Below you can find a retrospective of Mahou Shoujo's past looks
Version I
?/?/? - ?/?/?
This is the first layout for the rebirth of my Cardcaptor Sakura website. The layout, which does not have a witty title, was very much influenced by the trends of the time, particularly those that were fashionable with celebrity fansites. For instance, a key feature of the style was the repetition of images. Here, all the images of Sakura in her third op. costume were used at least twice, some in more subtle ways than others. Other key features of the style included the use of collage-like textures, patterned backgrounds, swirly accents, light textures and so on. At the time, I was quite fond of this layout, thinking it was absolutely fantastic. However, in retrospect, that fondness has faded and I now think this layout is somewhat OTT. I believe that there is just waaay to much going on in this layout for its own good. I attempted to include every design element and principle possible when really I should have only focused on one or two. In this case, this layout would be much more effective if it were simpler. However, one aspect of this layout I still adore (and did not go OTT on) was the colours.
Version II - At Peace With the World
?/?/? - 25/2/2008
The second layout for Mahou Shoujo, entitled 'At Peace With the World,' was very different to the first layout. This time, I opted to go down a more individual path, choosing to do a more original layout, different to what was around at the time. For instance, rather then having a header or banner, the layout consisted of only four columns, one of which included the main image (my equivalent to a header/banner.) The main image featured a manga illustration of Sakura wearing an outfit from the first movie, repeated and reflected several times, layered over of this was a paper-type texture used to add visual interest to the layout as well as trendy, swirly brushes created by myself. Another aspect of this layout which differed from the first layout was the navigation. In the previous layout, the navigation for each section of the website was only listed on the pages of that section, where as with this layout, all the sections are listed on every page. I was and still am very fond of this layout, but as with everything, the time came and a change was needed to something a little more practical.
Version III
25/2/2008 - 19/12/2008
The third layout for Mahou Shoujo was created on a whim; I really had no intention of changing the layout, even though I was aware that I would eventually need a more practical solution as the website began to grow. However, I thought that that was not going to be for a while yet. Then, one day, when I was working on premade layouts available for download at Okashi, I was hit with the inspiration to create a new layout for Mahou Shoujo, and as I am never one to fight with inspiration (it doesn't come around all that often), I set about to work and created Version III. One of my favourite elements of this layout is the image combination as Tobira wo Akete is one of my favourite OP themes, and I feel that these two images work well together. Other elements of this layout, which I adore are the colours and the textures. The elements that I am not quite fond of is the type. It was added as an afterthought (and it shows). I found it very challenging trying to place it within the layout, and in the end, I am satisfied with it, however, I feel that it could still be improved. This layout also gave me the opportunity to experiment with CSS, which I had not previously used (rollovers and so on). Version III lasted for nearly a year, however, it was only online for about 5 months as Mahou Shoujo went offline for a good 6 months of '08 and when it came back at the beginning of '09, I made the decision that it was time for a change.
