EDU 2.0: New Web Design, Part 2

In part 1 of this series, I showed some sketches of how I thought our new web site could look. Here's the sketch of the new home page design:

Our graphics team then created four mockups of the basic home page, which I then presented to the EDU 2.0 community for their feedback (I really enjoy getting our community involved in the evolution of the site).

Here were the first three mockups.

1. Square edges, square buttons, no white stripes down the side.

 

2. Square edges, square buttons, white stripes down the sides.

 

3. Curved edges, square buttons, white stripes down the sides.

 

The majority of our users liked the curved edges, which I agreed with, but I didn't like the extra white stripes down the sides because I'm aiming for a more "minimal" design.

So here is the final mockup that we viewed and approved; curved edges, square buttons, and no white stripes down the side:

The next step is to see some mockups of the new design for the regular pages, which should be really great. I can't wait to upgrade the site with the new look!