Welcome to my blog, version 2. Not quite what you had expected? Not for me anyway.
I had actually created an entirely different design, which I had worked on for almost a week. Today, however, I decided to scrap that one and threw together what you currently see. The turnaround took me half a day, so it’s not very thought through. In other words, expect lots of changes over the next few days. Today I like it, tomorrow.. Well, I’ll just have to wait and see. :)
I’ve named this iteration “Focus”. It simplifies the layout, leaving the user with nothing else to enjoy but the content. But as the point of this design is to not get in your way, I won’t bother you with my ramblings about its greatness. However, be sure to check it out.
Now, onto what matters: The entries.
In my coming entries I will strive to make each one something I can be truly proud of (that means quality). They will be more focused on the subject at hand, and less like leftovers from me just jotting something down. This doesn’t necessarily mean fewer entries, but that I’ll be more specific and thorough when I write (as the person who will be reading, you like this).
The new direction I’m taking constitutes my view on writing and design. When you write, create something you can be truly proud of; something that is thought through and has real value. When you design, remember that content is king; your design should do nothing but reinforce it in every way possible.
By allowing the design to take second chair, I ensure that the content (in this case each entry) gets the most attention. And with more attention comes a demand for higher quality. It lays an extra burden on me, but it’s a burden I’m happy to take on.
Regarding the new direction in entries, inspiration comes heavily from John Gruber of Daring Fireball fame, which continues to impress me with his simplistic design and insightful posts. If there’s one blogs principles I want mine to follow, it’s his.
So, welcome! Poke around and be sure to report any bugs, and leave your feedback, good or bad, in the comments. :)
Very lovely! Congratulations! :-)
PS: The background color does not match the background image’s color. Is it supposed to be that way?
Thanks! About the color, no I don’t think so. Could you tell me what image you’re thinking of, or even better, send a screenshot to olav at bjorkoy dot com? :)
I was thinking about the image found at http://blog.bjorkoy.com/wp-content/themes/k22/images/flower.jpg. As far as I see, the background color of the image is somewhere around #F7F3DE, while the background color of the page is #F4F4DD. I’ll send you a screenshot. :-)
Oh, another thing. The tab-order of the comment form is not correct. From a user perspective, the “message” field comes first, but in WordPress it comes last. Should be easy to fix.
You must have a better screen than me. Should be fixed now, thanks!
Now it’s much better! I see that you also fixed the tab order. Very nice! :-)
One thing though; with such a narrow design one have to do a lot of scrolling in order to read the entire entry or to get to the comments.
Small note on the comments; the comments should perhaps have a direct link like the date-field usually provides. It makes life easier when referring to one specific entry.
Håvard, thanks for dropping by. The scrolling argument is a good one, I will remember that, and see what can be done. And you’re right, I’ve lost permalinks in the comments - will be implement soon.
I would not worry too much about the scrolling. Narrow columns of text is easier to read than the wide. Besides, I’m quite fond of narrow designs. :-)
Oh, it looks like you’ve got the old background color back.
Wow, Martin, that is really weird.. I have no idea how it keeps changing. Well, now it SHOULD be fixed (again). Thanks! :)
I keep getting impressed, not only by the designs, but also by the articles you write. Keep up the good work, and you’ll have me sticking around for a while :)
Thanks Marius. :) Be sure to stay, and comment on what you read.