What does your design say about you?

I never knew that was big ben in the background, I just got to know your picture. Now it all makes sense. I really have to get to europe some day. Epcot Center is the closest I've come.

Ben, I haven't been by here in ages. I almost didn't recognize the blue site - I was very accustomed to the red. But, this is a cool look. I agree about the avatar - the Big Ben photo rocks!

I'm a bit stuck with my web address not matching the title - I was VERY amateur when I started blogging, so my address included my username instead of the actual title of the blog. But by the time I figured out that maybe they should match, I had already posted so much, and with numerous links in other places that I didn't know how to roll over into a new address. I'm not on a blogger or word press or type pad kind of blog. It's an independent, very small host. I have tried to get the 'brand' across my blog anyway, with flowers and my little 'sweet mummy' stick girl. And my avatar/gravatar/sivatar are all the stick girl or some slight variation (closer up version) of her.

Then I got my new blog up and running, and want it to be similar enough that folks know it's ME, but different enough that they're sure they are actually looking at a different blog.

I guess, for a small time blogger, that I have taken into consideration the branding idea, and run with it as far as I could. What would you suggest? (I almost hate asking those questions...it means I might have to change something!)

I LOVE that photo! Obviously I'm not all that great with international landmarks as I didn't recognise Big Ben. Thanks for the explanation. That's really cool! And very clever. :)

Thanks for mentioning my site. I've not really had any real feedback on it before.

Hi, (big) Ben,

Michael here from Germany.

Hmmm, i'm asking myself similar questions, heavily concerned with branding ...*-)

Sure design matters. I'm using the Neoclassical Theme for Wordpress by Chris Pearson (and changed its rotating header images with a themed video wall). I was struck by this theme on first sight. And it reflects the philosophy behind it in a perfect way. Chris is stating that “No matter what kind of Web site you run, your goal is always the same: to communicate your message as effectively as possible to your intended audience."

I completely agree with Chris. So when discussing the design of a blog etc., the major question should really be, does your design help to communicate your message as effectively as possible to your intended audience ...

I don't use an avatar yet, but perhaps i will use my logo / brand ...

I like the "Big Ben" picture very much, and got instantly curious about the scene (and the guy) when i saw it at entrecard (is your wife a photographer?). As you asked: IMHO to use a shrinked version of it in your header, would be a good move ...*-)

Regards

Michael

Uuups, i gave the url to my german blog in the previous comment, which is not using the themed videowall with the Neoclassical theme like the url posted with this comment), but it's original rotating headers instead.

My mistake. But perhaps this way anyone interested in design, can take a look at both /the difference and decide which one he likes better.
Feedback welcome of course

Regards

Michael

P.S.: Seems your Comment Form is not letting me post another comment with the same user name i used before, quit odd ...

Thanks for the compliment, Ben. I'm glad you like my efforts at branding. I think it really pays off to have your avatar be tied to the image of your site. If nothing else people remember the turnip, droopy eyed character, wry smiling orange fella, and Big Ben. :) It really does work.

Turnip - London is a great place to visit, but I got sick of the UK as a place to live. Too expensive. PS: good to see you over here.

Sweet Mummy - nice to see you back, glad you like the photo. I think you're partway down the road to establishing your brand - the flowers that go down the page are a good start. I think you might benefit from a banner because your "stick person with flowers" image seems a little understated. I would also look at possibly tidying up your sidebars, as it seems like you have a lot of stuff in them.

I actually have another idea for you, but I'll message you on Entrecard with the details.

Lightening - glad you like the photo, I'm more than happy to mention your site. :)

Michael - welcome, I sent you an email about the username issue. I can sort that for you. That's a good point about communicating effectively with your target audience - a good design can make this a lot easier. I'd certainly like to get the Big Ben photo into my header, I think it would really strengthen my brand. My wife has a good eye for a good photo, but she doesn't take photos all that often. She's more of a digital scrapbook person, preferring to put her photos on a scrapbook layout than just putting the photos themselves online.

Jason - happy to oblige. :) The examples you gave are good, too, and very memorable.

Thanks for all the comments!

Hi Ben,
I'm afraid I didn't even notice Big Ben in the background - but your wife's excellent photography is advertisement enough.

:)

I guess I'd like everything to match too. I started 5 years ago a family site on redsultana - then when I started blogging properly started calling my blog Sultanablog - and my handle has always been Cellobella so really I have three brandnames - but it all seems too hard to change now!

Maybe I could drop Sultanablog and just stick with two... requires thought...

your wife is a natural photographer! very nice picture! i'm all for using images. Even if it's not that relavent, i say go with an image. If a post doesn't have any type of image, i usually skip it.

Cellobella - my suggestion would be just to pick the name you like best, and start from there. You could use more than one, but it seems logical to tie it all together if you can.

bloggernoob - your blog is one of a few that prompted me to include more images in my posts. So, thanks for the tip!

Also, on behalf of my wife, thank you both for your positive feedback. :)

I didn't notice that it was big ben until i saw the bigger image either. I agree that it's a striking image. Espceially in black & white. The fact that it's a profile shot, I think, makes it that much more striking.

London is a great place to visit. But to live, I'm more of a fan of Dublin ;D

I think that design does matter. Although, content has more to do with what keeps me coming back to a site. For example, Swissmiss (http://swissmiss.typepad.com/) a design blog I visit everyday keeps me coming back despite her extremely simple (some might call it boring) layout. Also, she hasn't always had the avatar that she does now but I think it has helped... and lastly, because the design of her layout is so simple it was easy for her to tie it all together.

With my personal design, I find it easier to keep it all together in my own designs (which I haven't kept up with lately) but when it comes to wordpress I find because I change layouts so often (and I usually just customize existing themes) it's hard to 'tie it all in' - but I try!

Thanks for the comment, fragileheart. Simplicity can work very well in a design. And I agree that I usually visit sites for the good content than a good design, especially as I read most new posts in Google Reader. However, some sites are so cluttered with ads and goodness knows what else, I have a hard time finding the actual content. Those are the sites I usually avoid.