Creating Adaptative Layouts
May 29th, 07 | 8 remarksWith all the creatives out there who love and adore Wordpress, there’s no shortage of professionally designed themes these days, free for the taking under GPL. More are cropping up all the time. I have a few of my own I’d like to release if I could ever finish anything. ;)
We all have our favorites I suppose, but what I find captivating is how a few of the most popular themes have been modded by others. It’s interesting to see how different design concepts can be conceived for the same layout. Here are some of the most notable that I’ve found…
Hemingway begets Euphorish
The beautifully simplistic Hemingway theme has definitely made a name for itself, and adaptations of it can be found across the net
Of those I’ve seen, the most pleasing was Euphorish. They did a nice job of keeping the timeless appeal, while adding some subtle flourishes of their own.
Vertigo begets Creative Design
Brian’s Gardner’s Vertigo may possibly be the most flexible theme I’ve seen to date. It’s clearly coded, and could easily be used as an artistic or corporate site.
David Airey, for example, did a fabulous job of adapting it into something he found suitable for his blog about graphic design.
PressRow begets Cutline
I wasn’t aware of this until I started researching this post, but apparently PressRow was the starting point for Cutline, which is probably one of the most well-known Wordpress themes ever.
Granted the two were both coded by the same guy (Chris Pearson), but it’s sill a great example of how design can evolve.
Cutline begets X
X being the untold number of people who use Cutline for their site. It’s been so popular in fact, that Brian (who took over management of the theme), created a Showcase for anyone who would like a little recognition for their Cutline mods. A few of my favorite (those with the most noticeable changes) include Twenty Steps, Allusions, and SmartWealthyRich.
So, what makes a good adaptive layout? These designs suggest minimalism is favored. Note that each of them employs very basic design and navigational concepts, with little or no graphics. If you were in the market to mod a theme for yourself, what would you look for?
What a good idea for an article. Never thought about it, and i may not have found it if i didn’t see the link back so thanks for including my site and keep it up :)
May 29, 07 | 11:42 amThanks Alex, and I appreciate you stopping by! ;)
May 29, 07 | 12:42 pmwow, i’m really honored and flattered you mentionned SWR in your post! :)
May 29, 07 | 3:06 pmI echo what Jonathan said - I’m flattered that you included my site in your list. Many thanks.
May 29, 07 | 4:48 pmJonathan and Mike - you’re welcome. You both did a great job of modifying the theme to make it something of your own. Well done. :)
May 29, 07 | 8:02 pmI similarities that seem to be in those designs are that they seems to have great flow and ‘breathe’ really well. Thats definetly something that all blog designs should encompass to keep readers to the site. Nice picks. :)
May 30, 07 | 6:50 amCharity - I’ve just revamped the Twenty Steps theme and I’d really appreciate you casting your expert eye over it. I’ve stuck to the principals of the old style (i.e. a lot of white space, unobtrusive ad blocks) and I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Jun 4, 07 | 2:27 pmAwesome set! I’ve been working on a mod of the Cutline Theme myself for some time. I just released it for download at my site http://johncrenshaw.net/wordpress-themes for anyone who wants to check it out. I’d love any feedback!
Mar 10, 08 | 4:09 pm