Just a quick post about branding:
I am playing around with concepts and themes for this blog. I believe that the Twenty Fourteen theme is a keeper for therandomg.com. Although, I might find something better in the future. This theme is very easy to customize and does exactly what I need at this time.
The Header:
Pretty easy to design. I just found a free graphic and added some text with a style. If you are interested in some awesome sites that provide free graphics. Head on over to Don Charisma and look towards the bottom of his right sidebar, there is a cool list for you. While you are there, take notes! This guy is a marketing genius and you can learn a lot from him. Take special notice of how he interacts with his community. This is way more important than any of the visual stuff.
The Logo:
A basic .png file with a transparent background. The reason why I suggest a transparent png file is quite simple. You can chuck this on to any photo and it will look great. If using Photoshop, it might be an idea to give your logo little shadow or glow. This will make it a bit more visible on photos with similar colors to your image.
The Gravatar:
This is the icon that follows you around the internet. I love almost every Gravatar in my community and will probably like yours too. It is important to realize that this image must be clear when tiny. I suggest you keep it simple and easy to read. I think this one might be a little bit busy but I am going to keep it until my friends have given me some feedback. That’s you!
The Domain Name (URL)
I didn’t like the domain https://therandomg.wordpress.com at all. I just didn’t like it. So if you have a similar mindset to me regarding domain names it is very easy to have your own URL and still be hosted on the WordPress.com platform. A small annual fee will get you on your own domain in no time. Head over to the Store in your Dashboard for more info.
Your Personality
This deserves its own post, so for now all I can say is this. Be polite and be a contributor. Try avoid being a self seeking opportunist and look after your relationships. Your community is everything! Love them…
I would absolutely love feedback and advice on my ideas.
Love and Respect
-TRG
Agreed man..! A little work on your logo is required (solely my opinion)…
Thanks friend!
I have been stalking my computer screen for some opinions to take into consideration.
Are you talking about the Logo of the Gravatar?
Good question… I’m not sure… 😕
LOL, I think I still have a way to go with both. Its still early days in the life of this blog.
I will drop you a shout when and if anything changes.
Sure 🙂
I recon one’s logo is not as important in the beginning but as one grows in popularity and/or amount of hits – it then becomes increasingly more important to get it right!
That brings the question – What is right? (Good luck on that one)
I’ve watched branding pretty much all my life – I watched a few large companies (like Toyota for one) do a complete logo/brand change.
It took quite a while for everyone to accept the new logo – but the new one is really powerful. (IMO)
Simplicity – I think – is what they went for.
Thank you for your wise words. That is why I am playing with ideas now. Getting feedback is great give me an idea of what people value.