am to design 'microsites' for each of our key ministries, Milamex still needs a template for all other pages. This is how a 'standard' page within the website might look.

This particular example shows how the Publications section might look. As with the Prisma example, the content on the page is just conceptual - this will change for a final version.

Publications is the parent container to Prisma magazine, one of the key activities I would like to contain within a microsite.

If you were to click on the 'Revista Prisma' link on the left, it would take you through to a proposed Prisma microsite (see next slide).

The microsite still sits within the wider Milamex template, though there are two key things to notice:

1. The 'breacrumb' trail, which in the standard site is represented by cascading palettes on the left, is now a list of links running across the top.
2. A new navigation bar is introduced, dedicated to, and wholly contained within the microsite.

My only concern is that the switch in navigational approaches might confuse the visitor.

My feeling though is that it solves many more problems than it creates, and I love the idea of 'micrositing'. This technique could be used for other activities, giving each its own look-and-feel, including:

• Book publishing
• Evangelism in Depth
• Outdoor Camps
• Courses

I also think micrositing is more 'future-proof' to the addition of other ministries, as it allows for greater design flexibility.

With the new microsite implemented, we can take another look at the Prisma article featured earlier in Slide 3.

Whereas before you couldn't really see which section it belonged to, it is now clear that the article is strongly associated with the Prisma brand.

In addition, the same concept of 'cascading' palettes can be used, to give the user a clear sense of where they are in the hierarchy of the microsite.

Further definitions not given earlier:

• Inicio de Prisma = Prisma homepage
• Articulos = Articles
• Articulo seleccionado = Selected Article

I experimented with a darker background gradient, to give the site more contrast.

I'm divided about it's look though, and am still experimenting with ideas. "; $picurl="/blogresources/20060707/visual-07.jpg"; } elseif ($pageid==8) { $pictitle="Slide 8 A darker background set against the microsite template"; $picdesc="

This shows the same darker gradient, as introduced in the previous slide, set against the look-and-feel of the Prisma microsite.

Although the most obvious difference in this slide is the stark black background alternative to the Publications section homepage, the thing to notice here is the re-positioning of the main title bar running across the top of the page.

The main title bar has been re-positioned to give more vertical room to the content beneath, and to give a more over-arching sense of branding to the page.

As with the deeper background colour, I'm not sure about this change, and would welcome any feedback.

This is the same page as before, but set against the Prisma microsite.

Conclusion

These templates will need some more work yet - I would like to illustrate the pages with photography, and continue to refine the template. However, I hope the slides have given you some insight into the direction I'm going, and the way I'm trying to solve the design problems I'm faced with.

Invitation for feedback

Really, all I have is my own intuition on how to design an easy-to-use website, but this is nothing compared to what ordinary every-day users might have to say. Therefore, if you have any suggestions, no matter how trivial or silly they may seem, I would welcome your feedback - at the end of the day, it's people like you who will use the website.

Please leave a comment on my blog, or drop me an email if you have any thoughts.

(Back link to related blog)

As decided from the wireframe diagrams, I put main section links across the top, and sub-section links down the side.

The top links translate as follows:

• Inicio = Home
• Que Hacemos = What We Do (the biggest section, containing links to all our main ministries)
• Acerca de Milamex = About
• Contactenos = Contact Us
• English = A section for English-speaking visitors

Each of the 'palettes' floating leftwards from the page would contain sub-section navigation (to be shown in Slide 2 and onwards). One sits on top of another as you navigate deeper into the site, to give a sense of where the currently viewed page sits within the hierarchy. This stacking functions as a 'breadcrumb' trail.

I wanted to keep the main page area free of overlapping objects, bevelled corners or background artwork, to keep it a clean slate for creative content.

The inclusion of blue was something requested by the mission director, and I quite liked this background gradient effect.

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