New Identity, New Possibility
Oct 26th, 07 | 9 remarksIt’s been quiet here lately. I’ve been stretched between too many projects at once, and the blog has suffered for it. Ah but the blog doesn’t pay the bills - at least not yet. ;) I’m excited about some of the things on the horizon, however, and to make them a little more “real” I thought I’d share with my readers what’s been cookin’.
First, Design Adaptations is undergoing a major redesign, which I’ve been frantically trying to finish by Nov 1, so I can roll right over from Pink Adaptations without having to revert to the former refresh. I’m particularly excited about this redesign, not only for the direction it’s going, but also because DA is finally going to be sporting a logo. Yeah, I know - it’s about time.
Honestly, I’m sick of redesigning (this will be the 4th one in 8 months). The truth is I’ve never had a clear vision of where I wanted to take DA, so I haven’t been satisfied with any concept I’ve come up with to date. The only thing I’ve ever been sure of was my color scheme, and even that got lost in the last refresh.
This time, I took a different approach.
I selected a handful of sites I admire for a number of reasons - precision in alignment, font styling, organization of content, flexibility in terms of layout… you name it. Then, scrutinizing and cherry-picking some of my favorite details from each one, I conceptualized a design which I’m very pleased with. Some link love for those who inspired me - Nathan Rice, A List Apart, Devlounge, 45royale, Tunnel 7, and ProBlogger. When the design launches, you’ll likely recognize who the strongest influences were. :)
Anyway, I’m really excited to have a logo now. It’s sooo important for branding - and it may not be the coolest one around (logos aren’t my specialty) but it’s mine!
Next, I’m happy to announce the first premium theme courtesy of Design Adaptations is coming soon now launched! It’s called Cornerstone, and it aims to answer the growing demand for magazine style layouts. It was tentatively scheduled to launch Nov 1 as well, but I woke up this morning realizing I wasn’t going to make it. Since I’d rather miss the goal than compromise quality, I’m pushing the release date back a couple weeks.
I hope to see it serve as a powerful foundation theme to be enjoyed by many. Look for it mid November! That’s it for now. Back to the grindstone.
What font did you use for your logo, Charity? I like the low x-height and the lowercase g!
Can’t wait to see Cornerstone! Will it rival Revolution?
Oct 31, 07 | 4:50 pmHey Lauren! I selected Bernhard Modern STD. The g sold me on it. ;)
As for rivaling Revolution with Cornerstone, oh my goodness I hope so - but I would never be so bold as to actually claim it! Brian has been kind of enough to give me some great insights to his process in setting up Revolution, and the decisions he made which ended up being very beneficial for him. If Cornerstone is half as successful, I’ll be pleased. :)
Nov 1, 07 | 7:45 amOuuu, I can’t wait to see that new them of yours. Sounds nice. ^_^
Nov 1, 07 | 7:21 pmOh I love the way your comments look Charity! Brian is a great guy, isn’t he? I’ve chatted with him a few times on Yahoo!. He always has something interesting to say or share (he likes YouTube a lot…) Oh look! You put me on your blog roll :D Quite a selective list, there. What an honor!
Now I’m looking at your design a little more closely… I like how you made the comments in the “bonus footer” section. It gives an appropriate place to add some of those extra widget goodies, too. It’s different. I like it! Great job!
Nov 1, 07 | 8:19 pmThanks Kevin and Lauren!
The comments portion took a lot of trial and error, but I’m really happy with the way it turned out. I’ve never bothered with Gravatar support before, so I wanted to try something new and that was just one of many things.
As for the list - I guess it is a little selective right now. ;p Hopefully I don’t look elitist or anything! I need to work on expanding my circle huh?
I agree Brian is a great guy and he definitely lives up to the reputation that precedes him. He could walk around as arrogant as the sun but when you talk to him he’s incredibly humble. I dig that about people. :)
Nov 2, 07 | 10:29 amHehe, so do we want Brian to stop by and see what we’re saying about him? He might just start thinking a little too much of himself ;)
As to that Gravatar support… why don’t I have a picture? I have a MyBlogLog acct and I’m signed in (just checked). Is it set to be MyBlogCatalog? I don’t have an acct with them. Just wondering…
Nov 2, 07 | 5:40 pmWell, I’m not sure how that works exactly. I’m using the Gravatar plugin, which apparently only supports icon use for those with a Gravatar acct. I’m not sure how to implement MyBlogLog support. Any ideas? Is there another plugin I don’t know about?
Nov 5, 07 | 11:18 amNo idea about the plugins, but I show up on Tara’s and David’s blog comments.
Nov 6, 07 | 4:03 pmWell, I guess I have some research to do then!
Nov 6, 07 | 5:17 pm