avoiding cutesey

Okay. I do like my new template here. However I keep having this itch to work on it more.

This is what it looked like for that one day transition when I was testing out the code with one of my favorite pictures.

That's Barney over there and the picture was taken on Thanksgiving Day this past year. He was begging for a piece of turkey that I was holding. He's a jumper--yes, all 110 pounds of him which is a lot of have crashing into you--and that's the face he makes just before a leap. The head tilts back, the ears flop open, and then he lunges upward. LOL

He really is a Hell dog!

Anyway, it was going to be just a picture for the development cycle but I liked it so much I kept it for my debugging online time period also. So it was my blog for almost 24 hours.

Now, as you can see, I have a kitty cat themed picture on here. And I have to be cautious not to make the blog too cute as a result.

This is one trial of some potential changes I could make to the existing template.

I like the background "splashes" but they look a little too country kitchen-ish when viewed across the entire screen. They also force me to put a background on the left side of the content. Right now it's just the background color of the page but that has to change if you add a tiling background.

I didn't like the overall effect of the two changes but it was a close thing. What do y'all think?

I'm going to add a few more headers over the next week but I probably won't put any online for a while. I need to let this one settle in for a bit first.

Comments

Michelle said…
Ahhh, now this is much better color wise! Love the new design, country kitchen an all! I still love Barney, but the pussy is cute too!
Anonymous said…
Well done, utenzi! I specially like those paws. The soft color and the kitty cat, too. Maybe you want the world to think of you as a fierce dog, but deep inside you are soft as a cat...
Utopia said…
Definitely to provencial with the new background; leave just the color.

Check on the posting a comment function. Seems I had to click twice to get to the place where I can comment.

Keep up the good work!
poopie said…
Nice kitty..not scary at all like evil eyed Barney :) I like the colors.
Uisce said…
it's looking good! nice thing is you can always just change it and change it back pretty much whenever you want!
Liz said…
I like the new look!
Marcia said…
I like the new look... I wasn't sure if I was in the right place!

I like the dog photo a lot, though....
Anonymous said…
It's a vicious cycle. You change something, then you change it back and so forth... and then you end up having some web bi**h to create your template, which looks like - well, let Aerosmith put it - "dude (blog) looks like a lady (blog)!"

Don't let that happen.

That's why I don't touch my template.
utenzi said…
Rocky's so right about that. And nobody has a blog that looks like his either. His post today about porn and hotel rooms is quite original also.

Thanks, Marcia. I hope you're in the right place.

Thanks, Chas. Kitty isn't as sweet as he looks!
Anonymous said…
Definitely different look for you. Header's a bit taller than average and columns extra narrow aren't they? Makes for more scrolling. Pretty legible contrast level and attractive.
(My 10 cents worth but expect 5 cents change :-P)
Lora said…
I like it and I don't think it's to cutsey or kitchish, but I understand your concerns with the cat picture on top. The lighter color in the background looks much better than the original green.
carmilevy said…
It's evolving very nicely. The new picture works better from a content and layout perspective. I'm discovering that even a great shot - and let's face it, the dog picture WAS a great one - may not always fit the tighter requirements of a web page header.

Strange how this design thing works. One day, it'll all dawn on me :)
"Jet" said…
Looking good!! I like it!!
Panthergirl said…
I like it!!! The dog one creeps me out.

That said... I need a picture of you that you'd like me to model your SIM after, and your astrological sign. (landlord or tenant, you get your own Cyberian SIM over at our place)
zandperl said…
Change is good. It unfortunately looks like one of the "mommy blogs," but if what you're going for is high Battle rankings on BE, it'll work! :) I do agree with variety being a good thing, and I wish I had the time and initiative to go and spice up my blog as well. :-P Whenever I have the one, I don't have the other!

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