Blog Design Review

Hey everybody... I recently did a revision of the design on my blog. I call it a revision more than a redesign as I just did some aesthetic work: added 3rd column, revised header, revised comments header, adjusted sidebar content.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the overall look and use of the site. Is it a worthwhile site in your opinion? What could I do to make it better? Right now I'm getting around 15,000 visitors per month so I'd really like to capture that traffic in a good way.

Just in case you didn't see above, here's the link: http://vernonkesner.com.

Thanks!

38 views and not a single comment? I really would love to hear what you think. I'm not trying to be pushy here at all (plain text doesn't do emotion well) I just want to hear what others think about it. Thanks again!

I think it would be nice if the colours were better. You've some very dull colours, one of which looks like something a drunk lets out after a hard night on the town.

I was so wanting your second name to be Kay :P

lol... okay... the colors. Thanks a lot for your comment. The colors are definitely something I'm open to changing. Any suggestions? I tend to like split-complement type schemes, but I'm always open to different ideas.

are you relying on colour generators? don't stick to them too strictly. use them more as guides. they don't have context which is what makes or breaks the scheme. those shades mathematically work together, but not in this context.

overall this has potential, but it's lacking polish. for instance, the first thing i noticed (other than colours) is that your main column has shadow on only one side - you're not trying to implement a light source, so theoretically it's coming from straight above which would cast a shadow on both sides, not just one. and how come the other two columns aren't stacked? seems like if you do it to one, you should do it to all. also, the header bar as no depth/shading. if the main column is indeed on another level depthwise, it should cast a shadow onto that bar as well. those kinds of inconsistencies can be what kills a design.

next thing i noticed was the colours. the base of your scheme is cool colours. you have blue, green and grey as the primary pallette. then brown gets thrown in the mix. it's only used against the grey background, which makes very little contrast. to the point i question why use it? that would be the perfect spot for something strong like that green. i'd also suggest lightening the bg colour so it doesn't wash out the header bar so much.

next, work on you spacing. everything is really tight - with a blog and content being the key element, give it some room to breathe. your margins are also varying sizes. your left margin isn't the same size as your right, it's maybe half. could be the image, or it could be the code, but you should straighten that out. and i would look at indenting both margins of the quote and not just one. the balance gets tipsy imo when you only offset the one side. your update box should also line up with your title bars.

last issue is your photo. i don't like the glow on it. everything else on your site has hard crisp edges and then there's this soft fuzzy border. try doing a solid stroke instead.

all in all it's a start, but i think you'll notice a big improvement if you focus on those little things when you design.

derek... amazing comments! I'm with you on every piece. Thanks a lot for your input.

Okay... I've taken the comments and have actually implemented a total redesign. I'd really love to hear your thoughts on the changes... http://vernonkesner.com

the green color is really unpleasant i think, make it dark blue or something and remove the pattern thing you're using, it doesnt look good .. add a texture to your picture, where you header is and make it fade in a circle or in both sides, so that the headline bg is textured only ..

Thanks for your thoughts... I'm pretty much sticking with the colors for now I think (make sure you've looked at the redesign since 3/26/08 though). I can't imagine the header just being a solid color, I opted for the lines instead of a gradient.

What do you guys/gals think about changing the lines from diagonal to vertical though? May be cool?

I like it looks nice and clean to me.

P.S from Southern MD