04/26/08 – Yesterday morning (April 26, 2008), my muse whispered into my ear. Though she offered only the briefest glimpse of what was to come, I found myself at her mercy throughout the day. I spent my breaks and every extra moment designing, building and crafting a new WordPress theme for this site.
I’m calling this theme The Latest Post because I’ve designed it with one goal in mind: to emphasize my latest post with an eye towards featuring my content and fostering conversation. As its name implies, The Latest Post prominently displays my latest blog entry on the home page. Additionally, my aim is for the clean, understated design of this theme to give you easy access to my posts and invite your comments.
This change in design reflects a marked change from all of my previous personal sites. Since I design and build websites for a living, I’ve generally thought of my personal site as a place to showcase all of my talents. Through the years, the home page of my site has featured Flash applications, Pictures of the Day and links to many articles. However, as my use of the web has changed, I’ve realized that I need a website that integrates well with my daily interactions online.
During the past year I’ve started using Facebook, Flickr and Twitter. Much to my surprise, these web applications have not only allowed me to connect with old friends, but they have also been an avenue for making new friends. Since I’m getting more “social” on the web, I’ve redesigned my website to make it easier to access “me” (i.e. my thoughts and ideas). To that end, this theme features:
- an emphasis on readability:
- 600px wide fixed width “live” area results in approximately 15 to 17 words per line
- post pages feature only the post and its comments
- the home page features the most recent post along with two sidebars and tabs for miscellaneous content like Flickr and Twitter
- a clean, understated design that emphasizes my posts
My goal is to make this site a place you’ll visit often. As I share my thoughts on books, movies, friends, web design and life in general, I look forward to you sharing yours. If all goes as planned, I’m hoping that we can learn from each other.
If you’ve got time, I would love to hear what you think of the new design. Does it “work” for you? Did I achieve what I set out to do?
Most of all, thanks for dropping by. Be blessed.
-- Michael