Yes indeed, I think prototyping would be the first step before a SMD version...if I do end up doing that.
The LED strip will be something like this one:
The sections (i.e individual arduino outputs) will be around 1m each (0.4A) but there may be one that is around 2m or slightly longer.
I''ve now got the driver shield so will do some intial tests with that. The size doesn't look too bad, I may be able to use a right-angle 25 pin connector to keep it lower profile.
Thanks,
Barry.