New Beginnings for The Reluctant Stylista

Posted on Monday, 02.01.2010 08:55 AM

This is the first time I'm writing something non-fashion/beauty related here, but there's no better exception than now. There's been a major revamp at The Reluctant Stylista lately, if you've noticed. That's a new layout you're looking at, a new masthead and this time with an original artwork! We'll be having more of that in the future. My boyfriend Paolo drew that for me, to look like me--I'm not that cute, but that's love for you.

Meanwhile, do you miss the colors of the old layout? Do let me know. I kind of do, but I was aiming for a different angle with this new layout. I'm hoping I can figure out how to bring back some of the color to it. I used to get compliments on the old one even though in actuality, that was kind of a rush job. My friend Alvin used to pressure me about getting this site up since he already had everything laid out, it just needed the design (The Reluctant Stylista is self-hosted and was made from scratch, which is why it looks different from your regular Blogger/Wordpress sites). So one night, I was determined to finish it and launch the next day. I was hungry, and I was thinking of cupcakes--which was why the old layout looked like that. Like an old-fashioned bakery. It had pink accents so that it'd still look like a beauty and fashion blog, but I was more partial to the warmer shades of brown. Many beauty blogs were already pink, but what color could I use that'd still look girly and yet not pink? Yep, that's why the old layout had lots of orange in it. I'm still more partial to orange, but I'm giving the hot pink you're seeing in this new layout a test drive. If you notice, all links are colored the same, so it's easier to change into another shade if I get sick of the hot pink.

This was the first layout I came up with, which never came to light. I have a thing for vintage art and pin-up girls.

The Reluctant Stylista first layout

I tend to get carried away with vintage design, so I changed the masthead to look more modern, thus more open to a wider audience. It had rotating banners, two of which you're seeing below.

The Reluctant Stylista first official layout

The actual implementation looked like this.

While we're at it, we might as well plug about what we do for a living (in my case, what I do for freelance). Everyone behind The Reluctant Stylista is knowledgeable in web design and development. The boyfriend and I are actually going to start concentrating on blog design and illustration services soon, so if you're interested, you can drop by our combined portfolio at The Six Thirty.

Alvin, the genius that made this site possible, is also available for interactive web design and development (it's his CMS I'm using for this site). You can check out his portfolio at Chogi Interactive.

7 Comment/s

Comments

Charotness
posted on 2010-01-31 19:49:35

Oh yess! New beginnings! I like it, it's clean and easy to read. I am into the warmer shades of brown too, not a fan of pink though. :P

I'm looking forward to your next updates, great work as always. :)

Bea
posted on 2010-01-31 21:46:43

hm. i actually kind of miss the old layout because the masthead was distinctive. i like pao's drawing, of course, but i think the site needs a splash of color. just to separate the masthead from the content. :D

LeiaG
posted on 2010-02-01 05:55:44

I agree with Bea. It needs a splash of color. But the illustration is really nice! =)

And... ngayon ko lang nalaman na masthead tawag sa header? Haha! =) Tama ba pagkaintindi ko? lols... Parang hindi ako web designer e no? Hahaha!

aquaflirt
posted on 2010-02-01 19:10:16

I like this new layout! its clean and classy. Pao did a great job in the illustration. and of course anything in pink looks good to me. :)

keep doing what you're doing, it's really good and this is gonna take you far and wide. ;)

Lei
posted on 2010-02-02 07:27:30

@Lei

yeah, masthead = header. i have difficulty reading with too much white spaces on screen interfaces, but i love white spaces on print.

it still does look classy and would really look beautiful on print (gotta love how versatile pao is when it comes to sketching!), but the human eyes are more prone to fatigue if there isn't a 10:1 light to dark ratio.

Bea
posted on 2010-02-02 07:28:44

bleargh. typed the wrong name. XD (that was my post addressing Lei's.)

Aggie
posted on 2010-02-22 05:43:29

Oooh, sabi na nga ba Pao drew that :) Hehe. I think this new layout is lovely and pulls people into just reading everything.

Alam mo I also have a thing for pin-up girls. Beautiful, noh?

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The Reluctant Stylista is a fashion and lifestyle blog written by a once tomboyish girl who suddenly discovered the joys and perks of dressing up.

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