Nothing like a fresh coat of paint and someone who knows what the hell they are doing to improve the look of a simple WordPress blog. It’s still the old Cutline theme, but fresh eyes and some aesthetic/technical abilities have brought a hint of organization to what was a bit of an ugly mess. Things have been rationalized, reorganized and dropped.
Thanks again to Jennifer Sparks for her amazing artwork. I get almost as many compliments on the logo she did for Three Moves Ahead as I do for the show itself. So I was thrilled when she offered to do a new more colorful banner for the blog. She actually did a bunch of them, and I just chose my favorite. Then Sparky did a favicon before I even asked her to, which was on my to-do list. She is a wonderful, generous, talented and funny person.
The other Jenn in the picture is Jenn Cutter, whom some of you heard on Episode 48: The Gaming Gender Gap podcast. She’s reviving her own video blog series soon after a long hiatus, and expect me to link to it quite regularly as thanks for her patience. Plus money, of course. This is not her job, but I’d hire her again in an instant. She’s responsible for the theme refitting and telling me to cut crap. Wider center column, a proper contributor list, easy to find contact info…stuff that I am too stupid to do on my own.
There are still some small things to do to tidy things up, but if you like the new look or see something broken please let me know.
I love the theme improvements and the new banner is stunning.
Hated to replace yours, Corvus, since I had used it for so long. But she knows her stuff.
Looking good, Troy! My one complaint is that it’s hard to browse through old posts, except by accessing them sequentially one at a time via the navigation links at the top of the page. Granted, updates are infrequent enough that this isn’t a huge problem, but still…
Archives are linked up top, Alan. You have a better idea?
I like how the daggers look like spaceships at first glance.
Groovey sword and banner motif, like the fresh new look Troy, kudos to your army of lady helpers!
Now whats the bevelled text say behind it all, is it from a Musical?
Thank you for all the kind words. Troy’s blog is pretty inspirational, which makes it easy.
Pundit: Spaceships? Hmm…I WANT TO BELIEVE. :) Since the quote that inspired the title “Flash Of Steel” is from the Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, the swords are based on Indian talwars of his era.
Ian: The text ghosted in the header background is Guru Gobind Singh’s quote (from Troy’s About page)
“When all efforts to restore peace
Prove useless and no words avail
Lawful is the flash of steel then
And right it is the sword to hail.”
When Troy first mentioned a ‘redesign’ for the site, I let out a small groan. I have come to believe site redesigns almost always really mean ‘turn into crap’.
I am very glad to be proven wrong. I like it.
Actual quote upon loading the page tonight:
“Oooooooh! NICE!”
Kudos to Sparky and Cutter!
Oh hey, archives, and sorted by tag!
As soon as I saw the front page today, I thought, “Wow, that looks great!” I like the color and design a lot, the banner has marvelous impact, and the wider center column makes it easier to read. Kudos indeed.
Hey Troy, I like the new look! I did notice that your link to my blog on the lefthand side goes to Greenspeak instead, though. If you could update it and use my new URL (just tinysubversions.com, no more blogspot) that would be great!
Joining the graphics race, eh? Me, I prefer my websites made out of cardboard chits.
Had to move to a new place last week; see you did some housecleaning. Site looks real good! I saw your kudos to a couple of your helpers, and followed your link to Jenn Cutter’s site. Her bio mentioned her introduction into the world of video gaming with an Intellivision–how COOL is that!? (My first video console too) :-) Jenn Cutter, I salute you!
Yep, Skyrider, Jenn is old school despite her youth. And she can probably kick the ass of any guy on the podcast except maybe Bruce because he cheats.
Troy: great makeover to the site, the new banner looks awesome!