Art Education Association of Western Australia

The new look ArtEd website was launched on Wednesday 9 July, 2008.

As a result of the partnership with the Central TAFE graphic design students under the guidance of their lecturer Brendan Hibbert, designing a new logo was the beginning step in the process of rebranding the ArtEd Association of WA and subsequently its website.

The element of the paint splat within the logo, has also been cleverly incorporated into the background of the new interactive web blog format by our designer BHD. While a lot of the content is currently the same as it was in the ‘old Mondrian themed html skin’, visitors to the site will be able to write their own comments and provide information and suggestions.

With 3552 hits to the ‘old’ website from January 2005 to July 8 2008, the ArtEd website had over the last three years become an active communication tool for our ArtEd members. We believe that this new interactive format will in turn result in the website becoming an even more vibrant avenue for communication not only between members but also with the wider arts community.

So if the content is still pretty much the same, let me help show you around the site!

• The site is comprised of a few static pages - see top lighter blue ribbon - beginning with Home. These are unlikely to change.

• Then there are a number of categories - see lower dark blue ribbon under the new logo - beginning with ArtEd News at the moment - but… this may change as categories hold their place by alphabetical order which may change as new categories are added.

• Under the Category ribbon on the left of the main screen, you will find the ‘posts’ which have been written by Pauline (webmaster) or Lynda (2008 President) and occasionally by admin (auto generated posts by the calendar). If you notice that the ‘author’ of some postings change it is because either one of us has modified a previous posting in some way - it might be as small as a spelling correction!

• On the right of the main screen, you will find rotating buttons for our sponsors (only 4 able to be on view at any one time) and under that the Calendar - a wonderful addition to the website - which helps us to easily enter and you to easily find the various PDs and other planned events with descriptors re the where, when and what of each entry only a click’s distance away.

• The last items for you to click on and discover are the various subscription links.
  • In the top right hand corner after the tag Subscribe: currently if you go into Posts and Comments, you will get a list of the most recent Posts and Comments to have been uploaded (NB: the stripey red button is the link to RSS feed subscriptions). Unfortunately at this stage if you are viewing the site via Internet Explorer, it will appear with all of the code surrounding the content.
    • Firefox is a free download open source browser which you may consider using - it has become my default browser since I downloaded it a few weeks ago and is fully compatible with the ArtEd website, offering seamless downloads and refreshing screens.
  • The email button takes you to a space where you can enter your chosen email address to receive updates about new posts and comments to the site (known as an RSS feeder). NB the most recent posts appear in the home page screen anyway, in the main body and in a box on the right hand side.
  • ArtEd Newsletters. We are still playing with the layout and content of this but at present the plan is for it to be an auto generated email once weekly of the new content which has been uploaded to the site.

So… Have fun looking around, posting comments, asking questions and exploring the content of the posts. If at any time you need help, feel free to contact Pauline or Lynda directly - contact details are on the Committee page so follow the link if you haven’t found the page yet.

And, below is our new look advert to members that will appear in this month’s issue of the Art Ed Journal.