So, there has been discussion about updating the design of the Media Co-op for some time. This breaks down into three categories:

• A facelift, and update to the "look and feel" of the web site
• Additional features
• Structural and functional changes

Facelift

This is already underway, but not in any set-in-stone way. You can see the new header and layout on the Grève and Occupy pages, for example. The idea is to create a flexible, clean layout that would streamline the functions of the site based on how things have changed over the last four years or so, and easily adapt to locals' needs. For example, the logo could easily be changed to a local logo.

I'm currently working on implementing this for the national site on a tryout basis (which means that people with access can switch to the new look and give feedback). Once it's been tried, tested and tweaked, we'll switch the national site over to the new design. After that, locals, if they choose, can switch to a version of the new design.

Some of the priorities with the new design are: 

• Faster loading times
• Cleaner look
• Search engine optimization
• More opportunities to communicate about the Media Co-op
• More emphasis on user pages, groups and Co-op decisionmaking
• Strategic use of the site for fundraising and membership
• Increased information about posts beyond featuring, including information on fact checking and copy editing
• Increased prominance and promotion of Creative Commons licensing

You can look at a mockup of the front page under the new design. As you can see, there aren't a lot of changes; it is, as advertised, a facelift.

Additional features

Some features that are currently being worked on:

• A major revision of the group pages (occupy and grève provide a sneak peek, but several options will be available)
• Wiki pages for groups and locals to share and edit non-time-sensitive information
• More effective decisionmaking functions (a la budget2010)
• Integration of the Dominion and Media Co-op sites
• Better look and feel for blogs 

Restructuring

As you can see, there's already quite a bit to do. Some folks have raised questions about different kinds of changes or new features. It'll be a few months before we are able to implement those, but we might as well start the discussion now.

What do you want?

What are your priorities for the redesign? What kinds of features do you want to see? What do you think of the mock-ups and look and feel that have been proposed?

Have your say, in the comments below.