Hi Daniel.
Sorry it took so long to get back to you. You’ve been on my list of To-do’s but I’ve been crazy busy.
Thanks too for the directions on how to install WP locally – I’m going to try it (as soon as I can)
About the boxy look & things I’d tweak graphically on the older template etc …
I hope to be able to explain this in text …
& I’m going to use a screenshot to try to explain – A lot pertains to the UX, usability studies and eye tracking research – per Marketing on the internet as well as optimal graphic design practices –
On blogs it’s much more difficult to use the most optimal design practices that pertain to the above – however there are still things to avoid that are (unconsciously) distracting to the User – such as lines that don’t align – or intersect, that run into 3 and 4 different information areas, making it difficult for the viewer to “be led” or know intuitively WHAT to look at next – it causes a puzzle, a jumble of competing areas and loses its FLOW – a left to right ease – smooth transitions – that coordinate with the way we have learned to read, from top left – to the right, down – to the left, then right, etc – and USING that knowledge, its a good practice to place key visuals and things like CTA’s in strategic places to elicit an intended reaction from the end user.
When the lines are haphazard – or all colored in – they compete –
I’ve tried to show with the red lines what I’m referring to … (after you see it, think about how widgets and content area heights can change depending on what is IN them, so when they are colored, they draw even more attention to the fact that they are all haphazardly aligned – )
It’s 1 reason why I like Pinboard so much, because it’s light and neutral and allows key visuals and strategic coloring to draw the eyes …
