That preview I was talking about? Forget about it. It looks nothing like that anymore. I’ve gotten so fed up with it at this point that I needed a break. So what have I been doing? Thinking about what it is I like about some of my favorite blogs/sites on the Web. And in my infinite wisdom, I’ve decided to ease up on myself and have some fun for a bit.

Over the next few weeks, as I work on MY redesign, I am going to redesign this place to look like some of my favorite blogs/sites and talk about what it is I like about their design. To those designers whose sites I copy, please don’t take offense. I’m not really stealing your designs. I’ll be working these up pretty quick and dirty for the most part. They will only be temporary, and I can only say you guys rock!! Class acts all the way. Thanks for the inspiration.

First up on the chopping block [as it were] is harrumph! by the lovely and talented Heather Champ, also of FOJM fame (I promise I’ll send in a photo or two).

The first thing you notice is the cleanness of the design. Very neat and tidy. Nothing overpowers anything else. Cool isn’t it? I always thought so too. I also believe this current design is sans Blogger. I’m not completely sure. It’s basically a three column design, and is fairly liquid, which is great. Occasionally, liquid design is done where the text fills the screen, and it gets difficult to read. Thankfully that’s not the case here. The text area is kept well within readability limits.

The first column on the left is the Blog section. Verdana is the font of choice, and Heather uses a line spacing of 19 pixels here, which makes it extremely readable. Next to that, in the center column, is the real eye candy. Her fantastic photos. She’s always got something new and interesting here. Heather can take a picture of a toaster and make it look cool. I’ve seen anywhere from 1 to 4 photos here. And they’ve never been anything less than excellent. On the right hand side are the navigational elements. the links to her other photographic projects, stories, archives, gear (t-shirts, etc.), as well as other links of interest. She’s gone the smart route here, and kept this to a minimum and added a ‘more…’ link where needed, which takes you to an extended list. The long list of links can get crazy on the main page and make it look a little messy. Just look at my list to get an idea of what I mean, hehe.

Next is the color scheme. It’s probably the closest you can get to silver white and gold on the Web without being gaudy. Nothing is in your face screaming “CLICK ME!! CLICK ME!!”. Even the hover color is perfect. Nearly any other color would stand out too much against the other colors. If you check the code, you’ll notice even the main text isn’t black, although it’s close. Actually, I don’t think there is a thing that is black, except the black and white of her photographs. Very reserved. The overall look says class.

The logo. Ah yes the logo. The wild and crazy ‘Harrumph!’ being held in check by the reserved and upstanding ‘HARRUMPH!’. Oh, the duality of it all!. Did she plan that? We may never know. It’s definitely a recognizable logo though. And just so you know, my version is meant to be a pale imitation, so hush up!

Then of course there’s her tag line—[ Don’t let the name fool you, baby! It’s all about LOVE ]. It is all about Love isn’t it? Very cool.

And there you have it, one of my favorite layouts. This was fun. Tune in next time when I’ll be tackling the elusive zeldman in the wild. That master of the 2 pixel, black border. The guy who has spawned more clones than a Jurassic Park experiment.