Simply Amusing Designs

Often during the months of January and February, I receive many inquiries and requests for blog and website redesigns. It seems the New Year brings with it a desire for change and what better place to start than your home on the web? However, before you decide on a redesign, there are some things you should consider:

1. Begin with the end in mind.
What is the purpose of this redesign? What do you want your end result to be? A more aesthetically pleasing site? More readers? Draw advertisers? Or do you want to make some improvements in the design flow that will eventually convert visitors to new subscribers?

2. Write it down.
You are 10 times more likely to achieve a goal when you write it down. Do you have a well thought-out strategy? Have you researched others in your niche to see what their sites look like so that you can ensure that yours looks better? Have you asked your readers (a poll) what features they’d like to see on your site? Have you thought about what you like about your current site and how you can expand on those features?

3. Be consistent with your mission statement.
Your goals should reflect your personal mission in life – otherwise, the conflict you’ll cause will keep you from achieving your goal.

4. Set a timeline for when you’d like to see the changes implemented.
Keep in mind that most small web and blog designers are booked 6-8 weeks out and don’t be unrealistic in your timeline. Everyone wants their site yesterday – this is nothing new to us.

5. Plan thoroughly.
Details, details, details. Sign up for Evernote.com and start a file called “Site redesign”. Store your thoughts and ideas for the redesign there. Grab screen clippings, articles, notes, etc. and store them in one central place to show your designer.

The more information you have ready, the faster the actual design process will go. Communicate with your designer about specifics – never assume they “get you” just because they seem to speak your language. Images and inspiration websites will go a long way toward helping your designer give you what you want. Be open to receiving new ideas from your web designer – often something has been done to death and he or she wants to save you from making that same mistake.

The best advice anyone ever gave me when it came to setting goals was the following:

Get a goal, get a plan, and get started.

Encouraging you to do the same in this new year – looking forward to partnering with you in success!

Karen

February – the month of love! I chose to use one of my favorite Scriptures pertaining to love from 1 Cor 13:4 – if I could remember this more often, I’d be doing well.  Read more.. »

I’ve been drooling over the desktop calendars that Smashing Magazine highlights and have wanted to make one of my own for the last year. This challenge has given me a good excuse – although mine is a far cry from the ones that are showcased there.

This was created in Photoshop CS3 using a gradient for the background, a vector line brush for the starburst effect, Plain Doodle Tags Brush by Pixels and Ice Cream, and the elephant was a Sketchbook Scribble Brush by Invisible Snow on Deviant Art.

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Client: Jacqueline Whitmore – A Custom WordPress Theme
Release Date: December 2009
Website: Jacqueline Whitmore, Etiquette Expert

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Client: The Preacher’s Wife – A Custom WordPress Template
Release Date: November 2009
Website: The Preacher’s Wife Read more.. »

Client: Book Blab Blog
Release Date: December 2009
Website: Book Blab Read more.. »

I’m so excited about this challenge brought forth by Smashing Magazine.

As designers, we’re all trying to get better at what we do. We surf the Web daily for hours trying to find useful tips and tricks to enhance our design skills. But what if we spent less time surfing the Web looking for inspiration and more time creating and designing things?

Read more.. »

It’s that time of year – I’m wrapping up more than just presents. I’ll be spending the next couple of months clearing out my existing queue and learning some new techniques in web design.

*For my existing clients – feel free to contact me via email should you need anything – I’m always here for you!

Cheers,

Karen

*photo credits

A richly-colored holiday background for your blogger blog. This background works best with a 2-column blog, as the outer width is 780 pixels. You’ll need to set your content width to around 750px to achieve this look. Read more.. »

A bright palette of bubblebum pinks, vivid blues and warm browns combined with stripes, dots and a funky logo shape are what make this hip and happy retro 3 column custom design really stand out.

Created for either a Blogger or Wordpress (self-hosted only) blog, this theme can be customized with your own logo, tagline , signature,  sidebar titles (up to 10) and comes complete with installation that will include ad space and widget functionality. Read more.. »

A sweet holiday background to carry you through December and on into January. This background works best with a 2-column blog, as the outer width is 800 pixels. You’ll need to set your content width to around 770px to achieve this look. Read more.. »

Maybe you’ve heard about the recent Brute Force Attacks that have been happening to some Wordpress admin accounts.

Basically, a brute force attack is a script that tries to continually guess the user’s admin name and password — it runs continuously until it is successful in hacking your account, and once it’s hacked, the script notifies the hacker who then changes your password and takes control of your Wordpress blog or site.

How can you protect yourself against a brute force attack? Actually, there are a few simple things you can do to strengthen your security. Read more.. »

When I first began my business, I had the pleasure of designing a blog called “The Broke Socialite” for a very discerning and talented client I’ll call Mrs. S. She describes herself as an extraordinary, upwardly mobile, thirty-something Renaissance woman. She’s a loving wife, dedicated daughter, loyal sister, cool step-mom and consummate girlfriend— who prefers the fabulousness of life. Read more.. »

If you’ve emailed me and not received a reply, there’s a good reason — I promise.

Dreamhost, who hosts my website experienced a major crash on several of their servers this week and had to build new hardware in order to move existing clients to a more stable server.

This affected mail servers, FTP, and web clients — which is why the site has been down for approximately two days. Read more.. »

Not quite ready to give in to the Fall look yet? Here’s a fresh, citrus floral that would look terrific on your three column blogger blog!

Click the image for a larger preview:
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As promised, I’ll start offering completely FREE premade designs for blogger and wordpress over the next few months. Here’s October’s offering – a Shabby Chic Halloween Design that’s all treat — I promise.

Click on the image for a larger preview. Read more.. »