Site design and logo for Mabels-Table.com

Aunt Mabel's Table

I’m launching a new site for amateur genealogists called Aunt Mabel’s Table (http://mabels-table.com).

This site is designed for the genealogical enthusiast to share genealogical information, family stories, family photos, events, etc. The subscriber invites family and friends to join their account, and they collaborate to share these things.

The feeling we’re going for is the kind of feeling you get when you’re at your great-aunt’s house with your relatives, telling stories and family lore, wrinkled black-and-white photos spread out on the antique kitchen table. It’s a slice of Americana – not red-white-and-blue, but apple pie and rocking chairs on the porch. Aunt Mabel’s table. The submission that best captures that feeling will win.

Amateur genealogists who want to share their genealogical information collaboratively with friends and family. Initially, only an American audience is targeted.

You don’t need to provide the full design. I’m looking for a logo, a color palette, and minor adjustments to alleviate the blocky feel.

The basic layout of the site is set; you don’t need to work on the general placement of the elements. What I need:

1. A single logo image for the top of the page. It should evoke the feel of the site described above.

2. A color palette that will improve the visual appeal of the site. I randomly chose brown for the prototype, don’t let that influence you. I don’t want the color scheme to be image-based, so a winning design will be one that can be readily adapted to HTML/CSS. I understand that will introduce limitations for the designer, and I’ll take that into consideration. Bottom line, I don’t want to have to manipulate a bunch of images if I change the site. Therefore, I want to implement your design without a lot of slices and backgrounds. I might be open to a gradient image or two if they make the page stand out.

3. Tweaks that make the site seem less blocky. This might include rounded corners or font changes or whatever you see fit. This may be a challenge for designers unfamiliar with CSS - if I can't adapt it without image slices, I'll tend to shy away from your design.

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The winning design will be applied to the entire site. What I'll need from you:
- 1 logo image. It should be around the same height as the current header; width is up to you.
- A color scheme and design tweaks that are readily adaptable to HTML/CSS.

Here's a prototype that should give you a feel for the general kind of look and overall layout:
http://mabels-table.com

Please feel free to take a look at my current CSS to get an idea of what I’m doing now:
http://mabels-table.com/theme/style.css
http://mabels-table.com/theme/jquer…custom.css

I like the icons; you’re not expected to build any. If you want to use them for your reference or as an element in your design, feel free to download them directly from my site. Alternately, you can download the free icon set yourself: http://dryicons.com/free-icons/prev…icons-set/. A winning design will capture the same kind of feel as the icons.

If I could find good examples, I'd copy them and do the design myself! :-)

Best of luck!