A Design Update of My Blog

It's been over a decade since I had the enthusiasm to tweak the design of my blog. Recently, I've had a more relaxed time, so I had a nostalgic urge to be back here. 

It all began from not liking the free templates that Blogger had (still has) to offer. I had been itched with the idea of being able to display the visuals that I wanted my blog visitors to see in the blog design. So I taught myself how to understand and modify CSS and some HTML languages through many Google searches. I mean that's the next best thing to hiring a professional website editor!

I'll share my web designs from time to time using Wayback Machine to revisit my expired designs from the past.

Designed in 2011

The 2011 design was extremely, heavily inspired by a mathematician blogger based in the UK. Though his was a lot cooler, of course! Duh! I'll show you his blog design below.

The resemblance is uncanny

Designed in 2012

The 2012 design was one of the most interesting ones for me because I had to meticulously measure the exact length and width using Photoshop for everything and that included the space for the Ad Sense. I was inspired by a blueprint of a building. The notes and sketches on the paper were intriguing to me.

Designed in 2013

The 2013 design was somewhat tasteless. I played around with placing the sidebar menu attached to the frame side.

As for the 2024 design, I wanted it simple while exuding elegance and maturity. The main inspiration for the choice of fonts was The New Yorker's article page. I decided to present a blog post at a time with no other buttons other than the Home button, and that's only because the header is somewhat unclickable so I had to create a designated button to return to the homepage. 

Designed in 2024

Anyway, those are not the only designs I've ever created. I just couldn't have access to the archive of all of the blog designs from the past. If I ever stumble into more of them, I can always update this post with more screenshots.

Thanks for stopping by if you did! 

Cheers!

Updated on March 6, 2024: It is now adopting a newspaper style.

Designed on March 6, 2024

Went Premium

I'll try not to write an advertorial article. 

Recently, I've been spending time on Youtube more than on Netflix for feeding my curious empty mind. As I mentioned in the previous post, my Youtube recent history is mostly about art and history. Often I fall asleep to a two-part video about The Garden of Earthly Delights. More often I get annoyed by the advertisements that pop up in the midst of the most interesting bit of the video. So, I wondered if it would be worth it to upgrade to a premium subscription. My friend once shared the benefits of being a premium member but at the time I didn't consider it useful -until two days ago. After barely a minute of reading the shortlist of premium benefits, I reached my wallet and took out my credit card to fill in my information, full of excitement. 

And, now I can't remember how many videos I have watched since I became a premium member. It did make a huge difference. As my mind keeps expecting watching a skip-worthy ad right before the video starts, it's just never there anymore. The experience has been satisfying. 

"Great Art Explained"

Still, in Taiwan. Always.

For the past two months, the country has been hit with an infamous viral outbreak. Most people, and I, are required to stay at home. The trying constant cycle of waking up and going to bed while being in a rather small room has indeed birthed some revelations. I would call the experience prisoning. Loss of time perspective and health-driven routines came to a realization simultaneously. When I would normally enjoy my dinner I would be busy exercising of which techniques I had made up, then have dinner afterward. 

I have become more focused on myself. Discovered new hobbies? Not quite. But, it feels as if a day is given more hours to last. I've managed to schedule my everyday routines down to the minutes of the hour. I've moved on from the great boredom and longing to meet friends for meals. It wasn't easy to finally adjust.

Thus far, among most of the time that I have spent doing research, I've produced three paintings and several pen drawings. I've become more appreciative of history-filled art from the Renaissance. My YouTube history is now filled with clips from production by Great Art Explained. It's fascinating to be visually taken back in time when the most popular paintings in the world were produced by legendary artists whose names ranged from Edouard Manet to Vincent Van Gogh. Understanding the painting's history has inspired me to be confident in my art-making process. Who knows, right?

Alright, the call for a nighty-night sleep has come. Next time I write here I will include my aforementioned paintings and drawings.

No, actually I will include my pen drawings in this post.

Playing with shades