May 21, 2010

TCM's new design :D


Remember I told you I needed help with my layout?
Well, I'd love for you to tell me what you think of this one.

I'm creating this layout using digital elements from Carina Gardner.
She's made this awesome Paisley Kit, and I love how clean and peaceful it looks. Do you?

I've made this a one-sidebar layout because I want to keep it simple and yet girly. And that's why I've added a three-column footer, to have anything like stats ans such under there.

I'm really liking this layout, and anyway, I can save my monkey template and use it again whenever I want to.

It's a little messy around here. The buttons on the right don't all work. The About and Contact are just images right now, but they'll be linked up to their pages soon.

Thoughts please!
How do you think it looks? Do I have designer material? I'm a beginner, so don't be too harsh, but do be honest. I want to make this as functional and pretty as I can.

9 monkey thought (s):

Tales of Whimsy said...

It's beautiful!

Jess (The Cozy Reader) said...

Honestly? It's not fun enough. Especially with your blog name I'd expect a fun theme/layout. :(

It's girly alright and a little drab (not colorful enough). I'm not a fan of one sidebars but that's ultimately up to you.

There are some great digital scrapbooking makers out there.

Bites recently had her blog redone and the theme she went with was awesome. Much different than she had but it fit her blog perfectly. I'd suggest taking a look at her post about her new design. Maybe check out some of the digi artists her designer suggests.

Jess (The Cozy Reader) said...

I know finding a digi kit that matches might be hard. Here are a few that I've found by quickly searching.

Zoo Day, by Kristin Aagard

Monkey See Monkey Do Mini kit by Nikki Beaudreau

They are both very cute and if used correctly I'm sure they'd make some nice layouts. :)

Good luck!

La Coccinelle said...

It's very pretty! I like the graphic elements you used.

The only thing I might suggest is somehow centering the whole thing. Right now, everything seems pushed toward the left side of the screen.

Ella Preuss said...

@Juju: Thanks!

@Jess: The reason I changed was because I had a monkey layout, and wanted something completely different. I chose one sidebar because I wanted more space, but I can add a second one if I want to.
And about Bites, I feel it's got too much going on. I really just wanted something minimalistc.

@La Coccinelle: Yes, thanks for pointing that out, I just noticed it too.

Ella Preuss said...

@Jess: I just entered Bites' contest for a new blog design. I never win anything, but we'll see.

Jess (The Cozy Reader) said...

Going with something completely different than monkeys seems kind of....why? You're blog url is The Clock Monkey. I'd expect something with clocks and monkeys. These pasleys, while somewhat pretty are not reflective of the blog.

Unless you're deciding to make a name change?

Of course it's completely up to you but you asked for honesty so I'm giving it to you.

And while Bites might be a little funky and full of stuff it's still fun and true to her blog name and content.

Basically, I think it all comes down to branding your blog. You had that before. :)

Ella Preuss said...

Yeah, you're right. It's just that I'm not finding any cool monkey kits, and those you found for me, as beautiful as they are, I can't afford them.

I'm trying to find something to do with the monkey theme, but also, there aren't so many blogs that reflect their names.

The Story Siren had a siren layout alright, but now? I guess I was going for something like that. I've been looking at lots of blogs that are like that.

Jess (The Cozy Reader) said...

In all honesty, The Story Siren is an exception to this. She has a MASSIVE following and doesn't need to rely on her blog theme anymore. The girl could make her site all white and she'd still excel.

While those kits I linked aren't free, they aren't that much but depending on your income I understand. :)

Good luck finding something that you're looking for.

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