First, I made the new banner in Illustrator and chose a color palette. I'm extremely happy with the colors, they are definitely something I wasn't expecting. They're a little mix of neutrals and happy colors that I think I can stick with for a while. And of course I have included my obsession with gray. Then I changed out the default blogger bio on the side with a layout I created in InDesign and made into a jpeg. The name, photo and text are all part of one photo, which made it really easy. I think I may go back and make the text a little bigger.
What I'm working on now...are buttons for the sidebar. I'm still trying to figure this out. I made some simple buttons and now I just need to figure out how to place them. I think I may need to do some html-ery. I think I will end up stacking these two by two, but there is an odd number. I'd also like to replace the Etsy Mini and make something of my own, something prettier. I wish the Etsy Mini's could be customized.
Looks great! I'm a graphic designer too so know how you feel when you need to freshen up. I just tweaked my blog look a bit too last month - if you want to see you can view it here - visualmeringue.blogspot.com - but think I might freshen up my header further. I agree about making the font a bit bigger in the bio part and love your use of grey. Such a great profile picture too. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteThanks Elaine! I think your header looks great too!
DeleteReally nice. You are so talented! And html makes me cry. Ok, not really, but I just can't get the hang of it. I tried to make tabs for my blog with html. I never got them right. Then I found the easy blogger tool for it. They're not pretty, but at least they work!
ReplyDeleteAw thanks Sweet Posy! I used to be an html whiz. If you don't practice it, you lose it.
DeleteLove it! I like the colors you went with and the dot design. The buttons are really cute!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Still thinking about trying to figure those out. :-P
Deletei love the new design. your clour choices are so aesthetically pleasing! i love your new button design. if you don't have need for a sixth button you could still add a sixth button and put a design/symbol in it so you could still stack them in 2's... lovely work michelle x
ReplyDeleteThank you Leah! Yeah, I was just thinking about adding something connected to my Etsy shop as the sixth button. Or I could join yet another social media outlet. Blah.
DeleteCongratulations on the redesign - looks gorgeous and fresh! This blog is totally ready for spring!
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday - Brandi
Me likey!!!! Very serene .. great job. It def shows ur talent! Hooraayy! In the future I would suggest making the header shorter ... so we see more content before the 'fold'. I ended up making my logo smaller so people could see my blog photos quickly without having to scroll down too much.
ReplyDeleteGreat Jon Michelle! I'm totally liking these colors together...perfect for spring!
ReplyDeleteLooks great Michelle! Love the color scheme, so happy and springlike. Have to tweak my layout too and finally start on a menubar below my header.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brandi! I am totally ready for spring!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ada. I'll keep that in mind. I thought it was short enough to be above the fold. But, my screen is huge, lol.
Thanks Liz.
Thank you Nina! It's so much work though, isn't it?
I have to take a week off and look what happens around here! It's gorgeous! I love the color palette. I agree that it's sunny and serene at the same time. Lovely job!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lauren! I've been a little MIA too, I will have to come by and see what you've been up to!
DeleteIt's all looking really good! The header is happy...Perfect timing for spring, too.
ReplyDeleteI like the sidebar buttons; Little pieces of candy. :) You're right about the buttons, you will have to get some code for it (or that's what I did). Let me know if you run into any snags. Though, you seem pretty savvy and can probably figure it out. Figuring out how to tweak your blog design is fun, isn't it? Like figuring out a little puzzle. Have fun!