The Design
DWEEBER is a place where children, from the grades one to six, can go and receive help with their homework. It is a social site where the child/student can chat with his classmates online, and even work as a group. DWEEBER was designed and built back in 2006/7. While the concept is good, I feel that it falls short delivering on that idea. I don't believe that this failure is on the team that architected this software, but on the technology available at the time. I was part of this design team, sort of. I was still fresh out of school, so my list of responsibilities on projects were very small. Listening, learning, and support mostly. But, I guess I still knew that the site still didn't feel quite right. Too dark and muddy looking for who the site was intended for.
The website is still around. Remarkably. I ran across it while trying to put this portfolio site together. And, I feel it would have been great if they would have done that project today. Not only are most homes readily available with a computer(s), but they also have larger monitors with larger resolutions that allow for better workspaces.
I figured I take a stab at it. See how I would do the project if it were done today. So, I will slowly be updating this post with new screenshot artwork and functionality.
Characters: Brain & Blue
Brain and Blue were the main characters they used for DWEEBER. They were my responsibility during the DWEEBER Project. I re-created these from sketches I had received. I made them into vector images, and had to create 102 GIFs depicting different emotions and sizes. They were to be used in parts of the site. I don't think they had enough of a presence on the site. From a marketing perspective, it seems like a missed opportunity. But in all honesty, these characters didn't have defining character.
Animated GIFs
These are just some of the GIFs I created. They would pop-up at certain points of the process. If the student was doing well, needed more encouragement, or was just idle for while. These 'lil guys would show up with a corresponding emotion.
New Characters: Brain & Blue
Drawing from my child hood: I came up with these two characters. A spin on the "Pinky and the Brain" I grew up watching. I also decided to make them monkeys, because they would allow some flexibility in the type of emotion or tone needed. I could make them human enough if the child needed to mimic some of their actions, but still monkeys if I need a humorous moment. And what kid doesn't love monkeys?!
Brain will be the hot pinky monkey, and Blue will be the blue monkey. Brain would be the intellect, and Blue would be the funny one. My plan is to make them a bigger part of the site. The corresponding character for the type of emotion needed.
Landing Page / Sign-Up page
This is the current landing page. Off-the-bat you can see that the color and feel is not what you expect of a children's site. The logo has not aged well and only seven years later is already outdated.
NEW Landing Page / Sign-Up page
I want the page to feel more open so it is easier to see what section we want the focus to go. A white background helps the colorful pieces stand out. And, you want to provide plenty of incentive for those who don't know about the site.
