So I’m in a bit of a quandary, and was wondering if you could help?

I’m about to update the look and feel of my blog, as Lisa from SceneStealer Graphics finalizes some design tweaks over at my development area. It’s been a long road for Lisa, as she’s had to work around some of the Headway theme’s quirks and programming.

But it’s almost ready to be switched on.

However…

I’m now toying with the idea of a more minimalist look here (sorry Lisa!). I’ve always liked the uncluttered feel of websites and blogs like Presentation Zen, and Ari Herzog’s recent minimalist redesign struck a chord with me.

I started looking for designs I liked, and came across this one (click on image to expand):

So, my quandary is this. Do I continue with the design as it currently is, with Lisa’s cool enhancements (and they are very cool!) or do I go with the minimalist look?

What’s your take? Share your thoughts below – after all, at the end of the day, you’re the guys who keep coming here to read. So the design needs to be as pleasant for you as possible.

Cheers!

Note: This blog no longer runs on the Headway framework. Instead, it’s a custom WordPress design by Lisa Kalandjian of SceneStealer Graphics.

All Your Blog Redesign Are Belong to Us originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

Out goes the blue and orange feel, and in comes a bolder, fresher look with cleaner lines and a nice mix of red, white and grey. It’s a colour scheme I’ve always liked and forms the design basis behind both Bonsai Interactive and the SRM Group.

The awesome logo and banner (and the mix of the colour scheme) is by the hugely talented Lisa Kalandjian of SceneStealer Graphics over in L.A. Lisa is also doing some more design work for the blog – this is just part one, and is the combination of Lisa’s graphic ideas and me overhauling the old design with this one, thanks to the Headway theme, on Sunday afternoon.

Having seen what Lisa has in store for the second part, I’m looking forward to sharing the final look with you – it’s definitely quite funky! And if you need any WordPress design work, make sure you pop on over to check Lisa and her work out.

What do you think of the new look? Love to hear your feedback!

Note: This blog no longer runs on the Headway framework. Instead, it’s a custom WordPress design by Lisa Kalandjian of SceneStealer Graphics.

Blog Design Revamp Part 1 originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

I’ve been toying with the idea recently of redesigning the old blog. Don’t get me wrong – I like the way it looks now and how it feels.

Yet I’m often antsy, always wanting to change something here or fiddle with something there. To that end, I had been looking at changing the design to one that has more defined typography, and visually-led.

Since you guys are here as often as I am, I like to take your thoughts into consideration too. After all, this is pretty much your home as much as it is mine. So, with that being said, I’d like to know what you think. Should I change or stay the same?

Over to you.

A Quick Question on How This Blog Looks originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

While I’m a big fan of Chris Pearson’s Thesis, I found it wasn’t quite so user-friendly for making major design changes (unless you were a decent level of coder). Because of this, many of the blogs using Thesis have a very similar look. Enter Headway.

Developed by Clay Griffiths, Headway takes some of the best ideas from Thesis, adds a whole bunch more, and mixes it all together in a powerhouse WordPress theme. Ideal for everyday WordPress users as well as intermediate and advanced coders, it’s one of the most flexible themes I’ve ever used.

I’ve only just started customizing my blog and already I love the way each page has a different feel. When I really get to work expect some real changes! (Note: the redesign took me around 6 hours from basic framework to fully customized, with no CSS or HTML coding – this is all from out of the box).

Some of the features include:

• Drag and drop design.
• No two pages the same.
• SEO customization on no-index, no-follow, do-follow, meta, tags, posts and pages (everything, then!).
• Unique “Leafs” system that lets you add text, media and widget boxes on the fly.
• Easy visual color and font editor for making your own completely personalized skins.
• In-house Twitter synchronization and social network options.

I could keep writing about how cool Headway is, but you’d get really bored of my praise, I’m sure. Instead, check out the Headway site, watch the videos, and check the theme out for yourself. Or, mosey round my blog and see the different designs for different pages.

Just a note. Since I’m a Headway affiliate, any sales of the theme result in a percentage for me. So, here’s a deal – for any theme ever purchased through one of my links or banners, I will donate 50% of the affiliate payment to the current 12for12k charity in your name. Sound fair?

• Update Tuesday November 3 – the game just changed radically with Headway 1.5 and its visual editor. Check out all the details here.

Note: This blog no longer runs on the Headway framework. Instead, it’s a custom WordPress design by Lisa Kalandjian of SceneStealer Graphics.

Making the Switch to Headway originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

For regular readers of this blog, you’ve probably noticed the change in design. Again. Despite the previous one being in use for less than a month. So my apologies for any confusion – I swear I’m not going through an identity crisis!

Unfortunately, while I did like the design of the previous theme, there were some compatibility issues with some of the plug-ins that I use. These couldn’t be worked around, so the result is what you see now. I hope you like it.

Of course, subconsciously the re-design may have something to do with the fact that I just helped my wife get her blog up-and-running. While she’s had a couple of blogs prior to her new one, this is her first self-hosted one. Seeing it all come together was the impetus I needed to look at my own, as well as the fact the plug-in issues needed to be resolved.

You should check it out – she’s got a far sharper mind than I have and she has some interesting ways of putting her views across…

So there you go. New design but still same old me, and competition from my wife for readers – just another day in the life.

Thanks for your patience while I keep dabbling to get a fixed abode – I think this one’s a keeper!

Competition and Changes originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.