Jun 12 2009
6 Dollar Layout
After much nagging and one amusing — and wholly accurate — unrequested review I finally decided to get off my arse and finish changing my layout, something that has been on the cards for months.
However, failed design after failed design led to much frustration. In my weakened, feeble state I decided that spending hours of an evening in front of Photoshop was simply not an option I wished to continue playing with. Instead, I resorted to the dreaded option of downloading a template (*gag* / *vomit* / etc). I bought the BLOG THEME GREEN PSD (descriptive name, I know) and did some heavy tweaking to make it look more Jem-esque (the irony being I spent more time tweaking this than I did creating my previous layout.)
Credit for the cheesy comment icon goes to DryIcons, the ninja to IconBuffet (as usual) and of course, the base layout ‘iMike‘… and I’m sorry for doing this to your lovely design.
At this point the only tasks left are to style the comments (in progress), and to liven up the dreaded sub-navigation (see the sidebar on any of my main sections). The latter of which I’m all out of ideas for and therefore welcome input from all of the design geniuses that read my blog.
Warning
This post is over 6 months old. This means that, despite my best intentions, it may no longer be accurate. Age, motherhood, experience, loss... these things have all changed me from when this blog was started back in the heady (ha) days of my youth.
As much as I would like to go back and edit 10 years of archives to provide an insight into the 'me' of now — to update coding snippets and revise website advice — it would probably take years to do so (by which point I'd have to start again!) This would defeat the point of keeping these archives anyway.
Please take these posts for what they are: a brief look into my past, my history, my journey.
68 Responses so far
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It looks really good Jem :) Nice and light and airy, if a layout can be airy :P
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Oh, this is lovely. Nice to see you get back to your "cloudy" period, it’s very calming.
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SELLOUT! First WordPress and now THIS!
I am joking. This looks beautiful, and its obvious your skill has been woven into it. I do like it better than the previous layout, which I also liked. You might change the bottom border (atop the footer) from green to something else more in keeping with your color scheme though.
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Oops, I knew I’d missed something. It should be more grey/brown like the header…
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This layout is rally nice :)
Its summery but, I also think you should add more of that blue tone somewhere… somehow :P -
You. Bought. A. Layout?
*is in shock*
I honestly don’t know what to say about that!!
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Is joining Ashley in shock!!
Very pretty, but……
You. Bought. A. Layout?
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Not sure what the point of the "faux horror"/surprise is, given that rev.iew.me has a layout I didn’t make, my fanlisting collective has a paid-for layout (that needs re-adding) and the tutorialtastic logo cost me a fortune. I’m hardly a stranger to paying for the crap I’m not skilled enough to create.
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I love this new look! A lot brighter than your previous layout, it has a summer-ish feel to it.
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I think this layout is a lot nicer and cleaner than the older one. I do agree with Emsz, the layout is very airy.
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So much better than the last one.
:P
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I like it, but it seems so…foreign. Perhaps it’s because I’ve grown used to your light-on dark and not-white-background layouts. XD
Jacky made all the things you listed, right?
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Been a long while since I saw a white background here. Looks good though!
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I really like your new layout! It’s looking very fresh. :)
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Those aren’t your personal website, Jem. It is just shocking to me. I love the design. I do understand though. I can’t tell you the number of times that I have wanted to use a premade template or buy a layout to use for Amarantine, but haven’t.
I wasn’t meaning anything bad, Jem. I really do like the design. It is very light & calm feeling. Plus with little one on the way it will be nice for you not to have to worry about creating a new design, true?
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It looks very nice, Jem :) I think you can be fully forgiven in the current state of things for buying a layout, and of course you’ve also made it your own. I like ^.^
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@TWD: you’re right, all of those are by Jacky. Wow, I’m a little Jacky fanclub all by myself! ;)
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I think you do what you have to do, and if means less headaches for you having a paid-for layout, then rock on. It looks nice and you did a great job making it your own. :)
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Hrm. Looks like I’ll be all on my lonesome in the DO NOT WANT corner over here. It’s not that the layout is bad, per say, but it’s impersonal and rather sterile, if you ask me. Like something Blogger would hack up and spit out for a 14 year old who has just discovered the joys of having a blog. Just doesn’t say Jem to me :|
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Wow.. I thought I was being unique when I said it was shit. Obviously not.. but I do like it. Much nicer than your previous. :)
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… am I the only one who kind of liked the previous layout? :(
But this layout is nice, too. It’s bright and pretty.
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I like it a lot, but I’m a fan of light layouts. I always cave and use premade layouts when I get too frustrated. I understand your pain.
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"… am I the only one who kind of liked the previous layout?"
I actually really liked the last layout… blue is pretty. -
I love this layout. It’s a lot more easy on the eye than your previous one, in my opinion. And so what if you bought it? You were still able to make it your own. Keep on keepin’ on, Jem!
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Hm, I don’t care what anybody else says, this is much more refreshing and easier on the eyes (but then only in few cases do I like light on dark, so that could be the reasoning!). :)
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I never expected you to have a layout like this. I guess I was just used to the whole dark looking layout you had up. This is a new, clean, refreshing change I suppose.
I don’t see the big deal with buying the layout… Some of the templates over at Themeforest are gorgeous!
After reading Aisling’s review I learned that you’re name your baby William? Aha, that’s what my sister named hers, and that’s my middle name, so good choice. ;D
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I love the new layout, looks much brighter and fresher. ^_^
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I love it! It’s so calming. XD Oh yeah, and pretty.
I don’t see anything wrong with buying a layout, either. At least you know your limitations. :) -
MUCH BETTER.
See, whining and team whining really DOES pay off! This is definitely a win-win-win situation. Because with win-win-win, we ALL win.
And… er… thanx 4 the hitz~ :P
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Ooh, very nice. :3 Cloud layouts never get old for me.
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I really like it! Honestly, if I had the money I would pay for layouts too. :P
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O yay, I was hoping that’s the result I was hoping her review would create :-P
I like this better than your last layout, but not more than other layouts of yours.
I like light layouts in general so much more than dark layouts, so I’m happy :D
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I really like this layout! I love the "airiness" of it. It kind of makes things… I dunno, refreshing, for lack of better term. (Now I feel like I’m talking about a cocktail or something…)
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Well it looks cool nonetheless. And hey, you’re doing a fellow designer a favour! :)
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Looks good… still no shazam in the comments though.
How goes it?
You’ll soon be able to see the beast known as whatcanyoudo. Almost finished it… yay. -
Wow, this layout looks good. It gives me a "Ah, I see the light!" kind of feelings, hah.
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Ah..i like the new layout. It gives some mood-lightening feel to the site, whatever that means.
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Very nice, Jem. :)
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It is clean, but it really does not meet up to your previous ingenious creations. I have to say that I have not been impressed, and I have even met Brian Gardner face-to-face. I like his layouts, but I am not impressed with many purchases pre-made layouts.
I think if you got in the mood, you could do something and make some with and even if not for fun…perhaps as an experiment in case you have future unrequested reviews that involve "webmasters/ webmistresses" on how they should do it. *shrugs* Just a thought.
If you ever want any icons or such…send an email my way and I will pixel up/ whip up some…pro bono. :) I need to update pixels and if you request….it will be motivation to update further, and even more so, most appreciative. :)
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It’s looking good :)
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This layout is looking pretty schnazzy! ;)
It doesn’t seem like a layout you would have, but I think that’s a good thing.
Talk to you later. -
It’s very pretty and calming. Nothing like a good old blue/grey scheme. The little ninja in the logo is adorable!
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I like your previous one better :\ this one looks like "all those other ones". I can’t sense the "Jem-ness" in this layout.
but yeah, very summery.
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It doesn’t look bad. I mean everyone er- nevermind. I like it anyway. I like how you played with colors in the header to make it look like like the image pops off the screen :) I really like that ninja lol.
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Oh my god, I’m so happy you changed the layout! It was just so hard to read, that red on blue, argh!! Lmao.
The only thing I don’t like is the drop shadow on the header. Wish it just flowed. Looks good though. xD
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Love the clouds, not too sure about the stripes but that is not a reflection of the layout, more just my personal dislike of stripes. Either way…looks great! :o)
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Whoa. It’s so light and breezy. Very unexpected. Not so much the six dollar aspect of it, but just the…streamline whiteness?
I’ll stop now. It looks nice, Jem. ;)
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I love it :) Nothing wrong with buying/using other layouts if designing isn’t your thing. You do GREAT with the scripting!
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I’m really confused as to why people saying this layout isn’t "you". I guess those people just haven’t been visiting long.
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Very bright and easy on the eyes, I like it. Haha, just couldn’t stay away from the blue, huh? It looks great though. =)
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I am also confused as to why people are saying this design "isn’t you". I recall you using clouds in your designs back in the old days. This is what your design reminded me off – old school Jem. I also don’t get the kerfuffle over you buying a design and editing it. Ah well.
I like it, I’m glad the clouds have come back. Clouds are fun. :D
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I don’t know. I think it looks awesome. Better then the original layout. :) I love it.
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It certainly looks fresh.
I’m a terrible layout critique. I like being back to dark text on a light background.
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I also still don’t get the big shock about buying a layout :P
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Yep, certainly alone in the DNW corner :P
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Hey Jem,
I have been following you for probably the last month or two and I happened to quite like your old design. I thought its simplicity and yet striking design was quite an eye catcher. This design is sharp, don’t get me wrong, but somewhat not as original as your previous layout. I guess that is why there are some many different looking websites out there…it’s all preference!
Thanks for your unrequested reviews, it always gives me great satisfaction to read them and look at some (frankly) poor websites. Mine may not validate but at least it looks alright (personal preference again I suppose!)
Thanks Jem and keep up the good work – oh and hope the pregnancy isn’t too bad!
alexbean
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The reason why you buying a layout really doesn’t bother me is the fact that you establish yourself overall as a developer and not a designer. People need to understand this! You enjoy the development/haxx0rs/coding side of it all, not the shiny, artsy stuff that is design. There’s nothing wrong with that either, of course, as everyone has their own unique preferences, etc.
It’s not like you CAN’T create your own design, because you’ve proven that you can in the past…it’s just that’s not the point of your site. You’ve created scripts for download, you write interesting and useful articles, you are a codey-ninja-person. Your site shouldn’t be judged by it’s shinyness if that is not your ultimate point of interest.
People who are stuck in the "zomg every1 must have kewl layout made bah themselvz" are just kidding themselves. Developers do NOT equal designers, especially if they enjoy one side more than the other. While developers and designers should definitely have knowledge from the other spectrum, they are totally different titles referring to different aspects of web creation.
Wow, that all sounds so official. I r0xx0rs.
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LOLOLOL FIRST COMMENT AGAIN!!! :D
Nice layout Jem.
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Hey Jem. I’m not in the ~web scene~ anymore. However, I own a webhosting company with a pretty active forum. So many of these individuals dont know two shits about making a decent looking website. They seek coding help all the time. Can you provide some links to some places that you think would benefit these people? I’dddddd appreciate your time <33
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It looks nice and calming. I like this one better than your previous one. It’s easier on the eye. Well, on my eyes at least. :)
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Hey, it’s not even as bad as you make it out to be.
I’m totally in synch with really really not wanting to spend eons in Photoshop making a layout… only my pride would never allow me to do this. Or well, I don’t think so.Anyway, I like the layout. It’s simplistic, but it’s a pleasant thing to look at. :)
Yeah, I’m late. Bear with me, you know I’ve been away. :P
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Clouds, stripped backgrounds, rounded corner navigation and baby blue color? It’s web2.0, I swear I read an anti-web2.0 rant on here once?
Anyway, lookin’ good
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Well I personally love it.. The colors are fantastic. As for the haters tell them you have a little vampire in your guts, sucking your will to live and making you vomit constantly. That should make them shut up for two seconds. :P
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Hey,
when i looked at google analytics of my site today i say referers from this site so i decided to take a look. And what do i see, you used my layout for your website. I really like to see my layouts used in real website. Well you made it your own by changing it a little bit but thats cool too. Thanks for using my design and i hope your blog will be succesfull.
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Ohw and by the way (sorry for the dubble post) thanks for crediting me but i think you should link to the themeforest theme (http://themeforest.net/item/blog-theme-green/23607) insted of my website, as it is not online at the moment.
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Well your theme actually looks all right now, Jem! :) You’re pretty good at tinkering with premades I must say :)
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Hope you don’t mind my second comment (in a row.. gosh now this is bad) but say, what blogging software are you using? I was wondering because it just doesn’t seem to be WordPress. :D
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No, it’s not wordpress, it’s my own blog system.
