August 18, 2008

Project WordPress, Part 5: Logo Design

Project WordPress Tutorial

Today, we are going to design the logo for the WordPress blog we are creating. As you might know, Project WordPress evolves around an actual blog we were asked to design. What we are also revealing today is where you can find the blog and see it in live action.

So far, we’ve covered the following parts in Project WordPress:

Part 1: How to install WordPress

Part 2: Eight dead essential WordPress Plugins

Part 3: 10+ recommended WordPress Plugins

Part 4: Creating your blog layout.

Part 5: Logo design

This is what we have after the last part (click on the image to enlarge):

Wordpress Blog layout

…and do you want to see what we are going to create? Right, we knew it. We have to let it out.

Introducing a Blog

Okaaaaaay, here goes. The blog design we created is for a person who got into blogging and was looking for a nice and special WordPress theme. The blog was supposed to stick out from the rest. It had to look like her, and communicate within the same lines the content she writes does, and support her style. The blog is about women in business, and the blogger herself is is a business woman who is very successful as a private consultant.

In the past, she has worked for big companies and earned her spores there. A couple of years ago, she ventured into starting her own business as a consultant, which proved to be the right step to do, as she explained to us - and she is blogging about her exciting experiences right now, over at her blog for women in business.

Yeeees, we want to introduce her first before we give you the link! So this business woman is now writing on her blog - here comes the link - for women in business, and you are cordially invited to follow her on her ongoing quest to find the best way of life as a private business consultant, who not long ago met the love of her life. She blogs about balancing work and private life to get the best of both worlds. She is also very health oriented and likes to share some very tasty fruit drink recipes, dirty laundry, and the role of women in business, and much more. It is really worth a read. Please pay her a visit and kindly leave a comment on her blog if you like what she writes!

Oh, and yes, the blog’s name is Bunny got Blog. Here is a screenshot:
Bunny got Blog for Women in Business

Now let’s cut to the chase and show you how we designed the logo. We’ll start with Illustrator and then move on to Photoshop to finish the design. In the following parts of Project WordPress, we’ll design the blog header and body, go into styling with CSS and coding with PHP. Read on…

May 12, 2008

Project WordPress, Part 4: Creating Your Blog Layout

Project WordPress Banner

In this part of Project WordPress, we are creating a layout for our customized WordPress blog. The blog layout strongly depends on the niche you’re in and how you want to appear to your readers. Every niche has its own preferred blog style that you have to consider before you start blogging.

Until now, we’ve already covered these parts of Project WordPress:

Part 1: How to install WordPress, set it up and do basic customization;

Part 2: Eight dead essential WordPress Plugins;

Part 3: 10+ recommended WordPress Plugins to make your blog prettier.

Part 4: Create Your Blog Layout

Are you starting a new design blog, or are you going to write about cool gadgets? Do you want to blog about your personal life, or are you in the make money online niche? Knowing how you want to position yourself in your niche is the first step for creating a custom WordPress theme, and should be considered before we go any further.

To show you what we mean, let’s take a look at four blog layouts that are very different from each other. We picked a blog from every one of the above niches. Click on the screenshots to enlarge the images - we noted a few things for each. We also provided a link to each blog. Read on…

April 26, 2008

Project WP, Part 3: 10+ recommended WordPress Plugins

Project WordPress Banner

This is the third part of Project WP, and the last one where we play pretty. After this, we’ll get into customizing a basic theme with PHP, HTML and CSS, and creating a blog identity with logo, icons & header. Expect Part 4 here next week, but for now:

Give us the Pretty one more time! 10+ Recommended WordPress Plugins to make your blog prettier

In our last post, we listed the 8 dead essential WordPress Plugins for you. Take a look at these non-essential, but still highly recommended plugins today. Note: all plugins have been tested by us for use in WordPress 2.5+. Read on…

April 23, 2008

Project WP, Part 2: Eight dead essential WordPress Plugins

Project WordPress Banner

In the first part of Project WP, we installed WordPress and set it up for our convenience to improve visibility and attract more visitors. Today, we’re going to look at 8 absolutely essential plugins that significantly contribute to our efforts of creating a successful WordPress blog.

Part 2: Eight dead essential WordPress Plugins

WordPress is a fantastic platform for bloggers. If you’ve been thinking about getting into blogging, but you don’t know what awaits you, rest assured, for we are here to help. In the course of this series, we’ll take it step by step and explain how to create your own blog - with your very own custom theme. This involves the design part as well as the part working with PHP and CSS. Read on…

April 21, 2008

Project WordPress, Part 1: Install, Setup, Optimization

Project WordPress Banner

Project WordPress is a series of in-depth tutorials on creating a custom blog - step by step, and from scratch. Read about how to tweak WordPress to your liking, about useful and must-be plugins, working with PHP and CSS, and using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator professionally to create beautiful results: your very own, brand new WordPress Theme.

Part 1: WordPress Install, Setup, and Basic Optimization

In this first step of creating a whole new blog, we’ll take a look at wonderful WordPress and how we can set it up do do what we want. The standard install of WordPress is rather rudimentary, thus requires us to do a couple of adjustments, which, in our opinion, are crucial to creating a professional WordPress blog. Read on…