Redesigning the SK Boards!

I was really excited when Kinney approached me with a new project. I had worked with Kinney in the past and was glad to have the opportunity to work with a previous client again.

However, I had no idea how large of a project he was going to give me, and when I found out I'd be redesigning the message boards over at SheKnows I was excited to say the least. But at the same time, my body had an exhilarating blend of intimidation, nervousness, and confidence.

I'm a 20 year college student from the University of Maryland, studying Communications with a concentration in Public Relations. I'd been designing for years, but only in the past four years did I start accepting clients, and only in the previous two years did my freelance "career" really take off. I went from being able to buy video games, to being able to afford my college books, tuition, and even rent.

Redesigning the SK message boards was the project I'd been waiting for. It is without a doubt my most prized project thus far. I've redesigned several communities in the past, but none on the level of SK...which boasts more then 1 million forum posts and thousands of users online at any given time.

My task was simple and the objectives of the redesign were clear:

• Improve Load Times
• Create an appealing and colorful theme
• Easy to read, easy to navigate

To say that the project went off without a hitch would be a lie. No project will ever be perfect and without delays, but it was definitely my responsibility to make sure that they didn't happen as frequent or often. However, as a fresh transfer student to a larger University, it was difficult, time consuming, and entirely too stressful. Mid terms, holidays, finals, and life got in my way at times...and sometimes I was so frustrated with myself for letting the SK team down that I almost bailed on the project entirely, hoping that the mess I had created would just fix itself. But I stayed on, motivated by none other then the SK team itself... in particular Tony and Kinney who kept me on the right path with encouraging comments, constructive criticism and feedback, and most of all, patience and understanding.

The project labored on since mid September until now - nearly 4 months later. The boards are still pretty much in beta mode, but are mostly done. I'm very satisfied with the end product as is the team over at SheKnows. The community? I've seen some mixed reviews (a majority complaining about how pink it is) but hopefully in time everyone will get used to the redesign and enjoy it as much as they did the previous...and when the boards are again inevitably redesigned, I hope the community says the same thing: I miss the old look.

SK seems to have a very powerful and tight community made up of wonderful mothers. I hope to visit the boards from time to time and keep up with the feedback and make small adjustments to improve everyone's experience.

It was great working with the team at SK, but the greatest achievement is definitely seeing it live, in action, and appreciated by thousands and thousands of people world wide. Nothing can ever fulfill that feeling of pride or accomplishment.

Best wishes and Happy New Year...

Your friendly web designer,
Bryan