We are looking at giving the blog a new look for summer? Why? Why not?
There are several good options available but everything you see here is a suggestion. We can refine these ideas, change things, and add features to make the SFR Brigade blog more accessible for our members and people who are cruising through looking for a new author to love (check our library!).
This is what the Brigade page currently looks like. Very utilitarian but not unattractive. Some people dislike the black background and have commented that it's hard to read on. Other people prefer this background. This is our default look that we will keep until something better can be found.
ETA: The side bars can change in color and level of transparency so that the image won't show through. Fonts, colors, post background colors, widths, and layout are all variables we can adjust.
Option #1 -The Generic Blogger Space Background
Option #2- The Eagle Nebula
Courtesy of the copyright free images at NASA (check the archives they are awesome!) we could use this bright nebula as the background. If we wanted a header could be made to match and all the font colors and backgrounds can be changed with ease.
Option #3 - The Solar Flare
A nice dark option with a little shot of heat for those who like our current background. This is also a NASA image. The simple image against black makes this a clutter free choice.
Option #4 - Close Up Of The Sun
It is summer in some parts of the world so why not something fiery? This is another NASA image, free for use, and tiled.
Option #5 - Something else entirely
We don't need to change the background. We could get one of the brigade members to donate their artistic talent to creating a background just for our use. You are welcome to scroll the NASA image archives and see if there's something you'd like better.
Leave your thoughts in the comments box below, link to the NASA pics you like and we'll try to add them to the line up. Next week the top favorites will be put up for official vote with a blind ballot widget so everything is anonymous.
Keep flying!
I have a slight issue with all the new ones - those semi-transparent side bars with such bright colours behind them might be difficult to read?
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely better to have a white background and black text. Makes it easier to read. I like option two, but I agree with Pippa about the sidebars.
ReplyDeleteI say generic, because of the contrast between the blue and the black. The others are too glaring. Having said that, you do want to create a solid contrasts on the sidebars, or people will simply ignore them.
ReplyDeleteI love options 2 and 3.
ReplyDeleteI'm also using a NASA Hubble image as my blog background. It's lots of fun to play with and it'll pull colors to use based on the ones in the background image.
I love #3 the Solar Flare (thanks NASA) and agree on the sidebars.
ReplyDeleteWe can change the transparency and the color of the side bars so that should be a non-issue. Once we have a background we can play with the variables to make everything easy to read.
ReplyDeleteWe can also change the colors on the side bars so they stand out a little better.
I like the simplicity of option 1. But, I definitely like the black text on white background on all the new options--much easier to read.
ReplyDeleteOption #2.
ReplyDeleteI love the nebula one. Very pretty, but kind of misty, and not going to draw attention away from the information.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything Anna said.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the solar flare one (really, any SPACE background will get my thumbs-up).
ReplyDelete;)
I'm finally catching up and am sooo glad #2 wasn't chosen. LOL, that's been my background for years now.
ReplyDelete