Easter is all about Jesus rising from the dead, right? Well, what better way to celebrate the risen Lord than a slight re-design of Fluid Imagination?
Is that blasphemy? Very well. I’m a blasphemer.
As you can see, I haven’t made too many changes to the design. I’ve kept the background color the same, but adjusted all the others, working from a palette I found over at ColourLovers.com entitled, “2 From The Top.”
I also commissioned Shawn (a.k.a Stumpy) to give the Fluid Imagination logo it’s first major redesign in almost four years. I had to change some of the colors that he originally used, because in the midst of the redesign, after he sent me the new logo, I decided to change the whole color palette, but the basic design is all him. And it was worth every penny ;-)
Outside of the aesthetic modifications, there is one major change that should influence the way you read the site. I’ve decided to do away with the Sideblog, also know as the “Asides.” I haven’t got rid of them as a whole, but I have moved them out of the sidebar and into the main section of the page…i.e., they’ll show up in the space you’re reading now.
I’ve done this for three reasons:
- It makes it easier to read the site chronologically: the newest post — no matter the category — is now listed at the top of the page.
- Without a Sideblog, the site can go down to two columns: a main section and a sidebar.
- With less people posting and my inability to write a long-ish original post on a regular basis, the site looked stale despite the fact that I was publishing at least three Aside posts every day. By bringing them into the main section of the site, this design better represents the daily activity of Fluid Imagination.
So, how can you spot an Aside? First, there is no space to the left side of the content, and therefore, no category icon and no meta-info. The text runs from the left side of the page to the right. No stopping. Also, the font size is smaller than a regular post, and their headlines aren’t quite as bold. Put simply, Asides don’t look like regular Fluid Imagination posts.
Some other small changes: the Twitter status is back to the cool, Flash driven format; the “Now Reading” widget now shows the number of books I’ve read over the past year; and the “Now Listening” widget has returned (though not in a cool, Flash driven format like Twitter’s because Last.fm won’t let you edit the width of its Flash widget).
As always, there will probably be some tweaking over the next few days (the spacing on lists and blockquotes, for example), so uf you see something that looks amiss or something that you think could look better, by all means, let me know — and if your advice sticks to the color palette above, there’s a damn good chance we’ll try it out.
Well, I think that’s it. I hope you’ll leave a comment telling me what you think.
Welcome to the new Fluid Imagination!
17 Comments
I can actually say that I think this is the best “re-skin” you’ve done in the past couple years. love the color pallette, layout and, of course, the logo…
Anyone else think this looks like a bulging, purple, melting penis?
the logo, that is.
hahahaha it’s like a fondu penis. Besides that I like the new skin.
Oooh…you’re gonna take that Shawn?
Also, now that I see what the comment section looks like with a bunch of comments on it, I might need to add some kind of visual break between the comments. I’ll have to think about that.
Oh…and you see how my name has a little “AUTHOR” badge next to it? If you Log In (using the Meta tools in the sidebar), you’ll get yourself a little “MEMBER” badge, and then you too can be cooler than school.
what’s wrong with a little bulging purple penis?
Kyle is the one who approved the design…
It’s ridiculous
Well Shawn, if you want to make any edits based on Adam’s and Justin’s comments, feel free to shoot them over.
This site was just blocked from my work network, based strictly on the pornagraphic logo…..thus eliminating any chance of a rebirth of TSOA…..
It is, IT IS A PENIS! That is my first thought.
Second, love the color scheme.
Third, Kyle better be coming to my wedding. Even if the Alaska scene is spent.
All right, Shawn…three votes against the thinking man/penis.
Any other logo ideas?
Just say when and where on the wedding.
July 18, 2009
Anchorage, AK
be there.
i actually think it resembles the thinking man… - only… - it’s not its fist that’s pressed against its mouth… - yeah… - i said it… - it looks like a little purple dude sitting on a nipple - cradling its balls and suckling on its wienershnitz…
What, no comments about the new logo?
i like it… - even though it looks like someone who is about to put a finger in a giant butthole…
Oooooohhh…it’s like so, like philisophical.
;0)
Not bad!