Housekeeping - Design, Logo, Guest Writers Plea, etc

Design

Well, not much to report on my new design.
But, I believe I have all the visual quirks worked out.
However, I shall be busy for a bit, and thus, it may be a week or two before I finish the PSD.
When I finish that, I’d like to have some of my readers review it.
Again, if you’re interested in reviewing my design, let me know.

Logo

plainbeta logo

After much deliberation and some input (thanks kristarella), I have decided not to branch out too far from my logo. I’m reverting to a version I had before, and adapting it a little.
More input would be greatly appreciated.

Even so, I am entering it into Logo Design Love’s Blog Logo Competition.
Wish me luck!

Guest Writers Needed!

Guest Writers Plea

Towards the end of February I shall be going on a ski trip with my family and some friends.
Thus, I would like some guest writers. :-)

If you’re interested, get in contact with me and we can discuss it more.
I’m looking for posts on design or blogging.

Etc…

I had a few things I wanted to say here…
But I forgot them all but one.

How do you write this blog’s title in plain text?

I have been starting to get a few more links as of late, and I have seen many ways to write plainbeta.
It’s one word - plainbeta.
Not two (Plain Beta), not two joined together (PlainBeta), nor anything else (plainBETA, PLAINbeta, etc).
Ultimately, ‘plain’ should be grey, and ‘beta’ should be blue - but even I’m too lazy to do that. (Though I shall incorporate that into the new look)

So why plainbeta?

Ok, lemme let you in on a little secret.
I’m not perfect.
Shocking, I know! ;-P
Thus, the idea behind plainbeta is I am simply a work in progress - I’m still in my beta stage.

Simple as that.

Until next time,
Brian Purkiss

Photo by yoppy

 

10 Responses to “Housekeeping - Design, Logo, Guest Writers Plea, etc”

  • i really like to logo

     

  • So do I… :D
    I really enjoy reading PlainBETA. :P

    RolliePohlie
    February 6th, 2008


     

  • Hi Brian,

    Thanks for mentioning my logo design awards, and best of luck with your entry.

    One thing I’m curious about with your logo is the placement of the tagline. It doesn’t seem to be aligned to anything, but rather floats a little. Was this a concious decision?

     

  • @ David
    No problem! And thanks!

    That is correct.
    I did have it right-aligned to the title, but it seemed to make everything too boxy.
    By floating it a little, everything seemed to… round out (?) a little more. No… that’s not the right wording… I dunno, it just seemed to balance everything out a little more with the placement of the icon.

    What are your thoughts!

     

  • Brian,

    The logo looks good man. I really like it. Simple but catchy. One thing that really jumps out at me though, with the logo is the kerning. Maybe this is just the way you designed the logo and are fine with it (and that’s totally cool, you shouldn’t change it on my account). But, the kerning is the spacing between each letter. So for example, in the logo, the “pla” letters are all touching each other? Then the “in” have spacing between them? That’s where kerning needs to be adjusted so that their is equal spacing between letters. Just adds an extra layer of readability to the logo (not to say it isn’t readable now though). Looks like the “design & blogging” could use some adjustments too. The spacing around the “e” in design really jumps out at me and looks to have more spacing around it than the other letters an the “og” in blogging seems to be really close?

    Anyway, not shooting your design down here, cause I really do like the logo, just wanted to point that out. I used to have the same problems with logos until it was pointed out to me at the SitePoint forums and then it was like a “holy cow, you’re right” moment and now it’s the first thing I see when I look at a logo.

    Good luck Brian.

     

  • The reason I had the kerning on the ‘i’ is it would have gotten lost if I had mashed it up to the ‘a’ and the ‘n.’

    thanks for pointing that out though.
    I’m gonna adjust that.

     

  • Deron makes a great point about the kerning.

    How come you show a different logo in this article to the one you’re using at the top of your site?

     

  • The reason I’m showing two different logos is because I’m working on a new (and completely custom) design.
    This is a heavily modified layout, and doesn’t quite fit what I want.

    Unfortunately I have a busy schedule, so I don’t know when I’ll be able to finish it.

     

  • Deron’s point and explanation about kerning was good.

    I like the way you’ve used the colours.

    Don’t worry too much about how long it takes to get your new design out. What you have here is attractive and functional. Better to take the time that you need on a new one than rush it.

    Good luck in the logo contest!

     

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