Hi,
nice to see that you are interested in contributing in the HTML/CSS and template area.
Brad already mentioned that he would like to blog about the first design ideas. So, we might get some more input from some experienced designers afterwards. Keeping the early state of the design concept in mind, I suspect that it would be better to start with a prototype implemented in pure (X)HTML/CSS . In this phase, it just might be easier for us and for designers to make some changes to the overall design.
Of course, your help is very appreciated even if you prefer to start with applying the design right to a django template. So, I'll make all logos and images from the mockups available as soon as possible, so that you can work with them.
Regards,
Manuel