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

As always, I’d love to hear from you in the comments  whether you download it or not — I’ve got another 10 months left in the year and — and love to hear your feedback.

Here are Your Download Links:

(note: Please right-click on the image and save-as to your desktop – or you can right-click and apply as desktop wallpaper )

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.

It took me about 20 minutes to make once I decided on a color scheme. That’s always the hardest part for me — so many delicious colors to choose from. I’m including 3 download links for the three different sizes that are available.

{I’m taking part in Smashing Magazine’s Daily Design Challenge. This post is cross-posted on the Daily Designing Blog, along with 24 other talented designers and developers. We’re stretching ourselves and our ability to create and learn new things this year. Follow along with me as I learn something new daily!}

I’d love to hear from you in the comments  whether you download it or not — I’ve got another 362 days left in the year and need some additional project ideas — and of course, your feedback is always appreciated.

Here are Your Download Links:

(note: Please right-click on the image and save-as to your desktop – or you can right-click and apply as desktop wallpaper )

• Jan Calendar 800x600 (47)

• Jan Calendar 1280 x 1024 (147)

• Jan Calendar 1920 x 1440 (77)

Screenshot

Info: When Jacqueline Whitmore, who is one of America’s foremost authorities on Etiquette and Business Protocol (and is on just about every major news network this time of year answering questions about etiquette) approached me about a blog design for her existing WordPress blog, I was excited to have the opportunity to work with her.

Her existing blog was one that had actually been imported from a blogger blog she used prior to June of this year. Because her blog and design had been imported by her hosting service from blogger, very little was working. She couldn’t install plugins, (the way the site was set up didn’t support them), couldn’t add or change categories, couldn’t receive comments, couldn’t use a permalink (her blog post’s actual address on the web) — and the list goes on.

Needless to say, there was a lot wrong with her old blog, not so much in terms of design (it was a bit impersonal and business-y), but more so in terms of structure and useability.

So we started from scratch with a clean new design that was coded to meet web standards and included some really neat functions. The home page is sleek and clean, posts are excerpted using the “read more…” link, and there’s an uber cool {Share This} link on the main page that opens the post to the exact place where the social media and related posts are. This is the home page preview of the link section:

And this is what it looks like once the {Share This} link is activated:

This is what Jacqueline had to say about her experience working with me:

Thank you, Karen, for designing an extraordinary blog for me! I have
received many compliments from my friends, colleagues and peers. You were
able to capture the essence of my personality and still maintain a
professional look and feel. I applaud you for your tenacity, patience and
willingness to go above and beyond my expectations! It is a pleasure to
work with someone of your caliber! I look forward to working with you on
other projects in the near future!

With gratitude,
Jacqueline Whitmore
Author of Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work
Founder, The Protocol School of Palm Beach, Inc.
http://www.jacquelinewhitmore.com

Client: The Preacher’s Wife – A Custom WordPress Template
Release Date: November 2009
Website: The Preacher’s Wife Screenshot

Info: Lisa is a fellow preacher’s wife and bloggy friend who contacted me when she saw this blog design (a mockup that wasn’t quite right for one of my other clients) for sale on my site. She wanted to combine her ministry website with her blog, but had never quite been able to figure out how she wanted to do it. After discussing the options available, she decided to just go for it and had me add some drop down nav links with her nav bar so she’d have room for all of her ministry links.

I added her lovely photo in the header and customized it a bit for her WordPress blog using the Facelift Image Replacement plugin for her post titles and she was set to go.

My favorite part? Her quote left on my Facebook Business page sums it up quite nicely:

Can’t say enough how happy I am with this blog. By far my favorite of all time.

Info: Lisa contacted me recently to see what I could do to help her spruce up her Book Review Blog, where she not only reviews books, but also interviews authors and hosts sponsored book giveaways.

She wanted something warm and inviting, yet still fun and whimsical. She located an iStock image that she loved, but the color palette was far too bright for the look we were going for. So, I muted the book colors, changed the color of her shirt, and purchased additional book images, as well as one of a cute sleeping kitty to rest atop her book pile.

She said her new design fits her perfectly and it was just what she was looking for – in fact, she stated on her blog,

I keep clicking on it and staring at it in total awe.

Now, THAT makes me happy! Thanks, Lisa — for being so much fun to work with!

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?

I’ll be the first to admit, it’s far too easy to get caught up surfing the web for inspiration than it is to actually just *create*.  The problem with using ‘inspiration’ is that it usually leads to designing something that looks like someone else made it, as opposed to being true to your own style.

Design Something Every Day Challenge

As a creative type, there have been so many things I want to learn how to do, both in web and graphic design, but I just don’t feel that I have the time — when the sad truth is, I just don’t make the time for some of those things unless it’s absolutely necessary.

I will schedule at least (but no more) than 15-20 minutes a day in my daily workflow to  create something. It might not get finished, and it may not be polished, but the point is that I will spend 15 minutes just being creative and hopefully it will help me become a better designer. I might sketch something, I might design something in illustrator, or I might even use this as a way to give away some freebies (like desktop backgrounds, calendars, or blog backgrounds) — who knows? I’ll share my projects  with you along the way and maybe you’ll see me progress into becoming a better designer. At least I hope so!

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

Click the image for a larger preview:

This is totally free for your personal use only and not to be redistributed.

Here’s your download link:

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.

This design is only available as a one-time purchase – it will be hand-coded for your blog and will not be resold by Simply Amusing Designs.

Please Contact Me for a full preview of this fun blog and pricing details.