Ancient Meets Modern for Myth Machine Website Design

Myth Machine

Myth Machine is a platform that allows people to read books for free online (with ads) or buy books (no ads). Our target audience is mostly women 25-45. We build fandoms in the young adult fiction fantasy genre. (a fandom is a kingdom for fans- think star wars fans, or comic-con)

http://mythmachines.com/secrets-of-moldara/

The background should be where you find our rich textures and feel the depth of history we are invoking. Over that, the sleek, pristine lines of the modern and future tech should seem to float over the old and be backlit where tasteful and/or when buttons are selected.  Be dramatic and playful in how each page is lit. The finished product should nurture curiosity and invite exploration, as if it is missing the final design element- our user. See also the attached doc titled: "Myth Machine Site Color Profile" for specific colors and themes.

The wireframe and sketches are for the desktop site. Here is the link to the wireframe: https://wireframepro.mockflow.com/v…ythmachine
I also need a responsive tablet and mobile version of the layout for these pages. I want to keep the simplicity of the big button concept- but for mobile the buttons can't be side by side- they would be stacked vertically on top of each other. I want to see if we can preserve this balance of the old and the new with the mobile version. Most of our readers will read on their phones.

Our developer will take your design and then program it on a wordpress foundation- so make sure your designs are compatible with wordpress.

Page 1- The home page- see the wireframe sketch for the basic layout- we are keeping this simple with the 4 big buttons for navigation. The design and style you create will be the backdrop to the navigation buttons.
I want to keep the header on every page- which will be the logo with the name Myth Machine. See if you can put the owl logo in the middle between the words Myth and Machine. The footer will go on every page as well- see the wireframe for the footer content.
Page 2- Reader login - this has the same big button concept, but I would like a unique background following the principles outlined in the description.
Page 3- Start reading page - this is where a reader goes to explore a book. See the hand sketch and wireframe for the basic structure. Again, I want this to be designed with the elements of rich history overlayed by sleek lines. This is where the stories come alive.
Page 4- Author Login- this has the same big button concept, but I want a unique backdrop
Page 5- Explore Fandoms- (a fandom is a kingdom for fans) The purpose of this part of the site is to become the gathering place for super fans. We will be providing links to all things about their fandom. There isn't a very good resource for super-fans to easily and quickly have links to everything about their interest. We are going to become that clearing house. So the design of this page should follow with our bringing together the old world with modern technology.

I don't want to deviate too much from our "layout" of the big buttons. We want the structure of the site to be more like a gaming site than a traditional website. The simplicity of the buttons will preserve this. You can play around with styles of buttons, backdrops, lettering, etc- but don't go away from the basic layout we have in the wire frame.

Here is a link to a video that tells our story (forgive the sound quality):
https://vimeo.com/240899247/444056f0ed

Here is the link to the interactive wireframe: https://wireframepro.mockflow.com/v…ythmachine
I also uploaded the original hand sketch of the basics of the site layout.
Be sure to read the doc- Myth Machine Site Color Profile- This spells out the specific colors and examples of design elements.
The background should be where you find our rich textures and feel the depth of history we are invoking. Over that, the sleek, pristine lines of the modern and future tech should seem to float over the old and be backlit where tasteful and/or when buttons are selected. Be dramatic and playful in how each page is lit. The finished product should nurture curiosity and invite exploration, as if it is missing the final design element- our user.