| 207 | | ==== A little philosophy ==== |
| 208 | | |
| 209 | | ''Think of a specific purpose for your site. For instance, some of the example sites are for logistics -- managing supplies and transportation, others are for matching donations and requests, or for managing projects, or for managing people, or for responding to emergencies, etc. etc. So there are lots of ways to use Eden. Maybe think of something that could be useful in your community.'' |
| 210 | | |
| 211 | | ''Then make a style and layout that serves that specific purpose. Think of how people will use the site, and what actions they want to do while there. Use the site purpose to guide your choice of what actions you provide on each page. Use your imagination -- try something unique, but also keep in mind that it should be practical for the users.'' |
| 212 | | |
| 213 | | ''Part of the design is how active elements like buttons, menus, popups, tabs, cards, spinners, throbbers, etc. are used. What will be convenient for your users? Are there new web technologies that might improve the "look and feel"?'' |
| 214 | | |
| 215 | | ''This is partly a learning experience for you, in using CSS and Javascript, JS libraries like Bootstrap and jQuery, new web standards like HTML5. The field that this task is an introduction to is "web design" -- a very popular part of web development and a good thing to know. So this is a good opportunity to try out the tools and techniques.'' |
| 216 | | |
| 217 | | ''It's also partly for Sahana -- for you to propose a different way of presenting information, maybe more appropriate than what we have for a particular purpose. Sahana is mainly about getting help to people who need it, so if you can make an advance in usability through your new theme, you're contributing to that goal.'' |
| | 207 | ==== A little design philosophy ==== |
| | 208 | |
| | 209 | Think of the different ways Sahana Eden is used, or could be used. For instance, some of the example sites are for logistics -- managing supplies and transportation, others are for matching donations and requests, or for managing projects, or for managing people, or for responding to emergencies, etc. etc. So there are lots of ways to use Eden. Maybe think of something that could be useful in your community. |
| | 210 | |
| | 211 | If you are designing a theme for an actual deployment, then you would make a style and layout that serves that specific purpose. Think of how people will use the site, and what actions they want to do while there. Use the site purpose to guide your choice of what actions you provide on each page. Use your imagination -- try something unique, but also keep in mind that it should be practical for the users. |
| | 212 | |
| | 213 | If you are making a demonstration theme, then you would want to show a variety of uses. Think of how you could show different types of use without having the landing page appear cluttered or too long. |
| | 214 | |
| | 215 | Part of the design is how active elements like buttons, menus, popups, tabs, cards, spinners, throbbers, etc. are used. What will be convenient for your users? Are there new web technologies that might improve the "look and feel"? |
| | 216 | |
| | 217 | This is partly a learning experience for you, in using CSS and Javascript, JS libraries like Bootstrap and jQuery, new web standards like HTML5. The field that this task is an introduction to is "web design" -- a very popular part of web development and a good thing to know. So this is a good opportunity to try out the tools and techniques. |
| | 218 | |
| | 219 | It's also partly for Sahana -- for you to propose a different way of presenting information, maybe more appropriate than what we have for a particular purpose. Sahana is mainly about getting help to people who need it, so if you can make an advance in usability through your new theme, you're contributing to that goal. |
