Update #1

I've been really sick lately (with pneumonia), so I haven't had much time to update this blog and work on my research, but here's an update on everything I've done so far...

A few weeks ago, I got Drupal up and running on my computer, so I can start learning how it works.  I played around with a few things and realized how structured it was and how difficult it would be to create an appealing website layout with what I was given to work with.  I then looked up different websites that run on drupal, but created their own unique layout...and I realized that it was indeed possible to have an amazing looking website using drupal.  I researched how to create a drupal layout and began playing around with HTML in a few of the default drupal layout files so learn how everything worked.  I am still trying to learn how to create a drupal website from scratch.

One of the biggest tasks I've accomplished so far is creating a mock-up for the TWC website.  I wanted something professional looking, but streamlined/simple for functionality purposes.  Here are the first two mock-ups I made using Adobe Photoshop CS4:

 Mock-up #1

Mock-up #2

Mock-up #1 was deemed the best by Patrick West, and I agree.  I really love the color scheme I used in it and the flow of the page.  Also, I really love the "ribbon" navigation bar that I made.  It has been trending in a lot of webdesigns lately, and really pops off the page.  Websites also look clearer if they have a white background behind the content.  I added the rounded corners to everything to give it a softer look.  

I had to make a few edits to the mock-up, like moving around the log-in and search, adding another grey box, and adding more navigation.  I did run into a problem when adding the additional navigation links--there simply are too many!  To solve this, I'm going to group a few of the original links together, so that they'll have one "main" navigation link that, when you hover over it, produces a drop-down list with subnavigation links.  I'll most likely achieve that using JavaScript.  

Creating website designs and coding them in HTML and CSS comes naturally to me, but my next task is going to be more difficult.  After creating a live version of the mock-up using HTML, I'm going to have to recreate the mock-up as a drupal theme.  This is probably going to take a lot more time, and a lot more research before I can make it functional.  But I am really looking forward to the final product!