July 14, 2011

Time For A Change ~ I Hope You Like It!















*Update*
Thanks everybody for your input in the comments.  As the blog's one year anniversary approaches I'm so feeling the need to freshen up my blog a bit.  Your comments are so appreciated and I value your opinions. 

I agree with NSARH.  My photos pop more on a black background and the dark background really showcases them better.  But I love my new logo too and wanted to incorporate it into the blog and it just looks so nice and crisp on the white.  As a compromise, I think I'll change the font color on Whimsical so that it will stand out on a dark background.  Hopefully, this will give me the best of both worlds ;) 

There is also a mosaic feature somewhere on Blogger that I will try to find and I'll add that as a page if I can so that readers seeking out more of my photography can check out that page. 

Please feel free to leave more thoughts and suggestions...I'm open to them.  I love the fluidity of a blog and that we can change it up as we feel the need.  Many of you are much more experienced with blogging and I welcome your thoughts.





28 comments:

  1. Very funky, great composition. You make me want to buy a decent camera!

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  2. Beautiful shots of those bright and sunny sunflowers Cat! They are huge!

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  3. Very nice! I like the updated look.

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  4. You would think your from Kansas. lol.

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  5. I like it -- very clean! The only thing I miss immediately: photos in the banner. I liked being able to see a selection of your great camera work on every page (even if it didn't change that often).

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  6. Wow, big change!!! First of all: I LOVE the font! Which one did you use? If you are going for a label your new header would work great for that! I did love the photos you always chose though.
    I also like to change the look of my blog once in a while ;-)
    See ya, Sandra

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  7. How lovely ... don't you just love sunflowers!

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  8. Beautiful photos and I love the new look!

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  9. I love the look but miss your beautiful seasonal photos on the top.

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  10. I like the new look Cat. The header says whimsy, even without the words.

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  11. Lovely sunflowers! And I like the lighting!

    Personal Opinion of the Blog Design:
    Naturally, I love the aesthetic! lol. But I think it's a bit of a mismatch with the overall aesthetic of your photography. Most of your photos are soft and dark and classy. The blog design is crisp and light and fun. Both are great to be honest, but I feel a clash in the story you're creating here. I liked the "dark" in your previous blog design. :)

    In the end, if you're pleased with the design and how it introduces and frames the content of your blog, then that's all that matters, and you should totally ignore me. :D

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  12. I am loving the new changes! Its so fun and fresh, a perfect compliment to your beautiful photos! It must feel like a new blog, how fun to change things up...LOVE it Cat!!

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  13. I love it! The sunflower arrangement is terrific, and your close-up photos highlight the beautiful details.

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  14. Hi Cat - I love the new design, especially your logo and the way you've organised the content. But ... I used to LOVE seeing your gorgeous photographs in the header.

    But I guess now we can focus all our attention on the photos in your posts - like the sunflowers that are once again, outstanding!

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  15. Nice design Cat. It really does say whimsy. It looks happy also. It will be instantly recognizable.

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  16. Thanks for all your suggestions and comments. I've added an update to the post in response.

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  17. Say, how do you do a update?

    Truthfully I too liked the dark background mo betta. But this style is more whimsical for sure, and meets that ideology better.

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  18. I also like your banner/logo, but it seems like everyone's bummed about the lack of photography. What if you photographed a fluffy dandelion or some other lollipop-shaped flower against a black background and used that for the "i" in whimsical? You could have a running theme where you could switch out the flower as you pleased and have something to meddle with as inspiration strikes. There are lots of possibilities in the plant world!

    Oh, and I don't know if you're already a font junkie, but if you aren't, I think you might become one. I love fonts. A lot. My favorite font haunts are 1001fonts.com and tackorama.net. So many gorgeous choices and very inspiring. I probably have 200 fonts in my vault excluding all the standard ones. I will also tweak fonts in graphics using Inkscape so I get the height and width and weight that I want without horrifying pixelation. And there are some awesome tutorials on YouTube for using Inkscape and making text pop. I need to adjust the font in my current "banner".

    BTW, I was checking on this post like mad crazy today because I was worried you would take what I said the wrong way. Phew! And the suggestions above are more sources for inspiration to get the creativity flowin' for an awesome solution that will satisfy your desire for change while showcasing and framing your awesome content.

    I'm still meddling with Blogger because I would like to have a layered background that covers the entire page, and I suspect the Watermark Template with the dandelion might be easy enough to tweak without digging too far into the CSS/HTML. Though I could be very, very wrong.

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  19. The header looks great on white, but photography usually doesn't pop as much. It is a choice you have to make... I find black background to be hard on the eyes, especially as I try to read the light colored fonts... So grey has been my compromise, but you should make your own decisions - let your individuality shine!

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  20. thanks for the info on updates cat. cheers

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  21. Hey cat! Got ur message about logo changes but I love how it looks already! I have some ideas as to how we can incorporate the "dark" that is spoken of, and photo banner while keeping the logo as is -- call me. Love ur blogs and photos! God gave u a beautiful talent. :)

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  22. I didn't know how to put it but I agree with NSARH. The dark backround worked better with you great great great photos ;-) I guess I was right about a label?! You have a greater plan, right? ;-)
    Take care, Sandra

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  23. Cat, congratulations on the upcoming one year! I too made some changes on my one year anniversary, felt like a good time to try something new. As you note, it's so wonderful now with Blogger, you can make changes quite easily and our blogs don't need to stay the same forever. As you grow and change your blog can change with you. The new logo is lovely, did you do this yourself? great job. I have to admit I'm biased against black on blogs, I find them hard to read so I'm liking the white. If white doesn't make the photos pop perhaps you can try another shade? cream? blogger lets you pick a colour and the shade of that colour now. so many possibilities.

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  24. @NSARH - no, not at all offended. I really welcome the feedback and am glad you felt comfortable being honest. Thank you ;)

    @Norma, awesome! I'll call you ;)

    Yes, Sandra, a greater plan!!!

    Thank you Marguerite. I worked with a very talented friend to create the logo and fortunately she is very patient!

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  25. I did a post on the mosaic views
    but I've never used it since that first trial.

    I hate to read on The Dark Side, those are the blogs I first skim, then avoid altogether. You could make the 'picture frame' thicker and darker, without making the words hard for us to read.

    Happy first blogaversary!!

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  26. Hi Cat,
    Wow, what a change! First of all, I like the new logo. It is playful and fun. I have always loved the subheader, "inspire. create. grow."
    As to the background...gosh, I hope you won't hate me, but I don't like the white. There is something about your photos makes them sing on the rich, black background. Black just works better. So sorry! I hate to be negative when I am really a big fan.
    Congratulations on almost reaching the one year mark. You have shown an amazing body of art work in this one short year.

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  27. No matter what the background, your photos are always beautiful!

    Congrats on your 1 year!

    Laura

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  28. I agree with some of the commenters that I liked the black background better to showcase your photos ... I like the suggestion about using a photograph of a flower for the "i" in whimsical ...

    Thanks for sharing your thought process about the redesign. I'm tempted to redesign my blog again, but am trying not to keep changing it so that readers know what to expect. The problem is there are so many beautiful blogs (like yours) that I get blog envy!

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