Through some stroke of incredible good fortune (or plain dumb luck), I seem to have been blessed with a super-fancy account upgrade (free of charge!) over at Typepad.
God only knows what possessed them (something about me being dedicated and -er- influential, my heavens), but before they come to their senses and take all the glory of Advanced Template Hooha and Total User Control Thingy away, I figure I might as well make something of it.
Which brings me to you, dear readers and commenters and lurkers (I know you're out there, you silent masses, don't think I don't seeeee youuuuu). I know absolutely diddly squat about design and Photoshop and making pretty banners and other such hallmarks of a personal Weblog run by someone who actually knows what h-t-m-l stands for. I've always just used a plain old Typepad template because it was easy to use and I didn't have to lift a finger besides choosing a design that looked simplest/plainest/therefore prettiest and then clicking on a "save changes" button.
(Yes, it's true - I know absolutely nothing about The Internet.)
But I have been bored for a while, itching for a site design that is a little more personal, a little less cookie cutter. Something simple and subtle and pretty, yes! But also something that is all my own. I think we can probably all agree that I/we could use a change around here. Yes?
So.
Hrrm.
Do you have any advice? Tips? Art direction? Are any of you people out there designer-bloggy types who would be willing to share your wisdom? Or actual help? Perhaps some of you have been sitting on your hands each time you read a post from me, wishing you could reach through the computer screen and rearrange fonts/photos/colors/banners/the-whole-damn-thing-so-help-you-God?
If so, please leave me a comment or send me an email. Let's talk. I need your help.
(Let's discuss incentivization - Ben told me that was a real word and so I'm using it - offline, though I can already tell you that it will certainly include lots and lots of cookies. Homemade by me. Swear to God.)
How exciting! I'm a lurker who doesn't have any computer talents to offer but I'm excited to see what you come up with. :)
Posted by: Aria | February 16, 2008 at 01:48 AM
Ciao cara... here is an idea for you. If you upload a photo to Flickr you can click on "edit" and it will re-direct you to a site called piknik. There you can cut, resize, add script etc etc etc... it's a simple way to spruce up your blog! Once you have your picture/banner the way you want it you should just copy the photo URL and go to your style sheet/HTML page and paste it in in the banner section. What I did to figure mine out was just simply google "how to change blogspot/typepad/wordpress (what ever your service is) banner) and presto i found several good tutorials! I am ann absolute novice at this but managed to figure it out with a little help from the internets!
Posted by: amy | February 16, 2008 at 08:39 AM
Typepad's Knowledge Base is pretty great, especially with step-by-step instructions for doing things like changing your banner, adding photos, etc. I always use myself as the idiot test -- truly, if I can do it, anyone can. I'm excited to see what you come up with -- even a small change will lift your spirits, like a new coat of paint in an old room!
Posted by: Lydia | February 16, 2008 at 09:52 AM
How cute you are! You know I am always available for help, advice, whatnot. I spent years wrangling with Typepad templates so know a little bit. However, as for Photoshopping you a nice banner (which I'd love to) my hands are tied until Mar. 24 (yes I'm counting the days) when I (I mean "we") can get it on my Mac.
Posted by: deb | February 16, 2008 at 02:03 PM
Oh, you're in for some fun. I love playing around with blog / website designs and layouts. I don't know all that much about typepad's interface, but I do know lots about css and html (the css on my site is customized). I'm happy to help you out with the remodeling, if you like.
Posted by: Liz | February 16, 2008 at 02:15 PM
Hey, actually you have one of the more cleanly designed, easy-to-read blogs out there. You'll need to be more specific about how the site would be more "personal". You seem to have a good sense of simplicity and a way with words (that is your job after all). Besides, what's there to know about the internet except that Al Gore created it?
Posted by: Michael Herskovic | February 17, 2008 at 09:12 AM
I have no technological prowess. Whatsoever. I couldn't even presume a modicum of technological prowess sufficient to offer a suggestion as to where one could find a bounty of it. But, nonetheless, I write. Forgive my technologically-useless comment. I couldn't resist participating in these comments to say Congratulations, Luisa! Typepad has made a fine, fine selection for an upgrade.
Posted by: aileen | February 17, 2008 at 02:50 PM
I'm a lurker who just came out of the darkness. Your writing is great, so there's no need for you to mask it with too much hoo-ha on your blog. I like the color scheme and simplicity of it. I would just change the banner a bit to make it more personal without making it too busy. Maybe since you're about food sections you could set up some sort of arty shot with newspaper food sections in it to strip behind the nameplate (there's a newspaper term).
Posted by: Emily | February 17, 2008 at 09:09 PM
well, I´m totally hopeless with html, and not very adept at graphic design, but if you think drawings could enhance your site, I´m definitely in the market for some cookie barter.
Posted by: lobstersquad | February 18, 2008 at 02:38 AM
Luissa, I appreciate the such detailed advice you offered me a few months back about living in Forest Hills. Thank you. I feel indebted and can lend a hand, if needed. I have Photoshop. If you can choose the photo(s) you want to use, the copy to accompany them, and the dimensions Type Pad requires, I can toss them into a banner. It's not too difficult.
Posted by: Sean | February 18, 2008 at 02:45 AM
Thanks, everyone! I'll be getting in touch offline...
Posted by: Luisa | February 19, 2008 at 11:14 AM
a lady on one of the blogs that I read regularly recently posted that she will design a custom banner for about $25. Her post about this is here: http://unruly-things.blogspot.com/2008/02/custom-designs.html
You may want to browse her site and see if you might be interested in enlisting her services. Sounds like the process is quite simple, and the price sound quite reasonable to me, and a good banner can be quite a lift to a site.
Just something to think about.
Posted by: tammy | February 24, 2008 at 12:14 PM
Oh I don't know, I like your current design. It looks great;nice and clean, and honestly its not something you see a lot of.
Posted by: gaming mouse | October 15, 2009 at 02:22 AM