Blog Redesign (and a Bit of My Rambling)

Blog Redesign (and a Bit of Rambling)

            I’ll admit I was initially hesitant about redesigning my blog. I felt as if my original layout  represented a bit of who I am as a writer, designer, and person. Now, of course my blog wouldn’t represent everything about how I identify myself. The background image of book pages suggested my interest in literature and my value upon books. My font choices demonstrated my respect and admiration for the printed word. The different colors I used for post backgrounds, fonts, links, etc. were indications of cohesion and stylistic awareness. I also wanted to show my value for the aesthetic. Put together, I wanted one to view my blog and think “That’s definitely Maria!”. (Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take before and after photos of my blog until this moment as I’m writing.)

            However, I knew my blog seemed very “texty.” Now that I think about it, the browns and blacks kind of made my blog literally look like a page out of a book. Sometimes brown and black could be intimidating, unwelcoming colors. I didn’t want my classmates to avoid reading my posts because my blog seemed strict, overly logical, or boring. I decided to redesign for a few reasons. The first being that even though I did like the original look, I still wasn’t completely satisfied with it. Another reason is that change is good! Changing styles or changing routines can be refreshing, educational, and beneficial. Lastly, I wanted my blog to appeal more to my classmates. My design should be easily accessible, welcoming, and, of course, representative of who I am.

            Now down to the details. I decided to go for a minimalistic look. I like simplicity. I think sometimes the simple, the basic, the natural can all have more impact than extravagance. I also wanted the freedom to choose my color scheme. I went with a mainly red, black, and white design because I actually love that color combination. (Fun fact: Part of the reason I chose to attend NIU was because of its school colors. I didn’t want to go to a university where I disliked its school colors and would have to see them constantly.) The color combo also matched my background image. The colors I chose allow one to easily read the available text. To me, the colors don’t seem to clash. Perhaps there is still a bit too much white in the background, but I can easily fix that if I decide.

            I also won’t hesitate to admit that I am not a huge fan of the default background images Blogger provides. Aside from the book one, I don’t see too many I like. For now, I decided upon the red telephone booths. Again, I have a few justifications for my choice. The main reason: my first choice did not work nicely with any layout. Believe me, I tried every layout option. My first choice was the image of Big Ben and red double-decker buses in motion. When I used that image, I either had WAY too much white in the background or the image was not shown in its entirety on the blog.

My second reason: it was the only other picture England-related. I still wanted my blog to show some type of personal interest. I have always, always, always wanted to travel to England. My love, interest, and admiration for England was probably inevitable. My Harry Potter obsession began when I was about nine years old; when I was eleven, I was introduced to The Beatles (now a majority of my favorite musicians are from England); my favorite actor is British (actually many of my favorite actors and actresses are); I love The Crown, Downton Abbey, Sherlock, The Great British Baking Show…you get the idea!!! Obviously, I could go on and on and on. I love to travel and I’ve been to about 28 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. I dream of traveling abroad, not just to England but throughout Europe and anywhere I desire. Of course, my classmates wouldn’t know that just by looking at telephone booths. However, to me the photo represents awareness of other places, travel, and culture. As I’ve read in the textbook, technical editing/writing may very well be international. I think it’s an exciting idea to picture oneself working with others from different places. I imagine that’s one of the most interesting and aspects of being a technical editor. With this perspective, the telephones also represent communication. Communication is obviously critical to producing successful technical documents. So I guess there are some logistics for my photo choice. Still, I may end up changing it anyways. But for now, I feel more confident in my blog and I hope my classmates will enjoy it as well!