May 26, 2006
26.5.06 | Posted by
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In A Designer And A Writer, Aditya talks about the need of web designers to put on a writer hat when doing their work.
Now, let take this point and drag it all the way to our thing: Blogger blogs.
Blogger actual templates and gui´s for the platform are really frozen in time from the last Blogger reboot when Google adquired Blogger,and i don´t mean that just in the terms of features, but also in the terms of what a display must be. i mean the actual layout i am using, is still inspired by the sheer simplicity of what the Minima Template is and looks like, it not to wonder why i named the template Minimatik (the name is inside the source code).
So, what happened to the real advances in the terms of gui´s and blogger blog design?, i mean ok, there has been improvement in it, but it has not arrived from the source, everything done in that area has been made up by the bloggers themselves.
Most of them are based on 3 simple premises:
The 3 column layout(like this one),
The Big Rectangle (one post interfase, one main column in a frame,etc)
The Template Port (from typad,wordpress or actual regular websites that got then redone to be used in Blogger)
And you know what?. It is not enough, becuase in the end they are incomplete jobs, for me a template, an actual template must be not only a layout with a theme, but also contain actual proper functions for that specific template or that have them adapted for that template. that is where we come around to Aditya´s point, designers must think as writers, must think in the utilitary use of a design and must think that artful design without guts becomes just a interactive painting but not a good Gui or Template that can be used for years without it getting dated.
That is why there are so many deserted free templates blogs in the bloggerosphere, and the why of their failure to catch on.
A really good example is making belive templates that are just variations of a template, becuase only the colors change, a template should be released in one post and then added to it when a new version for that same template is done, not posting every single new variation as a whole new post and as if it where a completely different template.
If you are not going to offer full experiences then the blogger blog scene is not going anywhere in that area until the next executive upgrade.
A designer need to be able to write into perceptions.
Now, let take this point and drag it all the way to our thing: Blogger blogs.
Blogger actual templates and gui´s for the platform are really frozen in time from the last Blogger reboot when Google adquired Blogger,and i don´t mean that just in the terms of features, but also in the terms of what a display must be. i mean the actual layout i am using, is still inspired by the sheer simplicity of what the Minima Template is and looks like, it not to wonder why i named the template Minimatik (the name is inside the source code).
So, what happened to the real advances in the terms of gui´s and blogger blog design?, i mean ok, there has been improvement in it, but it has not arrived from the source, everything done in that area has been made up by the bloggers themselves.
Most of them are based on 3 simple premises:
The 3 column layout(like this one),
The Big Rectangle (one post interfase, one main column in a frame,etc)
The Template Port (from typad,wordpress or actual regular websites that got then redone to be used in Blogger)
And you know what?. It is not enough, becuase in the end they are incomplete jobs, for me a template, an actual template must be not only a layout with a theme, but also contain actual proper functions for that specific template or that have them adapted for that template. that is where we come around to Aditya´s point, designers must think as writers, must think in the utilitary use of a design and must think that artful design without guts becomes just a interactive painting but not a good Gui or Template that can be used for years without it getting dated.
That is why there are so many deserted free templates blogs in the bloggerosphere, and the why of their failure to catch on.
A really good example is making belive templates that are just variations of a template, becuase only the colors change, a template should be released in one post and then added to it when a new version for that same template is done, not posting every single new variation as a whole new post and as if it where a completely different template.
If you are not going to offer full experiences then the blogger blog scene is not going anywhere in that area until the next executive upgrade.
A designer need to be able to write into perceptions.
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4 comments:
I think you need a Wall Disney picture on the blog now.
@http://categories.blogspot.com/: I think you need a Wall Disney picture on the blog now.
Oh boy, you really are getting obscure with the jokes.. but i think i get the joke..
Just as I thought you understood. You don't like Walt? Okay, I will try not to be funny from now on but I'm not making any promises. Who are you to complain about comments anyway? Just use the delete button and delete me? :=)
ok, no rant, no jokes..... what else can I do? hummmm... drama? ... Feature requests? Yes, this I can do! But this isn't the spot.
The original post topic was worth some thought. Templates should compliment their subject, I could never create a good canvas for a subject I know nothing about. It's a bit like actors pretending to play chess, it just shows. Most sites designs soled are pure graphics, the topic is often reduced to a simple header image. I guess the world isn't waiting for minima pink?
I need to think about it a bit longer, I'm sure I don't understand how it should be done.
@Gaby de Wilde: Just as I thought you understood. You don't like Walt? Okay, I will try not to be funny from now on but I'm not making any promises. Who are you to complain about comments anyway? Just use the delete button and delete me? :=)
ok, no rant, no jokes..... what else can I do? hummmm... drama? ... Feature requests? Yes, this I can do! But this isn't the spot.
The original post topic was worth some thought. Templates should compliment their subject, I could never create a good canvas for a subject I know nothing about. It's a bit like actors pretending to play chess, it just shows. Most sites designs soled are pure graphics, the topic is often reduced to a simple header image. I guess the world isn't waiting for minima pink?
I need to think about it a bit longer, I'm sure I don't understand how it should be done.
I think that i indeed undestood that joke.
About the topic, yes is not easy to come up with that whole experience template, it would need to have 3 parameters to focus:
1.-Layout
2.-Theme
3.-Functions implementations
In the case of blogger that is easy to decide, you actually have to add several features into a template so they work on blogger like a regular blogger blog does.
But there is also a very important thing besides doing the template and that is the tutorial for it, becuase in some case the formats in the template also affect the display, it is important that the tutorial for said template has a tutorial in the recommended format so you can tell the user what is the actual best display with that said template.
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