Mark this off the list of simple things I wanted to get done for this site.
I made the above banner, though I don’t have plans for using it as a header. Rather, it’ll serve its purpose as a focus when I need one, in places like on my blogging experience page. Something that no site in the world needs but will get action if it exists.
That banner goes along with claiming my Web sites on Technorati and grabbing an OpenID – and then realizing I didn’t need to do so.
Additionally, I implemented WordPress.com’s new-ish option to develop a “blavatar” – blog + avatar – for this site. A favicon goes a little way to creating a brand. See mine at right.
I did the same for other Web presences of mine.
In this case, meet my blue outline. Surely it’s a nod to the other Chris Wink – the founder of the Blue Man Group and my competition for Web searches. Now my Blue Man is the icon for this site, for the time being.
Want to see the banners over which I chose the above one? They’ll serve no other purpose, so here goes:
No. 1: the Blue Man seemed lame and the text was deemed too cartoonish, and, yes, too pink.
No. 2: Not big enough a change from No. 1.
No. 3: Here’s where I decided the Blue Man really needed a blank face if it existed at all, but the banner was boring otherwise.
No. 4: I liked incorporating my navigation bar as a means of branding my services. This was my choice before friends coaxed me into bringing the Blue Man back into the game.
No. 5: Clean, my second favorite of these losers, but too plain.
OK, now tell me where did I go wrong? Any advice? Do you have banners, blavatars or favicons? What were your experiences?
hello chris,
i belive i owe you a call. with the holidays life has been nutty, but give me a call at work when you get a chance. i’m around this week. afternoons are good.
best,
kia