[Do you see the new blog header? If not, hold down the ‘Control’ key and ‘F5’ key at the same time to refresh your page if you aren’t seeing the new header.]
When the seasons change, I’m often motivated to change as well. I purge clutter, enjoy new seasonal food kicks, and break out a to-do list before succumbing to disorganization in 3 days time. Ah, it’s great.
The other day I was reading an article about improving the appearance of a blog. It said, ‘If your website had no text at all, would people know what your blog was about?’
I imagined my blog without text. All that was left was a creepy, glow-y profile picture circa 2008. Yikes.
It was kind of like looking back on my Grade 2 picture seeing myself with a side pony tail and a scrunchie.
Oh wow. Thanks Mom?
I’d like to think this new header is clean, fresh, and seasonal. Aside from my dying basil plant, I was able to grow these vegetables in my garden this summer (the picture, however, is from 2010).
My plan is to create a new header for each season shooting local and seasonal produce. So if you hate this one, it’s only going to be around for about a month. For Fall, you’ll probably see gourds, squash, pumpkins, candy corn, apples, etc.
For Winter, you’ll probably see snow, ice, and extremely unflattering winter boots circa 1994. For Spring, dirt and mud. You get the idea.
This header was a close second with a new and improved tagline…
My third idea was a Chocolate Chunk Toffee Bar dipped into a Green Monster. It demonstrated a lovely balance of health and indulgence, but perhaps not the most photogenic header of all time.
PS- Photoshop owns my soul.
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I thought it would be fun to have a discussion about blog headers today. What makes a great blog header? For bloggers: Did you design yours or have someone design it? What do you love about your header or want to change? Feel free to link to your blog in the comments.
I like the new header. It does explain what your blog is about. Change is a good thing. I think my header explains things well but I guess I am a little partial because I really like the way my blog looks :)
I need a new header! I’m not good with photoshop though.
hehe the eat chocolate is hilarious! I love it! I love the new header as well! very colorful!
I like your new header, and the seasonal idea is fun. I designed my header and am pretty happy with it, but when I first saw the push-ups picture I thought I looked super dorky. I guess I do, but I think it works :)
I LOVE your new header and I think it was a much needed improvement! You’re right, when you head to a blog or website, you want to know what it’s about right away! This one is perfect! I actually had ashley from edible perspective design my header. I love it, but also feel ready for something different. Can you give a step by step of how you created your own?
Well the hardest part was choosing a picture!
I tried to choose something very clean looking that would give me space to have text without overlapping.
Once I had the picture, I had to make sure it could be cropped into the right size that fit my current header (although I did make it a bit less tall as recommended by Eric).
After that I looked for fonts online, opened the file in photoshop and got to work trying all kinds of fonts and colours. I tried red, purple, orange, green, blue colours for the text and green looked best to pull from the basil.
I gave the words a ‘glow effect’ by playing with the ‘outer glow’ setting under the blending options.
Hope this helps :)
Photoshop isn’t something I’m skilled at but Ive been playing with it on and off for the past 3 years and it gets a bit easier overtime.
It also helps to Google the question you have with Photoshop…I do that a lot and I find video tutorials especially helpful.
I love how the header totally changes the look of the blog. There are definitely headers on blogs I like way more than others, but most of all I like them to look clean. While I liked your last header, I really like this one as well. And I love the idea of changing it up for the different seasons.
I am a little dramatized but I will get over it! I guess I loved the previous header! :)
The new one is so fresh and ‘clean’ looking, beautiful!
I know it’s a shock right!
Yes it is! But in a good way! I love your blog!! :) Thank you!
I love it! I like the idea of changing it up with the seasons, way to stay authentic!
I like the chocolate one too. EAT CHOCOLATE…. ahhhh, OK!
I love this, too! To be honest your old one was lovely but sort of one of those things my husband would look over my shoulder on the couch and be like… what ARE you reading…? This one explains itself :) Changing with the seasons is a great way to keep things fresh & inspiring too!
I know exactly what you mean!
NIce new header. I REALLY need to do some design on the blog. Is anyone a graphic designer? Please look at the contact page on my blog if you’re interested! (Thanks for the inspiration, Angela!)
Love the new header, and the idea of changing pictures with the seasons! My husband is a graphic designer so he made my header. I don’t know what I would have done without him! I think a good header is one that is unique, sleek, and not too busy, but those are just my preferences! You hit the mark!
I love seasonal headers! Why not have some fun with it? Mine is currently just my blog name. I’ve had fancier ones over the years, but in the end my eyes like something that’s clean and crisp best. Plus, I want something that doesn’t pop out *too* much on a computer screen for those who like to sneak in blog reading at work ;)
ah, very good point about work reading ;)
I like this new header! I did like your glowing picture before… it told me it was about you, but not about food. My site header has my name tagline and a photo of me with some extra fluff to show my style and personality. I designed it myself since I’m a graphic designer who creates websites for clients, so if anyone needs help, pop on over and say hi!
You take such beautiful photos, I know your headers will always rock! xo
I love this blog header. I think it emphasizes what’s making you glow!
As an amateur blogger, I’m still in the process of changing my header around every so often.
I loved your previous blog header! But I love this new one too – it’s clean, fresh, and it compliments your blog’s emphasis on healthy recipes well!
I’m such a newbie that I’m still playing around with my blog header… Just like I’m playing around with what exactly my blog’s focus is, lol!
I love the new header! I just have to ask though–I’ve always wanted to and never have–what was the background of your previous header? I would find myself staring at it and could never figure it out. (Clearly I have too much time on my hands. Or something.) I look forward to the seasonal changes!
It was shot on my honeymoon in Athens in front of this really cool cave.
I love the side pony!!…
In other news, I really think it’s a great move for you to keep everything fresh & interesting by incorporating and paying homage to the seasons. One of our best and not always achievable goals is to eat totally sesasonally, right? :0)
I agree that the cake might be dynamite with the new tag line. It’s perfect for us chocoholics. But then again, it might incite too many cravings and turn into a health epidemic… Good idea to stick to the veggies! Can’t wait to see the fall banner! (I’m craving pumpkin like crazy!)
Oh–and you have beautiful photography, so why not feature it so prominently every season with a new banner!
I agree and I think it will be a great reminder for me to eat more seasonally!
Great idea to change with the seasons. The content changes, so why not the images?
I miss seeing your glowing smile in the header. Seasonal produce is beautiful but it just doesnt compare to your original header :)
You are too sweet! Thanks for the smile.
I haven’t been blogging long, although I’ve been reading blogs for a long, long time, but I’m also in the process of changing the look of my blog. I didn’t read the article you did, but I kind of had the same idea: Can people tell what my blog is about just from the front page?
I’m not a very good photographer. I might be the only food blogger w/ out an interest in photography. I do own an older point-and-shoot digital camera, but I usually just take pics w/ my phone (terrible, I know!). So…using my own photo for a header might not be the best idea! LOL I used an image/word generating website to produce a few decent options, and I’ve been spreading them around the net (blog header, Gravatar image, new blog identifyer, Twitter, FB, SU). It’s a way more involved process than I expected!
I like the new header. I like how the words glow. And I like the idea of changing the header every season. With your large reader base, you can ‘afford’ to change it up (meaning, they don’t need a brand identify to feel connected). Keep ’em comin’ ;-)