"Two wrongs may not make a right but a thousand wrongs make a writer.”

Monday, March 29, 2010

Color Schemes and Bloggy Gadgets

I've been fiddling with my blog layouts, gizmos and gadgets. I'm a scaredy-cat when it comes to change in my corner of the computer world. I break out in hives when my mouse acts up and suffer paralyzing inertia when my computer has an unexpected break-- ah,shutdown. I have this fear that everything will somehow disappear never to be seen again. Though we all know that things posted to the internet never really disappear.

So, please tell me what you think. Is this easier to read than my white on black? I've feared for some time that my blog's dark background made it hard on the eyes which is a very bad thing in bloggerland but I've hesitated to change it. Then I stumbled upon this post by the estimable Michelle Davidson Argyle, aka Lady Glamis, aka The Innocent Flower, which made it seem easy. By the way Simon Larter's back and has a great guest post on her blog about flash fiction. (Hint... a secret way to trim the fat off the bones of your novel). After you post a comment here and tell me what you think you can go over thata way.

Should I revert back to my old ways or do you like the lighter scheme better? This has been so stressful I have to take a break for a bowl of ice cream. Next thing you know I'll be putting up an actual picture of myself!

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, baby. I'm back. Thanks for the linky, good lady!

The blog looks nice, btw. Keep on doin' what you do. It's been working so far.

Anonymous said...

At first, I thought I was on the wrong blog! I must admit it is hard to read white on black, but I never felt that way about your site in particular. I kind of miss your tree, but change is almost always good. xx

Unspoken said...

I like black on white. Easy on my eyes. But that's just me.

Jemi Fraser said...

I like the new look - the lighter background is definitely easier on my eyes - I do have difficulty with my vision, so this is a nice update :)

Yvonne Osborne said...

Simon,
Thanks! Hey, if you think so....
Glad you're back. It's always good to get back to the North Country. Know what I mean?

F.F.
Hello! No no...right blog! Do you mean the tree in the shadow of the dandelion? It's still here. Gosh, I can only take so much change at a time. Gotta keep my tree. And I like the pier on this one. Fits my Lakes mindset. It's interesting that you never found my blog hard to read. Thanks for commenting!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Amy,
Thanks for your thoughts. And I love your new pic!

Jemi,
Hi! Thanks. I think I'm gonna keep it. I like what you've done with yours too.

Unknown said...

Oh yeah, there's the tree. You're good. haha. It was late.

Talli Roland said...

Personally, I hate reading white on black so I like this lay-out!But I'm new here so I don't really know much about what it was like before.

rebecca said...

You know what. I really like the clean look of this. I've been thinking of veering in the same direction as well this year. I think I'm going to take a read on your link and do that post-haste. So, yeah, definitely like the new look.

Nessa said...

This looks very nice. i do have a hard time with extra contrasts. The black background with white text is very hard for me to read.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Talli,
Thanks for weighing in on this. All opinions are very important to me!

Rebecca,
Thanks so much. I appreciate your opinion on this. And, yes, she did a really nice job of explaining it. I don't like change but sometimes we just gotta do it!

Nessa,
Thanks! I'm glad you like it. I think it's unanimous and it's starting to grow on me.

Anonymous said...

I like the 'clean' look of black on white. Easy on the poor old eyes.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Oh, I have the same panic when my computer coughs or sneezes or anything. I am not a calm operator of balky technology. So I applaud your bravery in experimentation. It looks very nice and all your wonderful words are there.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Don,
Thank you! I love your art objects.

Tricia,
Thank you.
Ha! No, I'm not a calm operator at all.

Elana Johnson said...

I love the look of darker layouts. I had one for a while. But I think they get tiring to read. Since I switched to a white layout, I'm so much happier. And I like the lighter templates better than the dark ones now.

Charlie Rice said...

White type on black background burn stripes into my retina's. Your blog now looks beautiful! I vote to keep it the way it is now.

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

its always good to change it up :)

Yvonne Osborne said...

Elena,
I feel the same way, darker colors look richer initially but after a while, I found myself squinting. Thanks.

Charlie,
Thank you so much. I appreciate the thumbs up.

Shelli,
Thanks. Yes, I think I'll be happier now, and I appreciate you giving me a nod!

Michelle D. Argyle said...

I'm sorry I missed this post earlier! I'm glad my blog posts helped you out. I have a hard time reading white on black, so I'm always grateful to see black on white. I think the layout you have here is aesthetically pleasing and easy to read. :)