A few articles back I wrote about the start of the upcoming redesign of this site, The Design Cubicle. Well, things are definitely getting much, much closer now; the smell of a completely fresh redesign is in the air! I thought I would give you all a sneak peek into what I’ve been working on for the redesign (for those of you that have not seen small teasers on Dribbble) and some of the new design decisions I’ve made and thought about along the way.
First off, let’s have a look at some exclusive sneak peeks…
Feel free to share your thoughts about these little snippets in the comments below. Positive and negative criticism is welcomed; just be classy about it.
Some words on the redesign
I’m looking to have this fully launched by (hopefully, some point) in the month of May. As of right now that date is right on schedule. The closer the design gets to finalization the quicker I’ll have it up and running. I’m also thrilled and excited to be working with the talented and awesome Trent Walton (personal website) and Paravel teammates who will be handling all back-development on this redesign. I’ve been really grateful to be able to meet some really great people online (through Twitter, Dribbble, etc.) and I felt Trent and his team would be the perfect fit (look forward to some pixel-pushing magic on this redesign!).
One of the toughest (or I should say limiting) factors of this redesign is having to fit within old (this versions) formatting limitations since I have nearly 275 articles and images prepared that were suited for a specific size. I had to be sure to take into account for this older formatting; mostly the 500px wide content area, which only left me with around 450 (or so) pixels to stay within page width standards to plan other elements. Also, I wanted the redesign to suit my particular design tastes. I feel that many of the more popular blogs out there have the same “big name” feel and flow to it, while I’ve always thought of my blog to be a bit more personal than others with similar subscriber counts. In a way, I’m bringing this design back to basics of which I started it.
It was time for me to custom build my home. This version was modified from an existing premium template with customized plugins; as a designer I needed something to claim as my own. Also, having started out not fully expecting what this blog would turn into today I would have planned a bit differently. Over time I’ve seen what works well and what doesn’t on my site, as well as areas of interest (or non-interest) of my readers. These considerations were also taken into action for the redesign.
The overal redesign will be much more open, allowing content to breathe more, thus improving the overall readability and usability of this site. Once I fully launch the redesign I will go into much more depth about the decisions I made and elements I took into consideration and why. Don’t want to give away too much upfront. :)
In other news
If you haven’t heard about the newly launched Design-Swap yet, it is a website promoting collaboration between designers started by new friends Yaron Schoen and Trent Walton. I’m excited to announce that myself and Dan Mall (Twitter) are up for the first swap. I’m definitely looking forward to collaborating with Dan on this swap; a designer and friend whose work I greatly admire. One of my favorite designed sites on the web that he happened to design and art direct is Housing Works; a great example of beautiful imagery, hierarchy, content flow and layout.
Be sure to check out Design-Swap, its beautifully designed website, and upcoming swap between Dan and myself.
BrianHoff.net featured in upcoming inspiration book
I’m also excited to announce that my portfolio site, BrianHoff.net, will be featured in the upcoming book—due out in September—The Web Designer’s Idea Book Volume 2: The Latest Themes, Trends and Styles in Web Design. You can pre-order your copy now on Amazon if you like. If you are not familiar with the book, Volume 1 is a great addition to your book collection packed with 250-pages of beautiful examples of web design.
Stay posted shortly for more upcoming news on the redesign. The site will most likely be down for about 2 days before the launch goes live, but I will definitely keep you all posted before that happens. I will also be giving away some pretty awesome prizes on the launch so make sure you don’t miss it by grabbing our RSS or Email updates.
Hey Brian.
I totally agree that so many of the big blogs are starting to look very similar. I’m redesigning my blog soon too, and really looking to do something a little bit different and unique, while still maintaining usability. So far, the screenshots for your new design look totally awesome.
I’m totally stoked to see the new look rolled out!
nice post….loved it
We’re really excited to get started! It really is an excellent design.
Looks great, can’t wait to see the whole site!
Matt,
Thanks for the kind words. Not that many design blogs are bad designs, but they seems to follow a similar flow and style. I’ve always tried to keep a balance of sharing and teaching on this site mixed with personal posts about what’s going on with my work, life, etc. I wanted to get away from that “big blog” feel and give it more of a personal touch of “me.” Does that make sense? I’m glad you like it though! I’m really excited to have this up shortly as well!
Cook,
Glad it was well-taken :)
Trent,
I’m very excited to have you on board with this as well. I know we are going to do big things! ;)
Awesome news Brian. I can’t wait for the redesign to go live. ;)
Looks like it’ll have some nice, subtle design touches, Brian. Here’s hoping the launch is a smooth one.
You’re doing the right thing switching from the current design. I had a three-column custom design with the content in the centre, and I’m very happy with how my recent site changes turned out. It’s good to freshen things up every now and again, especially when you’re not satisfied with where you are.
Great Redesign Brian,
waiting for the launch….
:)
Hey Brian,
How’s it going bro? Well from these 3 little snaps I can tell you something, whatever you got coming, it’s good hehe.
I fell like not only the big blogs but “blogs” in general have this same look, or maybe it’s not even the look but the structure of it, everyone know what to expect from a blog you know all the posts lined up and and a column with ads and all that. But when you apply a good and unique design to it that feeling goes away and I’m sure that’s how I’m going to feel about your new design.
From what I can see in the snaps, you bringing some real design to the table, “The Design Cubicle” header is lovely, the colors are different and match really well, and a really important fact that most people won’t care about but I’m sure you do, the “typography” is on point.
Can’t wait to see this live and running.
The new redesign feels completely different from this one. I am eagerly looking forward to it.
Hi Brian,
Your dribbble shots have been a joy to look at. I can tell that you’re going a different direction with this design. I’m in love with the orange color and the subtle texture.
Very exciting stuff Brian. The preview shots look great.
I think you are making the right move moving to a 2 column design and giving your content more room to breath.
You content is always top-notch so putting more focus on it is the right move.
Good luck mate.
Looks great Brian. I’ve learned a great deal from your site and look forward to seeing the redesign. I’m sure it will help you grow even more quickly than you already are. Best wishes.
David,
You are definitely right… after time you start to notice what readers enjoy, what areas the focus on and what they visit your site to find; many of these decisions are going to be taken into account for with the redesign. Many of my readers did not seem to take liking to the ‘Popular posts’ sidebar, while other sidebar items were getting lost since everything seems to just blend together. Here’s hoping the redesign places emphasis in the right areas. Hope you like it once live! :)
Paulo,
It’s going great. How about yourself? I agree with you 100% — many blogs just have the”familiar feel” to them while I wanted to go a bit riskier and stand apart. One of the decisions I’ve made was to eliminate sponsors and ads. I want the site to be able design and design only; placing emphasis back to the content was a major decision for me. I started the site to help spread design awareness and education and I want the site to not distract from that. Again, as a lover and enthusiast of typography the redesign will place great emphasis in that department. The color scheme is also a bit daring, I guess you can say, but overall works well with the entire redesign palette. Glad you like the teasers so far!
Richie and Corinne,
It most definitely be much different from this one…hopefully in a good way. I look forward to your thoughts once it’s live.
Duane,
Thanks for the kind words. I hope the new design allows you and others to enjoy the content more. Thank you.
Kyle,
Very glad to hear you have learned so much from the site, as well as when we worked together. I hope you like the new design as well.
Very nice. Looking forward to the finished site.
Brian! I’m so excited to see your new site! I love the orange theme that you have chosen. You have me on the edge of my seat in anticipation! Congrats on being featured in The Web Designers Idea Book. What a tremendous honor! Keep up the awesome work and blog posts. :) Your articles are great.
wow very looking very cool. Thanks.
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Looks great Brian, can’t wait for it to go live!