While writing is my forte, I’m always inspired by design, web design in particular and even more specifically blog design. To me, the design aesthetic of a blog is equally as important as the content. The first impression your blog gives is what captures readers and drives them to look further. If you follow my Twitter, you may have seen me talking about designing a blog for a good friend (bka pain the butt) Curran J.
Curran is an emerging stylist and event planner and was looking for a blog design to showcase his many endeavors including styling jobs and local events. His blog Kingsruletogether.com is a testament to his eclectic style and regal nature and he wanted a design that complemented his work but didn’t overpower it.
I started with a clean theme and added the dynamic slideshow feature in the header to showcase prominent images from his portfolio.
The portfolio page leverages WordPress gallery features as well as the lightbox capabilities.
My favorite piece of this project is the background, which I feel sets the entire blog off and makes it stand out. Additionally, we’ll be adding more weekly features as KRT evolves and as Curran adds more projects to his repertoire. All in all I’m very happy with the blog and can’t wait for my next design project
You’re a girl after my heart because I’m obsessed with all elements of design. Site design is up there with my love for package design. I agree with your statement that the layout of your site is extremely key to the user experience. Sites that have streaming images, dark backgrounds and cluttered lettering all distract from the content. I’m totally a blog snob and will not interact with sites that I deem sloppy. lol
Also on twitter @audacityofcolor. I’m not sure if we’re following each other.
Same here, nothing worse than poor design to turn off readers. I’m following you now!!! @stylishthought