Mathew's comments - Latest Comments in Let me know what you think

Re: Let me know what you think

Alex Beamish — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 08:45:44 -0000

I read your blog via RSS (yay Google Reader), so I normally get just the text. So this time I did pop by to have a look at the design. It seems to missing a visual element -- there's no top, there's just white stuff in the middle and gray on both sides.

If it were my blog (like I'd be able to write something every day -- ha!) or even my web page, I'd make the top portion light blue to frame the content. To me, that would be 'minimalist' design -- I think the current design is less than minimalist.

Re: Let me know what you think

Mathew — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 19:12:33 -0000

Thanks, Mike -- that's what I thought too.

And thanks to everyone for all the helpful comments. I'm going to add a "theme switcher" to the sidebar so everyone can choose whichever theme they like :-)

Re: Let me know what you think

Mike Allan — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:18:29 -0000

I liked the old "cutline", but this new lorem epsom is perfect for you. I think it brings your persona to the forefront, you are a newspaperman writing a blog, and this design reinforces that to me.

Re: Let me know what you think

Mich — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:09:59 -0000

The ads and feeds seem sporadic, making it look busy. So much so, that everything on the right is a blur. *On the main page, with 5 or so entries, it's less noticeable. But once you click 'more' and go to one entry per page, it kills it.

I'm wondering if you could tweak everything on the right so it's either sectioned somehow, or uses smaller fonts, the same font, or similar colors – something to help those guys sink in the background yet seem organized. [Maybe you could kill some of the features by adopting a 'quick links' column and calling it a day.

Also, I'd rather see 'recent posts' than 'recent comments' at the tip top. I care more about what you write than what others say. Especially when I'm on your site.

Best,

Re: Let me know what you think

engtech — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:55:16 -0000

ditto the "meh, I read it in Google Reader" :)

Re: Let me know what you think

Rod — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:56:52 -0000

I like the new look. Admittedly I use a feed reader to get my info, though, but I did click through to give the site a look. Take that for what it's worth...

Re: Let me know what you think

Stuart MacDonald — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:41:50 -0000

What's a blog? ;)

Re: Let me know what you think

Steven Hodson — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:30:05 -0000

I can understand the need for the 3col design but for some reason this design feels scrunched up with the extra's (sidebars) taking up more space than the content

Re: Let me know what you think

Frederic — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:16:20 -0000

Like most people here, I read your blog in my RSS reader, so the layout doesn't matter to much to me.

Having said that, I still prefer the old one, mostly because it seemed less busy for some reason. Maybe its the colors of the widgets clashing with this very clean, white theme.

I was also never much of a fan of the two sidebards on the right. Distracts from the text too much.
Just my two cents. :)

Re: Let me know what you think

Mukund Mohan — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:06:50 -0000

Mathew
Maybe a wrong comment, but I *NEVER* visit your blog. I read your content daily. I dont understand why people spend time on getting their blog design "right". I have the right blog design already - its called Google reader.

But you do write well.

Re: Let me know what you think

Mathew — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:37:32 -0000

Thanks, er... Dead :-) I think it looks newspapery too -- on the other hand, given the state of the industry, maybe that's not such a good thing.

And thanks for the props, Leigh. I'm glad someone likes the baby photo :-)

Just to be clear though, we're only talking about the blog theme -- the baby photo on the homepage is non-negotiable.

Re: Let me know what you think

Dead Robot — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:16:19 -0000

I'm not a real big fan of this style for personal blogs: people have a tendency to fill up the white space in the columns with useless self-important widgets about cats that just slow load times.

But for a tech writer, it works. Trez newspapery.

Re: Let me know what you think

Leigh — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:01:19 -0000

Welcome to the wonderful world of web design. No matter what you change, people get all freaky about it. Personally I don't care as long as:

1. It's readable
2. You keep that cute little photo of you as a baby on your home page

(number 2 should be read in a really annoying baby talk like voice to get the most impact)