With all the talk of change that is filling the air all over the world I thought that today would be a fitting day to flick the switch and officially launch the new look for Upstart Blogger. What you see in front of you is a clean break away from the design that has been this blogs home for the last year and the start of an important transition. It wasn’t a decision that I took lightly but it needed to be taken. From today, through 2009 and beyond, Upstart Blogger will function just as much as an online magazine as it will a blog. It is my hope that as the number of posts rockets towards one thousand, this new design, using WordPress as a content management system, will provide a more pleasurable environment for you as a reader and also for me as a blogger.
If you were a fan of the old design don’t worry. It will appear very soon as a free WordPress theme, albeit one that might need a little hand coding.
Furthermore, the new design will allow many fresh initiatives to take flight including a very exciting opportunity, Inner Circle, designed for a small number of bloggers who want to rise to the top of the blogosphere without having to worry about Google, traffic, or any of the other things that can sometimes be elusive.
A few new categories have made an appearance. Interviews, Reviews and Hardware are perhaps the most obvious additions to the existing roster. Their purpose, if not already self explanatory, will become apparent as they fill with content.
As with all new designs, especially those that require a change in the way content is managed, the only way to iron out all the bugs is with a thorough shake down. If you see a bug, or something that doesn’t look quite right, leave a comment.
Ashley,
Nice work on the re-launch. It still has the UB feel to it. While I liked the old header font better, I am sure that this is more compatible with most browsers. The site feels tighter now. I like that. Not so much unnecessary scrolling. Good job.
I like this look ALOT better!!!
This is quite gorgeous. I am very impressed.
Is that header font Archer? Or Hoefler Text?
Props Ashley! Great look and much better suited to your message.
Thanks for the feedback.
Hannah – The lid comes off very soon, very soon indeed. Then you’ll be able to see just how voodoo it is!
Ian – Tighter was part of the plan. Previously everything was just a little too spaced out. I’m glad you like it.
Amber – It’s not Hoefler Text, that was the heading on the previous design. And it’s not Archer either. Much as I love Archer I feel it’s been spoiled and made decidedly uncool by it’s association with Martha Stewart. The font is ITC Lubalin Graph.
Wow, this looks gorgeous Ashley, really really cool. I love the blocky red.
Great improvement in readability. I love the AD clutter being gone. Good Job.
BTW, how will this affect the income?
GREAT WORK ASHLEY!!! (once again)
I love this leaner/meaner approach to the homepage. It’s almost a step towards a ‘magazine’ style, but I don’t feel overwhelmed with content. I love how the home page header image is bigger than the single/archive/page posts — Nice Touch. I also dig the pastel colors that pop up in the comments and in the beginning of the posts.
EXCELLENT.
Great change, it really shocked me (in the good way).
So, what are you going to do with the last UB skin (october was its name, I think).
If you launch it as a theme I’m sure there would be plenty of downloads.
Please!
Very beautiful new look, prima readability, love the font in the main title :)
The big webtitle image is so heavy to load (at least from here, Indonesia).
nooooooooooooooo … OK, actually it looks awesome!
Very nice indeed. I especially like the header typography very much. A couple of timy little points, however, have been grinding my gears ever so slightly:
–The header image doesn’t link to the home page. (And shouldn’t the emboldened “free 30 Day blogging course” text link to the relevant page too?)
–With regards the comments section, it’s a shame that the author comments are no longer highlighted.
–The favicon thingy is a bit out of date now. “UB” set in that ITC Lubalin Graph would be more appropriate and fit in with the branding a little more snugly, methinks.
cool :) but the header is way too big man!