New Blog Design - What Do You Think?
Chrisg.com has a new theme today, check it out! 
It was actually completed a week ago but my moving house and broadband woes meant I couldn’t try it out until today.
The theme was created by Adii, a designer from South Africa. While the look has been transformed quite a bit, the idea was to keep the elements I liked from the old cobbled together theme while making the whole thing work and not appear so clumsy.
While there are still one or two small tweaks I think he succeeded, don’t you?
I would love to get your feedback on it. As I say, this is meant to be an evolution so there is no reason why it can’t continue to evolve!
You can read more about Adii at his own blog and also check out his portfolio. Let me know what you think about his design in the comments …
Posted on October 03rd, 2007 by Chris Garrett in News
Chris, I much prefer the other design - far less fussy and fuzzy. That’s just my personal opinion, no offence…
Tim
What I like about the new design:
* Bigger font. Much easier to read.
* Similar look and feel. Doesn’t make me think I’m on a whole new blog.
* Good use of tag line.
What I don’t like:
* Shows fewer elements in the first screen. (Especially your “About Chris Garrett” section in the right column.)
* The red dot in ChrisG.com logo - 3 colours would look better I think.
2 more ideas:
* Move the “Categories” from the right column to the top header. Will increase your page views.
* Mention “Authority Blogger” in the tag line. You own that term. So capitalize on it.
I like this. Its a little busy but definitely has visual impact.
I like the header. The sidebar seems slightly jumbled up, if you look in the top 3 sections the text is centred in the first section, then to the left in the subscribe section then to the right of the image in the about section. It’s hard to say how much difference it would make if it was all straightened out, but it could be worth a try.
A good design! The header and the sidebar are both beautiful!
不错!
Like it a lot Chris…hey, it also means that my blog doesn’t look like it was a rip off of yours anymore
I like the header and the width. The gradiented bars in the sidebar are a little jarring on the eyes and impact on the readability of the sub-headings. If it were up to me I’d put the Subscribe area above the Consulting area (because more people are going to want to subscribe than get blog consulting).
I’d also put your subscriber count up in the Subscribe area because it’s good social proof for your feed. Lastly, I’d simplify your popular posts down to five or so and rotate them, because people are much more likely to tackle a concise list. When faced with a long list of links the tendency is to go: too many choices, I give up!
Feel free not to take any of that advice, but I hope you can at least see the reasoning behind some of the suggestions.
I like it chris
The logo and the titles on the sidebar are much more prominent now.
Hi everyone - good to see that the new design has at least got everyone talking!
Obviously with any new blog design, some readers will accept it more easily than others. And I’m a firm believer that no design is perfect…
Overall I loved redesign Chris’ blog and it’s a major honour, considering how popular Chris is. I’ll keep checking your comments and if Chris decides to change a few things accordingly, we’ll revise the current design a bit.
Chris,
I like it a lot.
It looks nice Chris, but I agree with Skellie on the subscriber count… get that Feedburner number moved up top where it belongs.
I like it. It’s good that the change doesn’t make me think I’ve come to the wrong place. However, I’m here for the content anyway, not the scenery. As long as it’s easy to read, I’m usually happy.
One question - why do so few bloggers use fluid column widths? It seems that as screens get bigger, above the fold real estate could also increase considerably for sites that use them. Is there some drawback that I’m not aware of?
I think it looks great, however, I agree with Skellie that that gradient in the sidebar headers is rather jarring, and unecessary. Every time I’m here I wonder what the story is behind that header- why that picture? Maybe you’ve mentioned it in the past, and I need to search through your archives to satisfy my curiosity.
Chris, it looks great! It’s clean and inviting. It says “professional.” Nice job!!
I like it. Really glad to see that you kept the old look and feel, but livened things up a little bit. Like I said to Adii it’ll be nice when I can afford a redesign for my blog.
I like the added width. One thing you might want to consider is making the sidebar bg a slightly different shade. It tends to get a little mixed up with the content, but thats just my 2 cents.
New design but it feels like I’ve never left the old one =)
The familiarity is still there, but things are better looking (clearer, especially the header image) and easier to read =)
I prefer the older design. Even though this one pops out at you, it looks to busy and jumbled for my taste. It has a similar look at feel but too many items on the page pop out at you.
I like it, nice work.
On the overall, I prefer this one. It gave a final touch to the design that was already there. But I do have some observations:
* In the post area, the image needs some separation from the text. It lacks a little of space to breath.
* There is an incompatibility of some elements, the rounded corner on the title doesn’t have any counterpart in all the rest. Maybe only the rounded buttons of “Go” and “Subscribe”, but the “Submit Comment” has a different style.
* There is an empty gradient over “Popular articles” which I can’t find a reason for.
Hope it helped
Mmmmmm…. Not convinced this is better. To wide and I really do not like the fading grey section headers in the right hand column as they sort of do your eyes in. Sorry bud but I guess you can not please everyone.
Now that the picture at the top is bigger I’ve only just realised its you and your clones and not you and your mates (though I guess clones could be mates).
I see you’ve moved to Wordpress as well, top decision.
Like the top navigation. The whole thing is definitely more “open” and seems less cramped. From a branding standpoint, it’s easier to tell what the blog is about from the left of the header. I agree with the Skellie - the fading bars keep drawing my eyes to it, especially when I’m trying to read what’s under them.
Overall, I think it’s great!
I think the Home Subscribe etc links across the top could be taken a font size or two. It kinda smacks you the face with it and that’s not a pleasant feeling IMO. Really the whole header could probably be taken down one notch.
I like the sidebar a lot (although there seems to be one extra grey bar that’s blank).
Also, I’d stick with the same color dot over the i and for the .com part.
Other than that though I really like it!
Chris,
I like the new theme. Here are a few comments:
1. I like the fact that your consulting stands out, because I assume that ultimately what you want people to do is hire you.
2. I think there could be a little more whitespace between your main blog post text, the sidebar and the edges of your site. However, it is still pretty readable.
3. I like the larger font.
4. I think that some people (some), might not realize that the menu bar at the top is a menu bar, because the background color is the same background as the rest of your blog It doesn’t stand out as being different.
Overall, really nice look. I will have to head over and check out Adii’s portfolio.
The new site exudes energy without being too “in your face”. What did stick out for me as likes: the header, sidebar choices (though I agree with Skellie that you should consider rotating a shorter list of Popular Articles), and the colors. The one piece I am struggling with is the very top site navigation buttons. I think they look like an after thought somehow…they don’t seem to fit the style of the rest of the page. Just one teeny tiny point of view. Your content is killer.
I dont really like the thin big font used for the top nav and the post titles, it seems like it should be a little fatter. Like the font on the post titles you email out. I like that the right column is a bit larger but it seems to steal a little of the show from your posts.
Either way your content is king, I wont stop lookin.
We are redesigning our blog right now it should be ready soon, would love for you to take a look when we have the redesign up. I will let you know.
I like it, except the sidebar headings. The dark gradients keep drawing my eyes away from the content.
Also, I recognize Adii from Nyssa Brown. Funny how things link together!
Looks amazing Chris. A little cleaner but not too different that I don’t know where I am. Adii did a great job.
@Tim - no offense taken, it is good everyone tells me what they think
@Ankesh - Great thoughts, I especially like using the authority blogger tag … hmmm
@Tom - Maybe we need to tone it down a notch, don’t really want it to be too busy
@Matt - I will definitely take a look at the alignments
@sofish - Thanks
@Jack - Heh, an unexpected benefit
@Skellie - Great feedback, thanks
I am still undecided about the consulting box, I might move the services as pages on this blog which would require a different approach I think. What would you suggest with the sidebar headers? The top posts list is also for some small SEO benefit 
@Kevin - Thanks Kevin, I think we have progressed a great deal but can still manage a few more tweaks I think
@Adii - Much appreciated and great work, I am really happy with not only what you have done for me but especially how you approached it
@Fred - Good to hear
@Brian - Will have to see how it can be incorporated
@David - It is much easier to design to a fixed with and make it look good, that seems to be main reason
@Randa - The story is not so fascinating. It is me and my two clones, it can symbolize all the different roles a blogger has or you can see it as an explanation of how I get so much done
I just like it better than just having the plain ol’ pic of me grinning (which I also have of course) 
@David - cool, that was one of the thoughts we were aiming for
@A Blog - Glad you like
@John - Yeah I think it would do well with a subtle background tint …
@pelf - great stuff, legibility was a major concern
@Shortshire - I worried about that, we will have to see if we can tone the sidebar down a bit
@Jim - thanks Jim, much appreciated
@Guilherme - We are taking a look at the images, something was amiss and we just did a tweak but not sure we caught everything (smilies for one) - thanks
@Mark - It was always on WP but I had kind of gone mad with “tweak of the week” so it was time I had an expert interpret what I was going for rather than live with a creaking mass of botches
@Mike - The sidebar is a recurring theme, we will have to revisit that. I appreciate your feedback
@Blogging Experiment - Agree with the font size and the logo. The new version is more defined and cleaner but the dot above the i seems to be detached a little.
@George - Yeah I am with you with the white space, we will have to look at that
@Sue - Perhaps bringing the top nav font down might help there?
@Colbs - Great stuff, let me know when it is done
@Mike - Another vote for the sidebar revisit then
@Dave - Yup he did a great job and didn’t swear at me once
Thanks all for your feedback, it is much appreciated
Great design overall, features your content while using colour/images to add interest/direct attention.
Your main content and sidebar could perhaps be clearer if you had some more white space between them, or perhaps a gentle visual separation?
In addition to bringing your feedburner counter up, the number of comments you draw also says a lot about your readership. What about a recent comments widget, and/or or more prominent comment counts?
A few minor technical details - your pages don’t have meta descriptions specified, which might lead some pages to go supplemental unnecessarily. So Metatagz or other plugin needed. Also could do with a validation tidy up, and perhaps lose the WP version number in your page source to avoid giving away details useful only to hackers.
Your Consulting widget is designed to get clicks - and yet most of the real estate in the widget isn’t clickable, and there are 5 separate links crammed into the text at the bottom of the widget. What action do you really want? Perhaps rather than 5 separate links here, what about one nice big easy-to-click target to lead in to your Consulting services.
@Glenn - I think the sidebar is already stuffed but there must be something I can do around comments, good idea. Good catch with the meta and wp info, will get that sorted. The consulting box is in flux as I think I have decided to change my approach to that - right now it links to OMIQ but I find the two brands (me and my company) only serve to confuse so I am going to consolidate. The LTD company was just a legal structure anyway, everyone who works with me knows the company is mostly me with specific outside help anyway
Easier to read, indeed. Not that it has been a problem ever for me, but it has gotten neater overall.
I think it’s great you’re using more of the available ‘real estate’. The text sizes are nice too, and legibility is what I aim for with my own blog.
One point about your header image, for me, it makes the content below appear disjointed. If you had that clone image (love the creativity) stretch the full width, with your text superimposed, it’d really help. Perhaps that particular image doesn’t lend itself to that though.
Also, like Skellie and Brian say, lift your feedcount icon. I’d be proud of that!
All the best.
@ Glenn - I just had a look at the validation errors and all of the XHTML errors come from the content itself - not my coding! (phew…)
And the CSS errors are suprisingly due to improper coding of the Sociable plugin…
@ Chris - download and install Auto Meta for the meta descriptions.
Almost forgot…
@ David - being a graphic designer yourself, I appreciate your suggestions about the header image, but the size of the image doesn’t allow it to be stretched to the full width (unfortunately)…
Love the theme! I think the top navigation menu on the right side is screaming for a nice RSS icon… perhaps an Email Subscription link as well. I just redid the RSS link on my site and added email and mobile. Something similar may go perfect up there.
I really like the whitespace separation of the primary and secondary content. Well done!
I like the new design. Of course, I’m a fan of most of Adii’s work. I’m a big fan of the sidebar’s look. Everything seems to stand out, but not overpower anything else.
I think I like the old one better, but I’m not big on change in general. :] The sidebar is really jarring for me, so once you decide if/how you want to tweak that, I may find that I can adjust a little more easily. Those headers do distract me, especially when I’m scrolling down to continue reading. It’s like, WHOA! WHAT’S THAT? Startling somehow. Can’t quite pinpoint it…
kk
@ Justin - thanks for the support bro! It’s much appreciated…
@ Everyone’s suggestions… It’s really Chris’ call on whether we will implement the suggestions or not. I’m just the designer of the overall feel of the design - the nitty-gritty requirements are according to Chris’ specs!
I like the design Chris. It’s different, but not so different that I wouldn’t have recognized where I was.
The larger font is welcomed. I was always having to adjust it on my end to read. The gradient heading in the sidebar are pulling my attention a lot. That’s great if you want me to look there more, but it might be just a little much if you want me to stay focused on the content. Maybe a little lighter so the contrast between the darkest part of the gradient and the white background is reduced some.
Chris, I really like it. It does look like a freshened up version of the old one. I know some folks prefer the older one, but I know that theme was just a tweaked version of an existing free WordPress theme. Pro bloggers know that having your own unique design is important.
I’m not a big fan of the gradient sidebar headings. The gradient is too pronounced. If it were a more subtle fade, I think that would improve them a lot.
I’ve always been mystified by — and mysteriously drawn to — the picture in your header. It looks like a late night problem-solving session. Or maybe you’re all just waiting for pictures of naked ladies to load. Nobody knows!
Hi Chris! I like your new design. It’s clean, simple and easy to navigate. For me, easy navigation trumps everything else. You can have the best content in the world, but if no one can find it, then what’s the point? Now your blog has a great design to complement your great content! Keep up the good work!
The truth of the matter is that I would read your blog even if the theme was pretty bad. The only way I wouldn’t read it is if it were white text on a black background, because I have a terrible time trying to read light text on a dark background.
Overall, I like it, but I agree with BloggingExperiment that the fonts and the header image could be shrunk down a little bit.
I’m generally a fan of slightly smaller fonts, so everything seems larger to me, but that’s probably good for readability.
Finally, I agree with what others have said about the gradients on the sidebar, especially what Mike said about the dark colour drawing my eyes away from the “real” content.
Well wider is better…
Nothing clumsy about this design Chris. It’s clean and well organized. A big improvement!
Also wanted to mention real quick that I recently read your Flagship Content ebook, and it sparked a lot of ideas for me. Thanks for offering up such a great little info-product!
yeah - nice work guys!
The header just stands out and calls for attention, I like!
The title on teh sidebars appear a bit too glairy however! They do not really sit nice in the design and appear added on as an after thought!
However I did not notice your free download book before until today (includes RSS feeds and visited this site several times). So that position is perfect!
i was very drawn to the sophisticated aesthetic of the previous theme, this theme keeps that, and makes it more appealing to a wider audience at the same time. So it is an evolutionary step, bravo.
Very nice redesign Chris. Kudos Adii.
Perhaps just activating the orange nav background for the current page instead of just having it appear on hover will break up the emphasis on the stark and thin black lettering and provide a bit more contrast. I do like its simplicity nonetheless. I like the effect of the blog title on the header.
Good ideas on the Authority Blogger tag and the more prominent subscriber count positioning.
Could use a little more white space below the header before the post and sidebar. Maybe a little more around the sides.
Don’t care for the folder/binder icons. I’d do some kind of bullet variation or simply allow the dotted lines to set off the list items. The icons don’t so much make sense–too system-explorer-like. I think. I guess these I notice the most… funny what catches the eye.
But this is quibbly stuff. Very nice redesign to go with your great content. And congrats on the successful move.
Nice and simple. Just the way I like it.
I don’t like those complicated blogs.
Great job!
Carlo
It doesn’t grab me at all. Too squished. Colors are bland.
I’ve never understood that picture in the upper right hand, frankly. I would think that you could use the space more creatively and constructively, like by making your bio. more prominent or showing a photo of something with more action and interest than the back of some guy’s (presumably yours) head.
You’re a nice looking guy . . . make your other picture bigger and ditch that nonsense in the corner!
I think the new design is very sleek and modern.. I like it a lot
Adii is talented
(;
Re: sidebar headings, I’d make the bars 2/3 the dark gray shade on the left and 1/3 medium grey, placing the medium gray portion on the right-hand side (where the gradient is now). I think this would be better for readability while preventing your bars looking too solid. Maybe something to mess around with, at least, even if you prefer it how it is now :).
Overall, I like it. My comments are about photos.
Chris, you need to have a more professtional photo. Look at Adii’s photo - relaxed, a little cool but professional. Even if you use your photo, recrop it. You have too much background in the top of the photo.
The photo of yourself, with your back to us, and your 2 buddies staring at the screen should really portray a better image. Even though you may work in the extra room of your house, the internet gives you the ability to create a fascade.
Chris:
I’m in 100% agreement with Becky here on the photo of you. Make it more about you, less about the background, etc. In the top banner, your back is to us… It’s not about the technology, it’s about the people.
Chris, a quick hint that I find important for your theme.
It seems the text is kind of cluttered, I can’t remember if it was already like this, but since you asked I am paying more attention.
I would increase the line-height property, so there is a little more space between lines of text.
The color is nice, and layout also nice. But the typohraphy is a bit bussy. Just my suggestion:
Try to increase the font size of the post title.
Make the navigation font size smaller (it’s too big now).
Increase line height of the paragraph. You are using Arial, it needs more wider line heigt. Arial is a crowded type face.