Shown below is the theme that was unveiled when this post was written.

Unless you’re reading this on your RSS feed, you might be scratching your head and wondering where you are. This is still the blog where I discuss the best practices I’ve discovered (and am still discovering) as an independent web designer and programmer. It looks a little different because I’m using a new WordPress theme. I intend to release this theme for public use, but I wanted to give it at least a few weeks in a live environment to shake any bugs out.

You may be wondering about the giant Buddha in the corner. Originally I began this design intending to use it as an entry for the CSS Zen Garden, an arena in which the Buddha would seem very appropriate (even if a bit overdone). Somewhere along the way, I decided that I wanted to create something that could be seen by a wider demographic than just the professional designers that frequent the garden. I decided on a WordPress theme.

There’s a ton of themes available, so I wanted to create one that looks a little different. I think I succeeded. So what “best practices” did I take away from this?

1. Sometimes in design we get used to designing visual elements where we know exactly what size everything is going to be. In a WordPress theme you don’t even know how big the name of the blog will be. The same thing holds true for things as basic as primary navigation. You can’t design an image for everything since the text has to always be able to change. It’s a great constraint to use to push yourself to find creative solutions that don’t offend your professional sensibilities.
2. On that note of being restricted in using images to represent textual elements, I was restricted to using the most common fonts that would be available on almost every system. I actually ended up using only “Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif” for the entire blog. Like most constraints, it provided a hidden benefit. I spent a lot of time and energy experimenting with different colors, sizes, and capitalizations to differentiate the pieces of text. It was like I lost one of my senses, and the others became more finely attuned to compensate.
3. We all have weaknesses in design. One of mine is I get carried away with using too many unrelated colors. In this case I restricted myself to only use colors found in the Buddha image that ended up being the inspiration piece for the entire design. The result is a much more cohesive design than some of my work where I give myself free reign over the palette. It’s an old trick, but it’s a good one.
4. There is a place for liquid layouts. I’ve railed against liquid layouts over fixed layouts in the past, but I realized in the middle of this design that the liquid approach just made more sense in this case. I still prefer the control of knowing exactly how wide my layout will be, but it is an inherent aspect of blogs that control specifically does not rest in the hands of the designer. The content writer is the one steering the ship, and all decisions need to be based on giving him or her maximum control over the site.

So those are the some of the things I learned and relearned while working on this design. Of course I am still looking to shake out any final bugs. So if you notice anything that seems strange around here, you’d be doing me a big favor to mention it in the comments.

filed under: General News