The Pros and Cons of Art Directed Blog Posts
62When it comes to blogging, for a designer, the art can feel somewhat lacking in, well, art. So it is natural for the designer inside us to begin craving a new approach to this task, which can at times feel a bit tiresome and trying. Blogging can often feel this way for a designer, because we are not necessarily the best at expressing ourselves through our words. We tend to be much more visual creatures.
We are better at finding the right look than at finding the right words, so blogging can move us a bit out of our comfort zone, even though we tend to have a firm enough grasp on the topics that we tackle.
Art directed blog posts are posts that are designed individually to match the subject of the post, and they tend to break from the usual look and setup of your site. This allows you as a designer to keep a proverbial fresh coat of paint on your site, without having to take the time and make all of the considerations that come with a complete redesign.
Below is a look at some of the positive and negative aspects of this approach, followed by a few tips and examples so you can see for yourself if this is the next step for your blog. Or if you have already taken that step, this post can help you make sure you are solid ground as you proceed.
Pros
First off, using art directed posts tends to add an extra layer of originality and creativity to your site which will usually score big with your audience. You essentially get to spice things up through individual style sheets, expanding on the ideas and packaging them in a much more appetizing and digestible way.
And given that this can bring an originality to topics that they have been lacking, this can broaden the appeal of this discussion and find it new audiences too.
Speaking of which, another pro that you cannot ignore has to do with this broader appeal, which can often lead to increased traffic for your site. If done right, with enough thought and effort put into both the content and the design of the post, art directed posts have quite a draw and are popular among many of the online community so they can spell a bit of a spike in traffic. People love them, and respond to those that are executed with skill and precision.
Another pro that should be addressed is that the art directed posts give your site more of a magazine feel than having a uniformity of posts can, which can add an elegance or even relevance to your blog. This can help it to stand out from the numerous ranks that make up the blogosphere. This is also an interesting and stylish way to pay homage to the medium that some consider to have paved the way for this more modern free press reimagining of the mission.
Earlier I touched on the digestability of the information and that sort of feeds this next pro, and that is concerning the depth at which the reader sinks into the topic and discussion at hand. Having the post designed entirely around the topic can give the reader a fuller sense of integration into the topic. Submersing them fully into the ideas, connecting them to the topic in a whole new and possibly inspiring way. This can lead to more reader participation as they are more tapped and tuned in, which could be another pro unto itself, but I wont get greedy.
Not only can this affect the depth to which your readers become involved in the topic, but it can also impact yours. Which is the final pro that I am going to discuss today. Art directed posts can change your perspective on the way you view and approach your topics too. As you have to develop both a verbal and visual way to come at your ideas, you have to naturally consider them in a much more comprehensive way than you have in the past.
Cons
First on the con list has to the be the time factor. Given that a good portion of the blogging populus does so on the side, as a second job persay, then you have to consider the amount of extra time that you are going to have to devote to these art directed efforts. This could mean that your frequency of posting may have to be compromised and slow down. Somewhat noticeably in fact. This could also mean that you simply have to make this an occasional occurence on your blog rather than a regular one.
Another con to consider comes from the idea that consistency is a good thing, and that blogging is not immune to this rule of thumb. With the art directed blog posts you sacrifice the uniformity of your site, and in doing so, you compromise the users ability instantly recognize their surroundings and discern their present online locale at a glance. Especially those who arrive at the post from an outside source. This can be remedied to some extent by making sure the branding in your header really stands out.
Speaking of consistency, where this can matter most is when it comes to trying to monetize your sites via ads. Most of the art directed blog posts that you see popping up across the landscape are not incorporating adspace into these individual styles, which may make advertisers unhappy. Or more than unhappy, it might just make them overall absent. Advertisers tend to like the idea of being included in the posts as that is where most users head, so visibility is higher in the posts.
The next con sort of fits hand-in-hand with the time factor, and that is an elevated risk of blogger burn out. Given that the posts require more time and so much more to pull off, this can add a higher level of stress to the task as a whole that just was not there before. These kinds of increases can become overwhelming when faced with such regularity, thus blowing out the spark driving the desire to continue producing content for your site.
The final con that we are going to look at concerns the depth to which this technique tends to beg you dive into a topic, and that brings about a more discerning eye for considering your topics. Not every topic is fit to be art directed, and you dont want to do it just for the sake of doing it. So this can unfortunately close the door on some areas that you might have wanted to skim across the surface of on your blog because they just do not fit this expanded format.
Some Tips When Doing Art Directed Posts
Below are a few tips to take with you if you are going to take on this challenge, so that you come at it from a more advantageous position.
- If you are going to art direct a significant portion of your posts, I highly recommend you design your site accordingly. Having a simple header and footer that can easily be modified to match any style post is a must.
- You may also want to set your RSS feed to only show post summaries so that your most loyal readers will not miss out on the posts design and be prompted to click through.
- Alternately you could opt to set up your RSS feed to instead include image captures of the post so that your subscribers see that there is more to the post than they have in their readers.
- Do not sacrifice the content for the look in any way, always remember that the content is still the reason people are coming to your site. You are merely dressing up its presentation.
- Approach the post like an infographic, and allow the design to feed the topic and discussion rather than just decorate the page.
For an in-depth how to on using the Art Direction WordPress Plugin, check out the CSS-Tricks Screencast Styling an Individual Article
To learn how to art direct posts in TextPattern and WordPress without the aid of a plugin, check out Designing Individual Blog Posts
Showcase
And I thought I would end by giving you a few examples of outstanding art directed blog posts to inspire you to create your own.
The Bold Italic
The Bold Italic is an experiment in local discovery for San Fransisco CA. The site contains tons of fabulous art directed posts. This is always my first stop for art directed inspiration.
Jason Santa Maria
Jason Santa Maria is a graphic designer living in Brooklyn, New York. He is the founder of the design studio Mighty, and the creative director for Typekit, and A List Apart. His entire site is an experiment in art direction.
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a creative director from New Zealand who uses his personal blog to experiment with art direction and grow his creative skills.
Gregory Wood
Gregory Wood is a web designer using his site to experiment with bringing the kind of editorial design you see in magazines to the web.
What do you think of these posts? Ever tried an art directed post yourself? How did it go?
Enjoy this post? You should follow me on Twitter!
Great selection of art directed posts, Angie! May I be the first to thank you for causing me to lose an hour of my time visiting them and because the visuals drew me in, I had no choice but to read. Then read another and another and another… ;-)
Art directed posts only work, as you note, if the visuals enhance the content making a marriage of a story or prose. For the average not overly-creative site owner though, the take away is that visuals do matter — even if it is a wisely and carefully chosen single graphic for a Blog post!
That’s very true Judith. It definitely takes a designer to be able to do something like this on a regular basis. Like you said, normal bloggers can do other things with their imagery. Normal images are great, and a good looking infographic would be within reach for anyone with a basic knowledge of Photoshop or a program like it. Guess it all depends on the blogger and topic!
So true. This takes a real designer. Thanks for the informative post!
Thannk you for creating this informative post. Although I am a rubberstamp-related blog, I found your article informative and pertinent to me.
One of the things that hit home with me is the burn-out from researching. There are many times I think about closing down my blog. The thing that stops me is the large following I have–I worked too hard to grab their attention.
I loose my creativity weekly and find myself pushing myself harder because my audience demands it. Audience’s get bored easily, which causes more burn out.
Thanks again for providing an informative post.
Thanks Beth, I’m glad you enjoyed it and got something out of it. Burnout is such a major threat for bloggers, I’ve experienced it a number of times since starting my blog. I’ve found that I have to make myself take regular breaks. Make sure I take weekends off and try to give myself a week every 6 months or so.
Great selection you made here, I was finally kind of happy with my site… You remind me every time I have lots of work to do.
I like the diversity of the blogs, all such a different style but great in style nonetheless. I don’t think I can pick a favorite yet, but I will visit them again this weekend when I have more time.
I know exactly what you mean, they’re all so diverse and great it’s hard to pick between them. The Bold Italic is very high on my list because, if I’m not mistaken, they do every post.
I think for most of us we’ll never be completely finished with out own design. There’s always some little think that could be tweaked to look just a bit better. lol, it’s the curse of the designer.
Great tips .
very usefull post thanks a lot.
not sure if the death of the ‘boring’ blog post is here yet. There are still a lot of people out there who don’t have the skills to produce the style and imagery in the examples above…
Hi Angie
The examples look fantastic…. but who has the time or the skill to start looking at different CSS for different posts.
I try to personalise each of my posts with good looking graphics, but each post is recognisable as being part of my site.
That is a wonderful article I have seen ever, thanks a lot for the share
Great post! Working for BlogCatalog I’ve seen my fair share of blogs, but the ones that stick out could be considered well designed and art directed. Like the variety showed in your post, the design could be very simple or extravagant, but it’s important that it’s aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Thanks for the post. The idea is great but it will take a great deal of time. I’m not sure s worth it.
Art has definitely a role to play. It makes blog posts more attractive and appealing.
I agree, but only if it’s done right. These are great examples, but I daily see blogs with a highly distracting design.
Hello,
I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for sharing this wonderful information with us.
I am so glad that I found your blog and that I took the time to read it.
I can learn a lot from you!!
Wow, those are some extreme selection of art directed posts, I was particularly compelled by Scott Brown’s work as well as the first one illustrated.
The magazine feel and the experience that these designs can provide to users can really enhance the brand and exposure of the site. Another pro of having this kind of approach to your site is that it allows you to display your expertise about the field, which often leads to more clients and projects.
You have explained pros and cons of art in very depth.
Absorbing post with stunning examples Angie. While I admit our own blog is quite visually immature in comparison (part WordPress’ fault and the rest is ours), a barrier to these styles come to mind that you didn’t touch on.
Beautiful design is a magnet that pulls you into a blog, but when faced with all that reverse type, most readers won’t bother. This is after all a blog…and there is content to be read. As a copywriter I have always had bunfights with my art directors over type. It’s meant to be easy to read, unless being challenging to read is the point. Most of these posts you have included I admired visually and moved on. Too hard.
I’ll definitely keep reading yours though. Your type was perfectly accessible. Cheers.
Wonderful list of the sites and I couldn’t agree more on the pros and cons. For designers, have to get some done no matter what.
Hey, thank you your writing style is amazing. just found your site on google. come
back later for sure :)
People will certainly link to these kinds of blog posts (knowing that infographs have been a good link bait style, why this would be any different). It’s time consuming, but definitely worth it, especially if you’ll be doing art directed posts to landing pages that you’re planning to generate profits or leads from.
When it comes to blog….content matters the most…….really great post thnks!
Thanks so much for the insight! As a struggling artist it’s always a bright spot when we stumble upon things like this. well done!
not to double post or anything, but I bookmarked this post. it’s good not only for blogging but for print, marketing, copy writing, you spelled it out nicely! dayum!
I too doing for past one year!i never thing about my blog design,i always things to post quality and good content.
i am impressed with your information,now i am going to design my blog also..
Great content about the pros and cons of art and its description. Our words of expression through blogging should be on the other hand, expressed with design and styles. This way, our readers and viewers will have the time to at least view the site if not be read. Great content with nice chosen styles will also add expression to readers to visit the site.
Hi Angie – what a super selection of art directed posts. I have now been told off for spending so long on the website. we are with blogger.com
All the examples are so good. art plays a huge role in making a blog and post attractive. well written article.
يعطيك الف عافيه على طرحك الرائع
Hey Angie,
Somehow found your blog and stumbled on to this post. I’ve just started my blog (well, re-started it is more the truth, this time with feeling after a half-hearted attempt earlier on) and find this post to be incredibly informative and provides quite a good bit of food for thought just at the time that I need it. Great site and great post. Thank you!
Hi Angie, Thank you for featuring my site, very flattering to be featured along side some great names. Your list of pros and cons are right on the mark, I am very guilty of letting the time factor get in the way of my posting but I aim to improve this during 2011. I am hoping a good regimented routine will do the trick, although we designers aren’t particularly good at sticking to those!
Overall I am really enjoying having an art directed blog, the end result is much more satisfying and so far the writing > designing process works well.
I have seen this on another site… cant remember where tho :/ Thx for a good post tho!
Great post, I think the time factor would be the biggest cause for less art inspired posts.
Wow, this post must’ve taken you a good amount of time as well! If I find a really interesting art based graphic that relates to my niche I’ll use it, but to spend a ton of time creating something that’s hard to get indexed in Google doesn’t make much sense for my niche, although mint.com uses a lot of them to gain backlinks and stand out in the personal finance niche.
More than a good blog. Well done …
As with anything, from print to outdoor ads, to books and well, to just about anything, design can either make or break you. And yes, I agree that the art direction should work with what your content is, not the other way around. I’ve seen blogs that are too “artsy” that I can hardly call them creative. They tick me off. The ones you have here work very well and are very appealing, makes me wanna read them all. Thanks Angie!
I’ve been trying to decide whether I do this for ages. Some people make it look so very nice and that’s very inspiring. However the time taken to make it look this good and function is the biggest downfall. I think for the time being I’m going to skip it. If I want to do it later hopefully it wont be hard to change.
Good content is easy to understand, transmit and discuss, and thus is art too.
Inspiring stuff. Cheers for posting. I guess its nice to see the whole web page like that, but in reality when viewing it on a screen you wont see so much in one go.
Beautiful examples. Another way to “freshen up the look” of a blog that seems to be growing in popularity is infographics. I’ve noticed several leading sites, like Mashable, that are incorporating infographics into their daily posts.
Hello,
Thanks for the post. I would say that readability and usability of a blog are important things than all other things.
Text is written to be read by someone. If people can’t read it, then won’t come again at a blog!
Nice article thanks for sharing dude
blogging can move us a bit out of our comfort zone, even though we tend to have a firm enough grasp on the topics that we tackle.
I agree with your points of pros and cons of art director. But every one is not a art director so,we have to encourage the art director to come up with their own creativity. Angie its one of the great post.
I need it for my, I have a friend. He is a freelancer
I like your blog design.
Excellent article, thank you for that!
Wow great article. thanks for sharing.
nice pics…very interesting to see such a great information..
Amazing pics!
It’s very Usefull
Great selection of art directed posts. I agree that the art direction breaks up the usual look but I think that they do not always compensate for the time necessary to create one.
Hi!
I’ve just started blogging for my Website. I’m working as a blogger professional for the last 2 years but today I realize the importance of graphics, you can say art, in our articles. The pictures in this article are making it more impressive. Now, I’ll do homework to figure out the right art for my site. Thanks and I’ll be waiting to get such more articles. Feeling quite happy to read a nice post with attractive arts. :)
Hey thanks for this informative post. I have an art site myself and constantly keep looking for design tips with no luck. This is a very comprehensive article shedding light on various key design areas – very helpful. Will definitely consider this and enhance my blog.
Now, I’ll do homework to figure out the right art for my site. Thanks and I’ll be waiting to get such more articles. Feeling quite happy to read a nice post with attractive arts. :)
Great content about the pros and cons of art and its description.
To keep the neck, muscle spasms, muscle aches, Joint pain, chest pain adalelerindeki contraction and,
Create a black and white page and I’ll have very little patience sifting through the content. But through thought out graphical presentation and you’ll instantly have me. We’re such visual creatures, the importance in marketing information in this manner is extremely high if you wish to effectively present your information to the world. Once again great post.
Wonderful blog posts, thanks!
Wonderful selection.Good and descriptive post about art.
Wonderful list of the sites and I couldn’t agree more on the pros and cons. For designers, have to get some done no matter what.
I believe your blog is excellent. I really like the way you organized your work.