I have a site that has a strict purpose, its for the irc network irc.chatautism.com for people with autism to chat to each other. It has to be easy to read, suitable for kids, and easy to use. But at the same time I want it to look dynamic and interesting and attractive. Parents of autistic children also use the site to access the chat rooms. Any opinions? http://www.chatautism.com
If you don't need it to be dynamic but you want it to look dynamic interesting and attractive a re-design should be enought. I'm not saying it doesn't look well, it doesn. It's clean, well organized and easy to navigate, but it's not attractive for childrens. A coloured design may help. Just my two cents
I suggest having someone create a matching logo and button set. The top silver "chat autism" and the left hand "purple buttons" don't look like a match to me. Then if you use some of the same colors in those boxes for "autism news, autism assembly, etc." You'd have a well coordinated site. I wouldn't stay married to the gray background either. Gray isn't a dynamic color IMO.
Yeah its kind of in between designs right now..It used to have a lilac background, and it matched the buttons but people didnt like a lot of purple. So I made the silver logo, and made the background grey, but it hasnt got a dynamic feel.