...and we need submissions soon. Now, this doesn't mean rush.
THERE IS CURRENTLY NO SET SUBMISSION DATE.
So now you're probably wondering what the hell I'm talking about, right?
Starting soon, TFF will be publishing monthly issues of a newspaper we're calling the
Chocobo Digest. The newspaper will provide no "real life" news, but will rather be a compilation of faux articles and journalistic-style stories, much like FFXI's Vana'Diel
Tribune.
This is what we need from you:
- a WORKING example of an html newspaper
- webpage MUST work properly in ALL browsers and be no larger than 1024x768 (preferrably 800x600, centered in the page) -- no IE-only code
- ALL fonts used must be common fonts, except for those you place in the images (i.e. you may use an Olde English style font for the newspaper title if you wish)
- FRONT PAGE:
- the index page must look like the front page of a newspaper, preferrably in an old style (i.e. ripped edges, yellowed or parchment paper, etc.)
- you may hard-code images, like the newspaper's title, into the layout of the webpage
- you may also create images (such as a chocobo or something) to be used wherever you see fit
- the example must have room for an image for the month's "featured" article to be placed on either the left or right side of the page -- image size is up to you, the designer, but it cannot be too large
- the other side of the page will feature the current month's articles. Ideally, the links will actually be images rather than plain text, so you must package the .psd file for the base image so that we can change them for each month's issue
- there must be a minimum of five links, and a maximum of seven. Links should be coded in such a way that regardless of whether we have five, six, or seven articles for the month, it will not affect the background in any form or fashion (you may handle this however you'd like -- seven different .jpgs and their corresponding .psd files, or one image that would work in all seven slots)
- THE INSIDE:
- each link from the index must link to a page that looks like the inside of the newspaper (yes, this means a different background) -- whether it looks like a double-page spread or a single page is up to you, the designer
- inner pages must support a 0-2 image format. The images here can be much smaller than those used on the index, and we will likely link them to large images
- coding can be fairly simple -- we don't need any fancy scrollbars (especially since they won't work in Firefox) -- just enough room for three or four paragraphs. We'll be linking at the end of each article to the full story anyway
- preferred fonts for article text are Times New Roman or Tahoma -- the size must be legible, regardless of how much we enjoy the tiny little fonts. 10pt or 12pt only, please
Now, in creation of your example, you may use whatever you want as the article titles (for the links) and can type random text in your sample articles, for all I care. We just want to see how it looks. It's ideal if you provide three samples of an inner page so that we can see it in all three styles (0, 1, and 2 images), so that we don't have to change any coding when we put up new articles.
Basically, your submissions will be used as templates for each article. Ideally, we'd like to avoid changing any of your coding, which is why we're asking for working samples. And yes, before you ask, you can sign your name/handle/whatever on your images, but in a nondescript way, like in the lower-right corner.
The winner of the competition WILL receive forum recognition with a small banner to be placed in the postbit under your username rather than your signature. It'll probably say something to the extent of "Digest Designer" or something, and is really as meaningless as the stars. Nonetheless, it'll look cool, and identify you as having done something great for the site.
If you have ANY questions, by all means, please ask.