Okay, this is what the new blog template looks like as of today. Better?
The header image, BTW, is a manipulated and arty-fied version of one of the shots I took on the day of the circular rainbows (actually halos, as I eventually learned, along with three or four related — and magnificent — celestial effects).
I won’t be blogging at the new site until probably late August, and at that point I’ll most likely double blog the same content here and there for a while to give readers time to make the transition. Just so you’ll know …
I like it much better than the solid color version before.
I think I will have to go with the contingent that would move the word blog farther right to behind the om in freedom.
Just my two cents.
stay safe,
capn — Sigh, I knew somebody would say that. Yep, I understand that there’s a tendency to read it as “living blog freedom” in its present arrangement. But it LOOKS better that way and I’m stickin’ with it. I might still ask HWFIW to do a further modification of it because he’s the one who possesses the layered graphic and can move things around. But whatever we do, the word “blog” isn’t likely to be appended at the end. It’s art.
I like this a lot. Is it my imagination, or is a part of the “halo” showing? The pinkish tinge softens the top just right.
Is it necessary to say “blog” at all? (You’re right, it does balance it nicely, but it just doesn’t read right.)
Pat — Not your imagination. The pinkish tinge is part of the lower halo that appeared that day. I’d like it to show a little more than it does, but I do like the way it underlines the blog title.
I like it. It has a feeling of Serenity.
Having the “blog” angled like it is sets it apart from “Living Freedom”, IMHO. No problemo.
I like the picture. You don’t even need the Chinese character for “Serenity.”
If you leave “blog” where it is, it might be better to use a different font. Something that says, “art,” for those of us who aren’t very artistic.
I, too, read it as “Living Blog Freedom”, which would ordinarily be no big deal except I was traumatized as a child by the “Eat Kids Free” sign outside a Holiday Inn. I still travel with janitorial supplies in case I encounter a “Clean Restrooms” sign.
@RG: I don’t want to know what happens when you encounter a “wet floor” sign.
Looking good.
@Jed, I was very offended on my kids’ behalf when the county put the “SLOW CHILDREN PLAYING” sign near my house.
Much better colors!
I get what you’re trying to do with the Living blog Freedom logo, but I think it would work better if the word “blog” were about 75 percent larger, somewhat paler / lower contrast, and moved (at the same angle) down and to the left so that it starts horizontally about where the first “i” in Living does, and is obscured by the letters in “Living Freedom”, with adjustment in the exact position so that the word “blog” can still be made out. Right now it looks like the word “blog” was put in at the last minute after being left out by mistake. Everything else – colors, composition, and background image – looks great.
Just ditch “blog” entirely, unless there’s some legally protective reason to keep it. In that case then, move and then shrink it.
I, too, think it’s a huge improvement. I don’t know why the word blog has to be there; perhaps a lot of other blogs do it also, but I’m not able to think of ever having seen it before.
I’m thinking that having the placeholder post where it currently is makes things appear a little cluttered. I think if you brought it down to the level of the one with your picture it would give more of an impression of openness with more sky showing as well as making your (iconic) picture more visually prominent. I first thought both should be immediately below the scenery; but if you want them to intrude on the picture of “freedom” to draw attention to them, then it will be fine if they only come in to it a little. I just blew it up to get a sense of what a full size would be like, perhaps if you dropped the left side down and cut the height difference between the two in half, it would work.
I can’t really tell what the background color is below the picture, but it looks like it might be gray. I don’t believe a pure gray goes well with the blue sky. Also, I think the background for the text ought to be a slightly off white. Looking at Carole Jackson’s Color Me Beautiful, https://www.amazon.com/Color-Me-Beautiful-Carole-Jackson/dp/0345345886/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470013316&sr=1-1&keywords=color+me+beautiful she has a “soft white” for the white and a “light blue-gray” as another of the “summer” colors. For the overall background, I believe a light blue-gray might work well, and for the text background, a slightly- off white would do well.
The color you have chosen for the word “freedom” and the title of a posting doesn’t fit with Jackson’s summer colors (the trees might not either), but FWIW I like it.
Anyway, hope this is of some help.
I like it; it does give a serene impression. But I’ll join the chorus of those who aren’t happy with “blog”. There are a lot of good ideas about that here in the comments, or you might just move it below the word “Freedom” rather than above it.
Anyway, I’m sure we’ll all be happy with whatever you end up with. As long as there’s a blog!
I forgot to ask: why isn’t your name in the template, as it is in the current one?
BTW, I like the draft much more than the current blog header. I know it’s a sunset (sunrise?), but it always makes me think of a raging forest fire. Just sayin’.
My apologies for not having time to participate in this thread. But I’ve been reading and thinking.
I do like trying2b’s idea of enlarging the word “blog” and kind of fading it into the background. That might work.
There’s no legal reason I need that word there, but there is a practical one. If the fundraiser makes goal, then the blog will be only part of a larger site, and I want it clearly identifiable. Similarly, it doesn’t have my name because the whole site already will have my name on it.
There are certain other things I can’t change (e.g. the first post is designed to go up into the header and that can’t be revised without coding skills; besides which, I actually like that feature).
Bottom line, though: you’re helping. Thanks.
Can you angle the word “Freedom” (like “blog” is angled), and put a smaller “blog” along the top of the placeholder, next to the tree? (In fact, put the name of each page/link along the top of the placeholder.) Of course that would drape “freedom” across the halo, but not much of it would cover, and we might see the halo better for what it is.