wickED - International Year of Rice

wickED Year of Rice - homepage

Website: no longer online - view screenshots

Size: 5 pages

Government status: Government Ministry

My professional status: contractor at CWA New Media

Website client: Ministry of Education

Dates: May 2004

Categories: Website designer, eZ Publish, Government websites, Small sites

Brief: to design a new "theme" for the wickED website. The wickED website was aimed at kids and showcased a new theme every month, with activities for the kids to do based on that theme. The artwork featured the three wickeED characters and had to fit in with the existing look and feel of the website. Each theme featured a homepage and two activities pages. The design was simple, straightforward, attractive to kids and easy for them to understand and follow.

My responsibilities included:

  • Design of the homepage and two activities pages within the theme of International Year of Rice
  • The three wickED characters had to feature strongly in the design, and there needed to be clear links between the three pages, but beyond that I was free to create whatever I liked
  • Photoshop manipulation of existing character graphics to fit the new theme
  • Freehand drawings of rice plants from my sketches, for incorporation into the design
  • Liaison with the developer to ensure that my design was achievable within the framework of the existing wickED template.

This was a fun little project. I like designing for kids - I think my natural design style suits their needs and my experience as a teacher probably helps, too. It was interesting to have to include the characters in new poses and costumes, and it's always nice to be able to do sketches and Photoshop work to complete the design.