For our first project we were asked to design and build a website based on the vowels, A E I O and U. The subject was our choice, as long as we could tie it to these five vowels and create a page for each. I chose to explore the letters themselves because I felt it was a subject that was hidden in plain sight, because of the long history and evolution of letter forms, and because written communication and design are so fundamentally linked.
My main personal goal in this project was to work on my patience. I focused on allowing the research that I did and the elements that I chose to include to dictate the design. I feel that I achieved that goal. I didn't try to include too many elements and the elements that are included are all relevant to the "story" being told. The navigation is obvious without being dominant on the page and the design is in balance. I'm happy with it, but I welcome any constructive observations in the comments section below.
The final version of the Home page finally came together in a unified design when I added an image of parchment as the background. It really helped me get the feel that I was going for, a kind of old, time-worn, yet reliable look. It also allowed me to fade some elements into the background for the subtlety that I was looking for. The Phoenician symbols are present, but very faint, toward the bottom of the page, and I was able to blend the flags into the background as well, to create the appearance of them having been drawn or painted on the parchment.