Comments on: JCD Gets A Slight Makeover + Gets Google Subpages

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By: New Graphic Design Blogs 2008

New Graphic Design Blogs 2008 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:41:08 +0000

[...] the past few weeks a number of blogs have undergone redesigns (including ours) which is always great for keeping your site fresh for your readers. Check out some of the recent [...]

By: Jacob Cass

Jacob Cass — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:53:18 +0000

Doug,
Yeah it came up a few times when I got feedback from people. With only 5500+ subscribers and many more unique visitors I think it makes more sense to leave it off, even if it was a strong creative/branding point.

Thomas,
Regarding the editing of the subpages?
I will see regarding the pixelated corners. I never really noticed it but maybe because I have a large resolution.

Not sure what is up with the comments on this page, it is showing BLANK comments after each persons name but only on the last few comments. Ahh, WordPress you shit me sometimes.

By: Thomas Wright

Thomas Wright — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:00:18 +0000

The sub-pages thing was a really useful heads up – will be implementing this soon.
As for the redesign… I quite really like it. One possible problem, the rounded corners look quite pixelated to me…

By: Doug C.

Doug C. — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:01:08 +0000

Trying this a third time. That CommentLuv thing is really getting annoying [hint-to-self: maybe I need to move to WP to make it work].

Anyway, like I was saying…..Jacob, this is much better. I liked your pencil-shaped images because it related well to your logo. Not really sure how that could be confusing, unless you’ve actually had people email you about it.

By: http://www.dcblog.net

http://www.dcblog.net — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:08:40 +0000

Much better, Jacob. What I meant was that the pencil images were unique in that they connected in similarity with your main logo. I just thought it was a nice touch.

http://www.dcblog.nets last blog post..Add Background Image to Post Titles

By: Jacob Cass

Jacob Cass — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:38:31 +0000

David,
I think so too, glad I got everyone’s feedback, sometimes it is needed.

Kelly,
Yeah I did some more tweaking today, you will notice the bars have got a gradient with a pink line. The top navigational bar is also changed to a light grey gradient. I also changed the text colour of the comment fields to a darker colour and instead of your comments having a blue background they now have grey to align with the colour screen more. I also removed the Digg Badge and Gravatars and Live Comment Preview. Eventually I will change the clutter at the end of my posts also.

Brian,
I agree too :)

By: Brian Yerkes

Brian Yerkes — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:59:46 +0000

Yeah, Jacob, much better today! The fully pink bars were too much. Great compromise with the slight grey gradient and subtle line of pink. Good choice Brian Yerkess last blog post..The Times They Are A Changing

By: Steve - Eightyone Design

Steve - Eightyone Design — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:48:37 +0000

Hi Jacob,

Well done on the sub pages! All these site redesigns lately also got us thinking about our website and whether it is still effectively showcasing our portfolio (something we have just blogged about actually – would love you hear your thoughts – http://www.eightyonedesign.co.uk/blog/2008/08/when-is-it-the-right-time-to-re-design-your-website).

I think the changes you have made are an improvement (although I am still not sure about the pink – but thats just personal preference), as I commented on David’s blog, it is amazing what a couple of minor changes can do!

Steve

Steve – Eightyone Designs last blog post..When is it the right time to re-design your website?

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:19:39 +0000

Jacob,

Yes, I realize now it was probably a cache thing. (I dare not ask, have you changed the sidebars since last night? Perfect dash of color now.)
:)

Regards,

Kelly

By: David

David — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:57:17 +0000

MUCH better.

Now its feels serious with a touch of flare!

Well done.

By: Jacob Cass

Jacob Cass — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:49:38 +0000

Doug,
Yeah the refresh button is handy! The pencil images I had to give up as they pointed to essentially nothing, and is quite confusing for new visitors.

David,
It is a bit more subtle now (what do you think?) and yeah for some reason white, pink and grey/black are my favourite colours.

By: David

David — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:32:37 +0000

Jacob,

I forget things quite quickly after they change so I will deal with whats in front of my face now.

PINK? seriously?

I like icing on a cake but a little goes a long way. It seems very feminine and I mean NO disrespect, but if thats you then all good but if its not…

You are wise to request opinions of virtual strangers.

By: Doug C.

Doug C. — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:57:36 +0000

Ah, ok, teach me not to refresh, lol. Bright pink, eh? I noticed you stopped using your pencil-shaped images. I thought that was a unique touch.

By: Doug C.

Doug C. — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:55:44 +0000

Hm, I don’t see anything different. What did it look like before?

By: Jacob Cass

Jacob Cass — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:06:15 +0000

Hi Kelly, It was probably just a cache problem. Next time something like that happens always try hitting the refresh button. Also you can use the edit comment feature next time too (for up to 5 minutes) if you realise you said / did something wrong. Jacob Casss last blog post..JCD Gets A Slight Makeover + Gets Google Subpages

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:35:04 +0000

Ha!

OMG. I hit “submit” and scroll up the page, and all the stuff I said looked odd, now looks fine. Ignore everything I said except the I love it and congrats!

Kellys last blog post..Inspiration Points: If You Don’t Feel Like Reading (ZAP!)

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:32:51 +0000

Jacob,

I love the changes, at least as I see them on the screen shots, but for some reason my Mac is not showing what you’ve got in the “after” shot. The sidebars are grey—maybe you decided to go back before I arrived at the party, a bit late?—but what is concerning to me is the logo, which is squashed at the top of my screen. I thought I wasn’t scrolled up enough.

What I really like is though you’ve made a bunch improvements, they aren’t jarring changes at all. Very nice job.

Congrats on the subpages. That is something worth crowing about. Cheers!

Regards,

Kelly

By: Jacob Cass

Jacob Cass — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:48:01 +0000

Jennifer, Hehe, yup pink black and white are my favourite colours plus there are not many pink, white, grey colour schemes out there so it does stand out. Doing a whole redesign takes a lot of time so little changes can make up for it I believe. Jonathan, Thanks for your feedback, I will see about the pink headers after I get more feedback. I think just lightening the hue would work (although it may turn to baby pink which I don't really want) so I will have to experiment. Michael, Thank you for your feedback, glad you like it. Liz, Yeah I know, some small changes do make up for a whole redesign not to mention taking a lot less time. I fixed the advertising link, it was pointing to my old advertising page, must have done that by habit. Lauren, I haven't had a buyer through Buy Sell Ads yet (the other ads came in before I had set the system up). They take 25% but in the long run it is worth it, as it is less time consuming for both myself and the advertiser. Andrew, Yup, gotta leave the logo there! Meryl, Thanks regarding the colour of the text, I will have a fiddle... especially in the comment box, I had never noticed that before so thank you. Edwin, Yeah I also noticed a lot of blogs with redesigns. I was lucky I had the before shot in my history because I forgot to take one before I made the changes). Martin, I had to make the sacrifice of the pencil shaped box because I really thought the image pointed to essentially nothing as some people pointed out. Glad you like JCD, hope you stick around and comment more often! Nicaragua, I had to look that one up, it must be hot where you live! Jacob Casss last blog post..JCD Gets A Slight Makeover + Gets Google Subpages

By: Martin Fonck

Martin Fonck — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:22:15 +0000

Well.. I miss the pencil shape headers, they were part of the personality of JCD… plain and simple squares?… not too creative…jajaja!

Seriously speaking this is one of the best blogs I read, thanks for all the job, it’s been a great source of inspiration for an old school designer like me.
Keep going with the good job.

Greetings from Nicaragua!

By: Edwin

Edwin — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:16:22 +0000

There are a lot of blogs redesigning these days, but you are the first I see with a full comparison and the 2 designs next to eachother. I think that’s really good, because then we (the visitors) can compare them better ;) Thnx and good luck further with your blog :)

By: Meryl K. Evans

Meryl K. Evans — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:55:15 +0000

I like it — bigger contrast and less gray… but the text is still gray and hard on the eyes. Bad vision? Uh… no… I have almost perfect vision. The gray in the comment box is the worse.

Meryl K. Evanss last blog post..PC Game Review: Mystery of Unicorn Castle

By: Andrew Kelsall

Andrew Kelsall — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:53:27 +0000

Hi Jacob, really like the colour changes. David Airey’s just gone orange, and you’ve gone pink! ;)

The first thing I noticed, though, on my latest visit to your site is your strong ‘Pencil’ logo. Glad it’s still there, live and kicking.

By: Tis the Summer of Blog Re-Designs | BrianYerkes.com | Naples Web Design | Logo Design Fort Myers Florida

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:57:51 +0000

[...] JustCreativeDesign.com is another well known blog that has had a few changes made to it’s overall look and color scheme. Here is a snippet of what Jacob says about the changes: I changed the colours of the sidebar headers to JCD’s trademark pink colour as people suggested making the â€œsite a bit less greyâ€, â€œmore colourfulâ€, â€œnot so whiteâ€. What do you think? [...]

By: Claudia

Claudia — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:55:27 +0000

It looks really better, indeed!!! Congrats!=)

By: LaurenMarie - Creative Curio

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:38:30 +0000

Jacob, how are you liking Buy Sell Ads so far? What is the percentage they take as a fee?

LaurenMarie – Creative Curios last blog post..Enhance Your Designs with the Principle of Contrast

By: Liz Fulghum

Liz Fulghum — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:16:41 +0000

Really digging the changes.

Isn’t interesting how much you can really do to improve a site WITHOUT having to do a complete redesign? I think a lot of people are rushed to trash an entire blog design when they could simply make a few adjustments and rock the world.

BTW… “Interested in advertising” link is not working so well. (I get the broken pencil page)

Cheers!

Liz Fulghums last blog post..Endangered Wear turns one year old:

By: Michael Martin

Michael Martin — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:39:15 +0000

Looks good Jacob! The pink adds a lot more color and makes the design more lively, and the sidebars do feel much more organized. Love it. :) Michael Martins last blog post..New Design for Our First Birthday!

By: Jonathan F. Mayer

Jonathan F. Mayer — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:24:32 +0000

I like it! I agree with the others about the pink sidebar headings though; I think they become a bit distracting/overwhelming.

But I *do* like the pink post headings. Those are nice. And you really took your header from good to great!

By: Jennifer Farley

Jennifer Farley — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:05:11 +0000

Hi Jacob

I like the new pink areas. You’re obviously man enough to wear pink!

I think re-designing your own site is one of the most head-wrecking jobs there is. Personally I feel there are so many styles I would like to try out but also need to keep things professional.

I’m sure you’ll end up doing more changes over the time, which is one of the great things about the web – constantly changing.

Jennifer Farleys last blog post..Photoshop Tip: Quick Tracking and Kerning of Text