Web design is frustrating the hell out of me. Particularly, I expect, because it's what I used to do for a living, so I'm probably extra aggravated when presented with one of the two options
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I have heard good things about the Genesis framework for Wordpress. ( Ilona Andrews use it, as does Moira Rogers.) I haven't tried it myself, though :)
If it doesn't have to be done by the end of the month (Because I have about 3 things that need to be, none of which are yet), I can probably put one together for you. Pick some colors (and if you want specifics in mind, like vines, or stars, or whatever, that'd be handy to know) and how many columns you need (I lean towards 2, with the second being a thin navigation column/twitter feed, but not everyone likes that), and I'll see what I can do once the year rolls over. I have to make one for this blog project I'm doing anyway, so might as well do 2 at once.
While I'd like it done by the end of the month, I don't really think that's going to happen. :) I'm still trying to figure out how I'm handling this, so I'll keep your offer in mind...
I was very unhappy with the plethora of 'magazine' style designs that were all all all focused on images, because when writing and producing Nightlights I didn't have images. I eventually just left that part blank, with a broken image that few people noticed but drove me crazy, and then removed the whole shebang once the story was done. I still haven't found a good non-image-focused wordpress theme.
Then again, I don't put random pictures in blog posts either, and in fact that entire content design idea seemed to come by when I was home sick or something. You know, where you have random images grabbed from (I guess) a web search illustrating your blog post? Maybe with cute captions? I still find myself thinking, "But I don't have a license to display that image..."
I think this is about the difference between decoration and design. Design is about solving a problem (in the case of writers, something like 'How do I sell more books?' or 'How do I build a community of fans?' or just 'How do I provide the basic info my readers are looking for') and decoration is, well, the pretties.
I think even those of us who are designers get seduced by the pretties and have to remind ourselves that the decoration should only be there to serve the design, not the other way around.
Anyway, I'm redesigning my own website right now, I keep going through the same issues. My first concepts always involve too much of the decoration, and I have to chuck it away and start from the content, then the design, then any decoration it needs.
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(Er. That sounded ungrateful. What I meant was: thank you for the pointer, and it *does* seem that it can do what I want it to. But etc. :))
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Then again, I don't put random pictures in blog posts either, and in fact that entire content design idea seemed to come by when I was home sick or something. You know, where you have random images grabbed from (I guess) a web search illustrating your blog post? Maybe with cute captions? I still find myself thinking, "But I don't have a license to display that image..."
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I think even those of us who are designers get seduced by the pretties and have to remind ourselves that the decoration should only be there to serve the design, not the other way around.
Anyway, I'm redesigning my own website right now, I keep going through the same issues. My first concepts always involve too much of the decoration, and I have to chuck it away and start from the content, then the design, then any decoration it needs.
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