Warning: Your Blog Is Being Forgotten!
20
This is the 3rd article in our attempt to answer the question of What Makes a Good Design?. We’ve already covered site goals and user goals, but those only take effect when the use is actually on your site. What about when they’re elsewhere? Or even offline?
A purpose-built, usable blog is great, but if it isn’t strikingly designed, it will be forgotten! If a visitor reads your iPod article today, what is it that will make them think of you the next time they’re looking for iPod info?
Be different. Be unique. Be memorable. And here’s how:
The 7 Point Plan To Being Remembered
White background? Arial font? Photoshop-ed text as a header? We’ve seen these traits a million times before. They aren’t going to set you apart. You need something more.
- Logos and header images. By definition your logo is unique. It has to be. A well designed logo is memorable already, and if used often enough, in enough locations, it will become a part of your blog itself. In the same way, a distinctive header image will work wonders for your design, even if it isn’t quite so versatile.
- Interactivity. Whilst Ajax and such have taken off in web-apps and other web sites, blogs tend to remain a rather static affair. Whilst installing a common plugin won’t distinguish you, the controlled use of some JavaScript to add interaction to your design might. Dynamic search bar text and expanding categories are just two possible uses. What else can you think of?
- Images in posts. Images in posts may encourage reading, but they also act as a part of your design. If your style of photography is consistent, or the location in which you place the images is consistent, then the images have become part of the design.
- Color. What colors do you think of when I say McDonalds? Technorati? Microsoft? Color can be as distinctly memorable as any other aspect of your design. Mix up a good color combination, and it may well become the main part of your design. Plain white just won’t cut it in this case.
- Personal photograph. It doesn’t get much more unique than how you look. Photos are essential for personal branding, and on a one-man blog they will work just as well for your blog’s branding. If I asked you to list a few blogger names off the top of your head, how many of them can you associate clearly with photographs?
- Cyclic displays. Show off a random quote each day? Or a your favorite song at the moment? Something that is unique to you. Eric Meyer has a little box on his blog called “Excuse of the Day.” I never quite get them, but I sure do remember them when I think of his blog!
- Character designs. A popular trend lately has been to add cartoon-style figures to a web site. These remarkably friendly faces are always memorable, and even better, they can be drawn in whatever pose is necessary to suit the theme of the site. When I mention FreeLanceSwitch, I know you’re thinking about the little desk and computer in the banner!
Of course, if they remember you for your rubbish content, then all the design in the world won’t help! Assuming otherwise though, distinct design will brand your blog onto their memories, earning you many more return visitors.
What makes you remember a certain blog? Anything in particular that tends to strike out at you?
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About the Author
Michael Martin
Michael Martin is the founder of Pro Blog Design. He works as a freelance web designer, loves WordPress, and has an unhealthy addiction to smilies.
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The logo and header design is what appeals to me first . And then comes the color of the blog .
“but if it isn’t strikingly designed, it will be forgotten”
One of the major points, know the
. TechCrunch website colour/logo?
. Apple website colour/logo?
. WordPress website colour/logo?
Character designs are also called vector art.
As stated before, this IS one of the best series around,
and you’re getting better.
Nice tips :), for me it’s mainly the first and the last tip which I tend to remember. Cyclic displays, personal photographs and interactivity is something which doesn’t truly make me distinguish one blog from another though.
Color, hmm…. I think that for me is a thing which I only remember if it’s really obvious. McDonalds I’d say yellow and red, probably not far off with that.
But Technorati? Uhm… purple? No clue to be quite honest, even though I’ve seen it multiple times.
Microsoft I’d say black and white, since the logo is black and white. But many people would probably also link blue and green to it being from the XP style with Teletubby land background.
Colors are quite a tricky thing, especially the moment it’s what you get recognized by since it will limit you in future designs if you decide to keep that level of recognition.
Madhur – Likewise I suppose. Those would be the two major ones for me as well. :)
milo – Absolutely. All of those sites have done their branding well. Apple in particular have always been at the forefront of design with their products. Their web site and logo are no different!
As for the character art, thanks. I knew they were in a style that I associate with vector art, but I never realised that these were full vectors themselves. Very impressive! :)
And I’m glad you’re enjoying it still! I was worried you’d have been bored by now. ;)
Slevi – But together they do add up to an experience which will be remembered. Rarely will one thing make a design on its own.
As for color, you may be the exception then. Color is a very strong visual. What if I asked you for a color from ProBlogger? Or from ShoeMoney? Or some other blog that you do visit?
You aren’t being limited by maintaining your color. There are so many tones and possible combinations formed from one base color that the possibilities remain limitless.
I know you can work with different tones, but that’s pretty much it. In example if McDonalds would replace their red and yellow with green and blue it would pretty much lose a major part of it’s recognition.
The reason is the strong visual which you mentioned, once a color has been clearly set everybody will remember it and relate it to it.
Example of McDonalds again, they don’t just have the yellow M on a red background, but the bouncy castles, ball baskets, benches, etcetera. Everything is red and orange, it’s so been defined as the colors of McDonalds that a radical color change would be impossible.
Same goes for Ikea, blue and yellow. The Swedish colors but for many are probably more related to Ikea. Within Sweden though the older Ikea’s aren’t blue and yellow, making it hardly recognizable for people from outside of Sweden.
But in example take problogdesign there’s not really a color to set, there’s simply too much for it to truly stick. I think that’s also the issue with something like Microsoft in example or many websites in general.
Take a look in example and you’ll see a lot of green, a pale green~yellowish shade in the background, white, blue shades in the header, a brown footer bar and the icon is green and black again.
If you’d ask 100 different people you’ll probably also get different answers if you’d ask what are the 2 main colors you think about when you think about problogdesign.
This goes for quite a lot of blogs, especially if different colors are used in header, footer, sidebar and content. The section of the site which people look at most will stick, but this is different for different people. Myself in example I look at content and footer but tend to ignore sidebar and header. There’s a lot which are completely opposite and first look at header and sidebar, other combinations are also possible yet again of course.
So where as color works when it’s used in a simplistic fashion, it is less effective the moment you introduce more than 2 different colors since less people will relate the same colors to the object.
You’re right of course that rarely one thing will make a design rememberable on itself, but I wouldn’t underestimate color. Even with it being a strong visual it’s also a hard one to truly make an impact on somebody enough to stick. Keep it simple and you might get a good chance but make it more complex with multiple colors and you can start shoving aside your color for recognition.
If a blog design isn’t setting a clear primary color, that’s fine. There are 6 other ways up there to be memorable.
Like anything else, it’s only effective when used properly. I’m not arguing with that. ;) (But there’s no need to stick to just one color! Going back to McDonalds’, they are red AND yellow. Not just one or the other. :) )
I believe Logos and header images are critical. They’re the first thing people see, well usually that is.
Michael, besides the 7 points you mentioned. I’d like to add one and that’s THEMES (did anyone mention it yet?).
Quite often you come by people who use FREE themes or default available themes (As in blogger) so that makes the site less memorable.
It’s like 1 theme could remind you of many others.
The first impression I got from reading your blog is the header image and banner. The next thing that flowed was the colour scheme which is pleasant and reader-friendly.
You know, I’m big on color.
I will stick because of content, (if i have time, there are very few I”m consistent in right now and the mostly support my learning goals right now). But I have more chance of being struck if It sticks out to me.
Photos are important to me. Of course they need to not look like something you grabbed out of 1990 photo album and scanned after its been beat up. Has to look well taken. digital at least. I’m very relational and like to see the people… that helps me put face with name and thus blog with name= memory.
I’ve been thinking more and more about cutting down the scrolling on my homepage, so the collapsable categories is one I might give a shot (as well as excerpts on posts).
goldfries – That’s true. Using the same theme as many other sites use is virtually pointless, unless you can customise it a fair bit.
pablopabla – Thanks. I imagine the header here would be the first thing that most people see. It’s a lot….stronger? than the rest of the design.
Mommy Zabs – I agree with you about the photos, and I can see all the logic for having one. It’s one thing that I’ve never been great with though. I understand that others love to see your face when they talk to you online, but it’s just a desire that I’ve never shared. For that reason, it’s taken quite a while for me to get a pic anywhere online! xD
David – It might be worth a try. The very worst that can happen is that you undo it and go back to what you have. (Which doesn’t look bad tbh. Your layout is completely free of clutter, so the long list isn’t very noticeable. I hadn’t thought about it really until now!)
Michael, I would say one has to customize it quite a lot – like at least 50% facelift. :D
Slight modifications, say changing the font and color of WP’s Kubrick theme doesn’t cut it.
Whether it’s a blog or a website, the design is one that makes it different. Since we’re talking about blogs – usually a blog is about YOU! :D
So you have to DRESS your blog the way YOU are unless you don’t mind dressing up like Joe, Zoe , Moe, Harry, Larry, Barry, Karry and Darry and everyone else using the same theme. :D
Quite often I highlighted PERSONALITY in my articles about blogs – some people think it’s just the way the author writes but IMO it’s about the entire package.
I definitely think for me, It’s the logo, colors and just overall design. The design is what attracts me to a site (it may just be the designer in me?) The content is what ultimately holds me on a site and keeps me coming back, but initially the design draws me in for a few days until I get a feel for what the author likes to talk about.
A design can only hold ones attention for so long if there is not real quality content to back the great design up.
Yes, the caricature mascots are a very popular trend right now that everyone seems to be doing. Eventually every blog will have a caricature and looks almost identical and we’ll only be able to tell them apart by the character at the top of the page.
goldfries – Certainly, the more the better. But I think the most important thing is simply that you do something. You can make all the changes in the world, but the single change with the biggest impact will be the very first one.
Deron – Hmm… I wonder if I should get to work on a Pro Blog Design character right away then? :D
I translated your article, the article addresses is:http://www.newsunday.com/post/750.html
where is your TrackBack ?
Qinai – You’re just running articles through a free translator.
The trackback address is no better than the normal address that you’ll find in your browser.
I’d rather you didn’t translate any more of my articles though. Thanks. :)
ok,I will not translate your article .But I translated the article is artificial, not a free translator.
thanks!
i need a good back ground and a lot of stoffe
has to be. A well designed logo is memorable already, and if used often enough, in enough locations, it will become a part of your blog itself
may be some day will better