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!
5:38 AM
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...
8:53 AM
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!
9:07 AM
poopie said…
Nice kitty..not scary at all like evil eyed Barney :) I like the colors.
11:28 AM
Uisce said…
it's looking good! nice thing is you can always just change it and change it back pretty much whenever you want!
3:36 PM
Liz said…
I like the new look!
4:16 PM
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....
7:57 PM
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.
9:45 PM
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!
10:32 PM
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)
6:10 PM
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.
8:46 PM
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 :)
10:40 AM
"Jet" said…
Looking good!! I like it!!
1:42 PM
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)
2:54 PM
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!
6:37 PM
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