Remember when I had a beard? Man, it was one hell of a bushy beard!
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Thanks to the brilliant an eccentric Mr. Phillip J. Rhoades for such an portrayal of devotion. So, how’s the likeness?
Some may seem more apparent than others, but bloggers continue to make a plethora of blunders as blogs become essential for both personal and professional use. Alana Brooks of Likeable recently wrote an article about basic blogging mistakes to avoid. She notes that “In addition to having truly stellar blog content, bloggers need to consider the look and feel of their blog.” This is exceptionally important because many bloggers rely solely on intelligent subject matter disregarding marketing techniques to draw in more viewers and followers.
Adding a soundtrack, overly colorful backgrounds and unreadable fonts are all to be avoided. A soundtrack is inappropriate especially if a site is being accessed in an office or professional environment. Additionally Brooks points out that viewers are most likely already listening to their own music, and yours will only interrupt them.
Backgrounds that are overly bright or dark can be daunting. Your subject matter should speak for itself and be supported by a flattering background. Keep your font scheme in mind, you should not have to wear sunglasses to read a blog post. Ensure that your font choice is easily identifying from at least a foot back. If your readers have to squint to understand your content, they most likely won’t want to download your RSS feed or regularly check back.
Brooks targets centered paragraphs as inferior to other text structures. I agree that they’re not as professional, but they’re not a code red mistake. Justified text is easier to read and more optimal for photo placement, but depending on your content, centered paragraphs may be justified by your brand.
Brooks and I are on the same page though when it comes to clutter. It’s the first way to check a blog off as immature or unprofessional. Sparkles, flash ads and an overload of buttons are a huge turn-off to visitors. A simple solution is to create a drop down menu or even move them to a separate page.
These are design aspects that it’s important to properly research. They don’t hide technical flaws or a lower quality of writing. They take blogs to the next level and make them easier to market but remember that content is the most important aspect of a blog, no matter what its mission.
If you noticed, Facebook’s home page is simple and very clean. A simple lay-out that we see everyday over and over again. You may not see some cool effects and high tech graphics, but a lot of us are still addicted to it. The article “Is It Time For A Facebook Redesign?” in PSFK.com states:
In a recent article, Washington Post art critic Blake Gopnik calculated that people have spent more time looking at the Facebook home page since its creation in 2004, than they have looking at Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” in the 500 years since its painting. The Post then invited renowned firm Bruce Mau Design to conceptualize a Facebook facelift (pictured above) to re-imagine the functionality of the site. BMD came back not only with a much more aesthetically pleasing interface, but also one that attempts to augment the way that we use the site. Their “new look” placed a higher emphasis on images, fewer status updates to moderate “addiction,” and also provided users with more direct ways of getting in “real” contact with their friends through a section of the page devoted specifically to voice/SMS/or video chat.
In my opinion, Facebook does not need to change its appearance as of the moment. What’s important is that it can provide its users with sleek and elegant function. Personally, I like how it looks now, it’s convenient, easy to use, and easy to navigate.
The best thing about my life is that I am the least awesome and noteworthy of all of my friends. Here is by buddy Oliver Uberti at the recent TEDxNASA doing a design and art presentation called “Smash The Design Button” — he’s a designer and artist for the National Geographic Magazine — enjoy!