New design and development for the Northwest Dharma Association, by Stephen Schildbach.

This issue of Northwest Dharma News brings a new look, designed to help readers get around the publication more easily, and more easily find what they are interested in.

When planning the redesign, we wanted something closer to a magazine format, something that would engage readers. Some improvements to the format are: featuring a large article photo on the cover, easy access to the current table of contents, contributor credits on every page, and ability to view all photos in a larger lightbox format. With the new look, you’ll notice you no longer have to go back to the table of contents to explore a new section, but can do so more fluidly. We wanted to introduce more flexibility, so for instance, we used WordPress’ blogging architecture to have the option to run longer articles.

In the works is an extension of this new design, which will present the Northwest Dharma News in an easier-to-view format for smart phones and other small devices.

The redesign, skillfully rendered by web designer and developer Stephen Schildbach of Schildbach Design, is based on the well-known web publishing platform WordPress. While it was a significant financial investment to convert to WordPress, this will make future publications easier and more affordable to produce.

Thanks to the Northwest Dharma Association Board, for their vision in supporting this upgrade to current technologies.

We hope you like it. Remember, we’re doing this for you, each of you, so please send us any comments or suggestions.

And enjoy.

Steve Wilhelm

Editor