Youth Arts Online

Step 1

Last redesigned back in 2007, the audience were no longer using the site as it had been conceived.

The core directory of organisations and courses in the arts was still a key component of the site, but other parts, such as the facility to upload music and video portfolios, were in decline, with users preferring YouTube, Flickr, Myspace and Facebook.

On the other hand, the Free Ads were increasingly popular, with visitors using the space to advertise for band members, dance groups and so on.

So it was decided to redesign the site, demoting some of the less used parts and promoting the those that were popular.

The drawing on the left shows Step1: deleting the image banner, some of the introduction text and the blocks for Artists, Reviews, Music, Videos and Interviews.

Step 2

Here the unwanted panels have been removed, the introduction area in the top left has been made more compact and the large login box has been removed since this is duplicated on another page in the site.

There is now lots of space available to move the other blocks around and expand the number of links.

Step 3

The Free Ads have been moved higher up the page, the column-width expanded and the blue arrow indicates that we are going to increase the number of links in the list.

Auditions has been placed at the top of column two, prior to its function being changed.

The Image block is going to be redesigned and the number of Courses and Organisations listed will be increased.

The blocks in the footer are also starting to take shape.

Step 4

Here we can see the expanded Free Ads block, with more links to adverts, including date and subject line.

Auditions has been changed to Grapevine, a space where the site editors can post notices for the visitors.

The number of Courses and Organisations listed has been increased and the Featured Image now occupies a full column.

The footer area is nearly complete.

The keen-eyed will also notice that the strap-line and the main tab menu have been changed.

Step 5

A few final tweaks in the footer and we are there.

The block to Register your organisation has been moved out of the footer to connect it visually with the list of organisations above.

A new block for the Online magazine has been added and the blocks rearranged to provide a better balance of the images on the page.

In the final online version the number of links in all the lists were reduced slightly in the interests of clarity and font size, together with a desire to have more content appearing 'above the fold' in most standard screen and browser combinations.

You can find the site here:
http://www.youthartsonline.org