DESIGN WORK || #1 || THE FASHION-E-STA

I'm proud to announce I've officially completed my first 'client' work! My good friend, Erika, started a fashion blog early in the Fall of 2012, and I have been taking the photographs for her site ever since. Erika already felt she wanted a new look for her blog so I was glad my design skills came at the perfect time! There were a few steps I took that led to the final look and can be helpful for anyone trying to piece together visuals for their website, blog, brand, or product. Before I dive into specifics, here is a preview of what her blog used to look like, and then a snapshot of how it looks now after I was done with it!

As you can see, I did quite the u-haul of her previous layout. One of the most important steps in the whole design process was the title. Deciding on which font to choose probably took the most time out of all the individual design elements I did. The header dictates a lot about the blog and an individual's personality; it's usually the first thing people read and the only thing they'll remember when they're gone. Once the title was done, the design flowed smoothly afterwards. I wanted to emphasize the photographs, so I centered the blog and made the post area compact in order to focus a viewer's eyes on the images. Given that Erika is hoping to pursue some business out of her styling skills, I also wanted to emphasize professionalism and sharpness -- which resulted in the black/gray tones and an overall organized look.  Psychology research demonstrates that having a prominent personal picture on the front/top of a personal blog/webpage results in higher traffic and more consistent viewers (yes, I am a psych nerd). Hence, one of my favorite pictures I took of her now serves as a bold, consistent visual of   her look and style, familiarizing viewers with what to expect. Lastly, having loads of white and dabs of pink allow viewers to recognize how carefree and subtly 'girly-girl' she is (her own words). Overall, I'm just glad she is in love with the final product! What do you think about the re-design? 

Click here to see the new site!

If you're in need of design work, shoot me an email: thekipiblog@gmail.com.