I work as an Interaction Designer for Signal, a Chicago-based provider of mobile marketing technology.

You can also find me blogging at smallforgood.com.


Jan 09, 2007

Whoa…

As Neil Diamond once said, “everybody just cool out.”

Okay, maybe that was Will Ferrell as Neil Diamond. But I like to think Neil would want us to cool out as well.

If you’ve been here before, you’ll notice things look very different, and I will explain everything. Or, at least, some things.

A New Concept: the Tumblelog

I’ve been quite taken lately with the visual aspects of tumblelogs, in which brief posts and links are thrown together into the flow of the blog. Tumblelogs I’ve perused feel very fresh and top-of-mind, and I wanted to emulate that feel while giving equal weight to all the content on my site. This format also allows the homepage to visually change on a more regular basis, and places the reader’s focus squarely on the site’s content. Me likey.

Of particular fun is styling the tumblelog mix, and here’s how it’s working on Evolvingpage:

  • Basic posts begin with a large, centered header;
  • Film reviews appear in courier typeface and are sandwiched between two art deco-y doodads (for you non-designers, ‘doodad’ is a technical term that means ‘doohickey’);
  • Incoming links are marked by double carrots at left and a different background.

Have Your Say

In a marked reversal from when I launched Evolvingpage, comments are open (for 30 days) on everything, including Incoming links. I’ve had to switch the way I produce those links to make that possible, so here are the archived Incoming links. The current stuff can be accessed in the nav at the top of the page.

A caveat: all comments by co-worker Kenny will automatically be isolated and sprayed with a water bottle until they learn to stop clawing the furniture.

Finally…

I can’t lie. The overarching goal of this redesign was to apply pressure on Todd Prouty to do something beyond this lying splash page. You’re all talk, Prouty. Put your html where your mouth is.

There’s bound to be some tinkering needed along the way, and if you spot something ‘buggy’ in a browser, please be so kind as to let me know.

For now, that’s it, and that’s all.

  • http://www.walkjogrun.net Adam Howitt

    Wow! This looks fantastic! Great stuff Drew. Now I know why you’ve been skipping ping pong :-)

  • http://www.walkjogrun.net/ Jeff Kenny

    I’m really just testing this to see if you’re putting me in the penalty box. I think the new site looks cool enough, but I think the new tumblelog approach is tops. I think tumblelogs rock because that’s how my brain works.

  • http://www.evolvingpage.com Drew

    Thanks gents!

    Jeff: You just mind your p’s and q’s buster, and remember who you’re dealing with.

  • Jason

    So are you going to stop sorting your laundry as well. Just throw it all in there and see what happens.

    Good to see you living up to the name and evolving the page not a huge fan of the colors or the fonts but like the concept.

  • http://www.evolvingpage.com Drew

    You’re supposed to sort laundry?

  • http://poetryx.com Jough Dempsey

    Wandered in here while waiting for files to upload/backup.

    Looks great, Drew. The tumblog idea is great, and your visual differentiation of the different types of posts really make them easy to skip. ;)

  • http://www.evolvingpage.com Drew

    Well, thanks I sure – wait a minute…

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