On My Mind: Blog Design Update

Friends, I’m not going to lie. It’s been really quiet around here. My last post was a reflection on 2013, which was actually days before January 1st, but I just couldn’t wait to get it out. I’m not sure if you have been following the news, but out here in the midwest we’re getting frigid oh-my-god-my-face-is-gonna-fall-off cold weather, and it’s causing everything out here to slow down, myself included. I had every intention of finishing a new “art of” post, but the weather didn’t permit me to take the pictures I needed to complete it. This winter we’ve had so many problems with sicknesses, water heaters not working, choosing to stay in because of unsafe driving conditions, and now our internet and cable have been out for a few days. It really puts things in perspective when things you rely on every day are taken away for a while. That being said, I HAVE kept busy with my blog redesign.

Blog Redesign Progress

As I foresaw, this redesign has utterly consumed my time; the perfectionist in me has to consider, re-consider, and then change my mind one hundred times before I’m satisfied with my choices and then I have to check with my developer to make sure it’s even possible. I’ve finally realized that I’m running out of time. I only have until the end of the month before I submit to the developer and I need an outside opinion.  I need you, the readers to take a look at this and tell me what your initial reactions are. Is it clear? Does anything distract you or keep you from wanting to read more? Is anything in a place you wouldn’t expect? Of course I’m still finessing.. i’m noticing the background color is dangerously close to the color of my Polaroid sideshow, and I still have some convincing to do that this is the “right” way to go. I’m going for that “anthropologie” subtle mixed media look. The key word here is subtle. I don’t want this to look like a craft or scrap booking blog.   Revised Mood board   Homepage WIP Blog Page Design WIP (Showing a slideshow component in the article + pull quote and author Block) On the side bar, where it says “View My Portfolio”, this will go to my portfolio site, www.lorettamaydesign.com. If you’ve visited, you’ll notice that the branding is completely different, which is purposeful. I think to make a stronger connection to my portfolio site, this little image needs to be branded to match LorettaMay Design better. I just worry about that vibrant green sticking out like a sore thumb. The text in the black bars is an example of a pull quote. I liked the idea of having it outdented, but this may have to change in order to accommodate for the mobile version. It has a lot of contrast, adding that mixed media feel, but it also must be used sparingly.   Mobile Version WIP  While I can’t afford a fully responsive site, I am going to have the mobile version force the sidebar below the main container, making legibility less of an issue. It will still be tiny, but hopefully not as annoying to read. The sidebar right now is actually not as wide as the mobile site, so I haven’t figured out yet if the sidebar div would then resize itself wider to fit the viewport of the mobile device, or if it would stay the same.   There you have it, my work in progress. Please feel free to comment. I really am looking for honest feedback.