Oct 01 2008

I Like Mine Blue, thanks

Ooh, looky here! A shiny new layout with coolies rounded corners. How web 2.0 am I, eh? :D In all truth, it’s amazing what not having a website can do to you. It makes you productive. Funny that. I coded, I designed, I even washed the dishes that had been sat on the side since last Sunday. Go me!

This layout is a mash-up of about 5 different designs from my past (yeah, so I’m unoriginal.. stfu). The rounded blue header bits in the sidebar from that layout with the zigzags and polka dots. The colours from that old layout with the fixed sidebar and resizable content (I think that was my first one ever to appear in a CSS gallery?) The blockquotes from my last layout. Mini icons (which are from a paid set, please don’t steal) from that red and blue layout. Oh, and the ninja from IconBuffet.

Next on my todo list is to get NinjaLinks polished off and sent out for testing. Coming soon to a website near you :P

76 Responses so far
  1. Belinda says: October 1, 2008 at 10:02 am # ·

    ooh I like it! It’s so cute since everything is all round and bubbly-like. One of my favourite jemjabella layouts yet. :D

  2. Regine says: October 1, 2008 at 10:03 am # ·

    Niiiice. Much better than all the other ones!!

  3. Catherine says: October 1, 2008 at 10:13 am # ·

    Ooh, very very nice indeedy!

  4. Rachael says: October 1, 2008 at 10:13 am # ·

    I can’t cope. D:

  5. Rilla says: October 1, 2008 at 10:18 am # ·

    It looks cuuute! The layout seems a lot more friendly. :P

  6. Vera says: October 1, 2008 at 10:25 am # ·

    Whoa! For a second I didn’t know where I was. I thought I had link hopped elsewhere again… XP

    It’s not bad, and definitely a change for you, however I’d make the site title larger. One of the things I always liked in your layouts was the immediately noticeable site title. Oh and while you’re at it, put the title graphic on top of the layout.

    I love the ninja icon though XD

  7. Tracy says: October 1, 2008 at 10:35 am # ·

    Lovely. All the rounded corners – big fan! The colors fit well too. Purdy <3

  8. Enzo says: October 1, 2008 at 11:03 am # ·

    Lookin’ nice! :D

  9. Sarah says: October 1, 2008 at 11:17 am # ·

    Looks fab, Jem. :D

  10. Xuan says: October 1, 2008 at 11:18 am # ·

    Oh the pretty! I want to hump this layout vigorously.

  11. Mimi says: October 1, 2008 at 11:43 am # ·

    I have problems with change… D: It’s pretty, though. Ninjas are always an excellent choice! :)

  12. Julie says: October 1, 2008 at 11:52 am # ·

    Oh pretty! Very pretty indeed!

    I love the ninja.

    In the “Articles & Opinions” page, one of your subtitles isn’t styled (PHP Beginner’s Guide series). I also think the quotes are very, very hard to read (that’s the nice way of saying I can basically not read them without highlighting).

  13. Lemm says: October 1, 2008 at 12:20 pm # ·

    Very nice!
    I don’t thank you enough btw…I’d still be stuck with old code and cutenews if it wasn’t for your tutorials and articles! >< So thanks. :)

  14. Hannah says: October 1, 2008 at 12:27 pm # ·

    I love the layout, and can’t wait for a release of NinjaLinks!

  15. Amelie says: October 1, 2008 at 12:53 pm # ·

    Fixed width ftl :P

  16. Rise says: October 1, 2008 at 12:56 pm # ·

    I love this new layout! Definitely my favourite so far. :)

  17. Roxanne says: October 1, 2008 at 1:24 pm # ·

    Nice layout! I’m a sucker for curves and love the blue color. Well done. =)

  18. Caitlin says: October 1, 2008 at 1:25 pm # ·

    Beautiful layout! I love it!

  19. Aaron says: October 1, 2008 at 1:25 pm # ·

    This is a nice layout. And yes, not having a website does make you productive. In fact, I figure if the internet went down completely for a couple of days, I’d get a ridiculous amount of work done.

  20. Rose says: October 1, 2008 at 1:28 pm # ·

    It looks very Jemish :-P
    I went to iconbuffet looking for icons the other day and I totally wanted to use a ninja but stopped because I knew that ninjas were yours.

    And now, a week later: Jem’s using the iconbuffet ninja!
    I am psychic :-D

  21. Rose says: October 1, 2008 at 1:28 pm # ·

    Wow, my comment looks mean when the razz guy looks like that! :O

  22. Amber says: October 1, 2008 at 1:35 pm # ·

    This is quite lovely. Great job!

  23. Mimi says: October 1, 2008 at 1:57 pm # ·

    I like this new layout, very lovely :) I especially like the ninja!

  24. Amanda says: October 1, 2008 at 1:59 pm # ·

    Oooh, I feel like I’m in a cartoon all of a sudden. :P Very cute! Not a fan perhaps, of how the navigation doesn’t actually “do” anything on hover other than changing text colour…can you do that moving indentation thing?

  25. TWD says: October 1, 2008 at 2:23 pm # ·

    I second Amanda on the navigation. The content area looks a little drab, too – I think there needs to be a bit more contrast between the background and text. (I keep my computer on a low brightness setting so my eyes don’t die – I did make it brighter and it seems okay with that, but like I said… my eyes will commit mutiny if I continue to do so.) Also, some sort of faded background texture or pattern would add a little more “oomph.” Very different from the usual you, and not bad, though. :) I absolutely love the ninja icon!

  26. Stephanie says: October 1, 2008 at 3:23 pm # ·

    It’s cute. I like it, but I am hating the font in this text box! Make it stop! WTF font is this? I hate it :P

    Right, so after ninjalinks comes my script, yes? :D

  27. Annie says: October 1, 2008 at 5:12 pm # ·

    Oooo, very nice. The colours work very well together. Strangely, the navigation reminds me of piano keys, especially when hovering. :)

  28. Jessica says: October 1, 2008 at 5:30 pm # ·

    Ooh the new layout is wonderful! All rounded and a nice blue-gray. :D

    I’ll stalk your site the next few days for any NinjaLinks updates. I haven’t found any good similar script so far that is actually save as well. *waits patiently*

  29. Chantal says: October 1, 2008 at 5:37 pm # ·

    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE (yes that’s how much, all caps) the layout.

  30. Katy says: October 1, 2008 at 5:40 pm # ·

    Love the new look! I particularly love this shade of blue. =)

  31. Ben says: October 1, 2008 at 5:43 pm # ·

    I very like, very clean and easy to read…. :P

    And you have another thing on your to-do list.. -cough-!

  32. Mumblies says: October 1, 2008 at 6:22 pm # ·

    I like the rounded corners, I won’t cut myself now unless it’s on your sharp wit hehe. Needs a bit more colour for my liking though :o)

  33. Hev says: October 1, 2008 at 6:37 pm # ·

    I love it, Jem. Very you. Perfect as always. Well done.

  34. Jacklyn Sussman says: October 1, 2008 at 7:59 pm # ·

    The layout looks great. :)

    Thank you so much for the great tutorials. They are clarifying so many things for me. They’re so simple and easy to understand.

  35. Peter says: October 1, 2008 at 8:11 pm # ·

    Oooh, cool Layout! I don’t know why, but I like the old layout better… I don’t know whether it is because there is an excess of rounded corners, the background color for the content is not as friendly, or that there isn’t a big logo at the top. Don’t get me wrong though, I do like the layout :D.

  36. Jabed says: October 1, 2008 at 8:54 pm # ·

    This layout is nice, I do like the round corners. But is it just me or does your site title/logo seem a little blurry?

  37. Julia says: October 1, 2008 at 9:08 pm # ·

    Wow, wonderful layout! I still miss the old one though :)
    Love the ninja!

  38. Malin says: October 1, 2008 at 9:19 pm # ·

    It looks very nice. I like the shades of blue you picked! :)

  39. Vanesa says: October 1, 2008 at 9:52 pm # ·

    Wow, this layout is so cool! I especially like the little shiny ninja!

  40. Aisling says: October 1, 2008 at 10:47 pm # ·

    Oooh, I super love it!! :D

  41. Christina says: October 2, 2008 at 12:56 am # ·

    This is awesome! Despite the apparent collaborations of your past layouts, this looks a lot different from anything you’ve had here in a while. So you’re really good at turning unoriginal into original. :)

  42. Noellium says: October 2, 2008 at 1:50 am # ·

    Niiiice. :D The rounded corners makes the whole layout look very yummy, indeed. :P

  43. Nick says: October 2, 2008 at 2:18 am # ·

    The new layouts is AWESOME! So much better than the last, in my opinion. Funny how you can pull off layouts from simple to complex-looking, and I can hardly pull one together at all.

    —on a side note, there is a bit of a bug with the bottom right corner of the comments area: http://tinyurl.com/4avhl6—

  44. Chrissy says: October 2, 2008 at 2:38 am # ·

    Ooh, I really like it, Jem! :) I adore rounded corners.

  45. Shannon says: October 2, 2008 at 5:03 am # ·

    I do not know why, but the rounded navigation makes me think of fingers poking out. Or something.

  46. Yesenia says: October 2, 2008 at 5:20 am # ·

    I love the new layout! It’s so nice and clean, and cute!!
    Plus I love the ninja and the navigation area! =D

  47. Louise says: October 2, 2008 at 5:50 am # ·

    I love it Jem, it’s so pretty. :)

  48. Mat says: October 2, 2008 at 7:03 am # ·

    Not bad, not bad.
    Yes i’m back.

  49. Chans says: October 2, 2008 at 7:49 am # ·

    I really like this layout, very colour coordinated (they always are but this seems a bit more than usual!)

  50. Kris says: October 2, 2008 at 9:40 am # ·

    I like the new layout jem.

  51. Julie says: October 2, 2008 at 11:52 am # ·

    You know the thing your navigation background does on hover? Well, it doesn’t work when I try it on the page I’m currently viewing. Just a minor little thingy.

  52. Deborah says: October 2, 2008 at 11:59 am # ·

    Love the layout, but I recommend changing the colour of your italic-writing.

  53. Stephanie says: October 2, 2008 at 2:46 pm # ·

    I feel as though there’s an inside joke in your subject for this blog that I just realized was there.

    Am I correct?

  54. Stephanie says: October 2, 2008 at 2:47 pm # ·

    & LOL @ colored italics.

  55. Jem says: October 2, 2008 at 2:50 pm # ·

    No joke, just that I have a lot of blue layouts? And Deborah was referring to my quote tags :P

  56. Cristina says: October 2, 2008 at 3:22 pm # ·

    I have to say Jem that this is my favorite layout out of everything you’ve done. Since it’s a mix of everything, it should be called Jem’s Greatest Hits, LOL!

  57. Stephanie says: October 2, 2008 at 4:37 pm # ·

    There’s quote tags?

  58. Jem says: October 2, 2008 at 4:48 pm # ·

    <q>?!

  59. Katy says: October 2, 2008 at 5:03 pm # ·

    can I suggest maybe swapping ‘search’ and ‘asides’ around? I forgot asides were there, ‘cos they’re just below “the fold”, as it were

  60. Stephanie says: October 2, 2008 at 8:52 pm # ·

    i know what they are just didn’t know you had them all specialized ;P

  61. Carly says: October 2, 2008 at 9:12 pm # ·

    Very very nice, me likes them comment boxes!

  62. Kaytlin says: October 2, 2008 at 9:13 pm # ·

    Wow! Very nice new design! I really do love it.

  63. Clem says: October 2, 2008 at 11:11 pm # ·

    I like it a lot, but it’s really screwed up in Opera. :(

  64. Aimée says: October 3, 2008 at 2:09 am # ·

    This layout is fantastic. You could certainly sell layouts for some side money, if you somehow found the time to make layouts for download.

  65. Bubs says: October 3, 2008 at 2:13 am # ·

    This is my favorite layout so far <3

  66. JMacalinao says: October 3, 2008 at 2:45 am # ·

    I think you made the layout perfectly; rounded-edged designs are one of my designer weaknesses and yet you pull it off easily. >_<

    And I completely agree where you said “not having a website makes you productive.” It really gets you to do things, and make you alleviate your boredom, laziness or what-not.

  67. Aaron says: October 3, 2008 at 2:58 am # ·

    Ahh, nice job updating the sidebar navigation. The slight movement does make a really big improvement. :)

  68. Chien Yee says: October 3, 2008 at 9:50 am # ·

    Nice! I really like this one as compared to the others. Honestly, I got quite bored with those :P

  69. Nancy says: October 4, 2008 at 1:25 am # ·

    Ooh! Like the new layout! Great job on it! Like the navigation! That’s cool!

  70. Luci says: October 4, 2008 at 7:42 am # ·

    I love this layout, my favourite so far.

  71. Caz says: October 4, 2008 at 2:24 pm # ·

    Cool layout. :o I wish I were half as good at coding as you are.

    I love your website; before I found the link to it, I was pixelling Sanrio characters, without even knowing the legal implications of doing so. Thanks for opening my eyes, lol! I love your articles. <3

  72. Misha says: October 4, 2008 at 3:02 pm # ·

    Wow! I love the new layout. Its so unique and amazing!!

  73. lindsey says: October 4, 2008 at 5:10 pm # ·

    Loving this layout. :D

  74. Carolyn says: October 4, 2008 at 6:48 pm # ·

    I love the new layout! And I’m a big fan of the navigation.

    Wow, I can just say I have learned so much from this site. Although my site is still a horrible, feeble, the usual attempt at a graphics site, I’ve still learned a lot from you and hope from reading more of your “pants” I can hopefully have a decent site.

    I just love reading your site, it’s so amazing.

    p.s. no need to do a pants article on my site, I already know it’s just absolutely horrible. Though, I’d probably accept the award with honor, ha.

  75. Carolyn says: October 4, 2008 at 7:07 pm # ·

    And, infact, I think I’ll work on fixing my site for the better, again, just a really big thanks for all the inspiration and help.

  76. Thomas says: October 7, 2008 at 11:36 am # ·

    Lovely layout Jem!
    But your archives page (i.e. when I press a category and want to view all posts in that category) looks a little weird – I do not know what it is, maybe it is just my eyes that find it aesthetically unpleasing, but I thought I should tell you, so you can have a look at it :) I think maybe it has something to do with the font being too small.