Website Themes

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

By Bianca Gubalke

Website Themes

Website themes and templates that allow us to create a visually appealing look are what we are looking for when we want to brand ourselves in a professional way on the Internet.

With our own product – the Google efficient Semiomantics XO Scripts – we already get a spiffy SEO optimized technical setup that we then configure according to our needs and preferences ourselves… if we have the complex knowledge and skill. The alternative is to outsource to a professional Graphic Designer.

It’s an important choice and a clear Business decision.

Website Themes

Having created several website themes by now, I know how laborious and time-consuming it is to get through the Coding until the visualized result is achieved, and this under various aspects.

Website Useability

Website useability in general is a crucial consideration in Website Design.

What it means is that Website Themes need to be customer-friendly and reader-oriented in various ways and on different levels for diverse needs.

Screen Resolutions

It starts with the simple fact that not everybody online sees the same; we all have different screens, different resolutions, different settings and different programs alltogether. Not to mention different browsers…

While I find this very disturbing as a graphic designer, I have to accept it and find the best way to offer my content, pictures, media… brief everything I show on my website in an optimal way to a maximum of readers, visitors and existing as well as potential customers.

As I now have a 23 inch screen, I know what I missed before… but also the constraints for everything I am doing in terms of Web Design.

While I personally love a highly aesthetic website design that leaves room for discovery – as I did on yesterday’s ‘beaming’ website theme – I am aware that while the web design is perfect for a photo blog, it’s not ideal when offering good web content – meaning that the ease of reading in that case was only possible through scrolling. It’s a little detail, however, it may cost a reader.

Therefore, minus points in terms of mere Web Design.

Just as the website navigation system should allow for easy and intuitive navigation between the different sections of a site, the typography should allow for fast reading in terms of color and fonts… and having almost black fonts on black, even if only partially, is in my view extremely sexy – yeah, it’s artistic and Dali would love it – but not appreciated in the fast & easy my brain got lost in the gym environment.

New Website Theme

Bearing the above in mind, I created a new website theme that solves the above issues while being elegant and totally in sync with my Brand – up to the subtle floral background based on a picture from my garden that I prepared in Photoshop.

Just the Bee missing, but be assured I’ll get to that one too :)

Bianca Gubalke Logo

Even the Bianca Gubalke Logo had to be slightly adapted in its nuances for maximum harmony with the delicate color scheme. Again, it’s always a matter of details and lots of work and testing until the desired result is achieved. And at the end it looks soooo easy. . . so obvious!

Simplicity so often if not always has a hidden history of lots of learning and doing it over and over again… until! Practice and Experience leads to Mastery…

As a next step I will have to think of Social Networks and adapt my Twitter account… no boredom ever – guaranteed!

Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.

Co-Founder of YORGOO, YCADEMY and Semiomantics.

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