Thesis-Based Test Prep Blog Redesign

Testing Is Easy

We are an online test prep company, and we sell our own proprietary online video courses that are more focused, targeted, and efficient than other courses out there. Other companies like the complicated approach that takes a long time and makes you feel like you're doing something important, we like the easy way that gets you your best score and lets you get on with your life.

Our company sells online video test prep courses for many standardized tests, from tests that get you into private middle schools and high school, to law school and grad school exams. The courses are heavily video-oriented, and in fact the blog will feature many videos.

Anyone from middle-schoolers and high-schoolers (and their parents) getting ready for standardized tests to college students, grad students, and working adults from people in their 20s to people in their 60s. We want them to come to the site and be impressed by the professional look, but not be intimidated or turned off by something that's too sterile and dry. We want them to feel comfortable with the site and excited to look around for some interesting articles and videos.

I need my Thesis-based test prep blog redesigned (we definitely want to keep thesis, just customize it). I don't think I need any special functionality outside of what thesis and wordpress already offer, I just need my blog to look better. The look I'm going for is professional, corporate, and confidence-inspiring--but with a little bit of personality. I've attached our new logo, and I'd like the color scheme to fit that logo--I'm imagining blues, grays, and white, with maybe a little bit of red or gold (some flexibility there).

I would like the header to feature our logo (which I've attached), along with the tagline 'Higher Scores, Now Playing.'

I would like the categories under the header to use the existing Wordpress menu structure, but I would like the template for that menu to look better, as described above (professional, corporate, a little personality, etc.). In other words, I'd like a better looking menu that I can still change (add or take away categories or pages) without having to have someone make me a new custom button for it.

... continued in attached file, please download and see (not too much longer, just a few paragraphs) ...

PS... UPDATED

At the suggestion of a designer (thanks!) I have added an attachment which is a screenshot of a rough outline of what I'm imagining for the site. I'm definitely not a designer, but I think this will give you a jumping off point.