The Deadly Garden Makeover (3.0)

It's 5:00 in the morning - but for me it's about time for bed. I've been staying up through the wee hours trying to get this blog to where it needs to be both aesthetically and functionally. I believe I've finally accomplished that task. This is the third version of Deadly Garden and hopefully a version that will last for months to come.

The original effort was quite poor because I didn't really know what I was doing. Switching from a basic website to the Blogger format was at first a clumsy experience. However I soon learned that all of the automated tasks made it more than worth the while. Tweaking the blog template was a serious undertaking but once I figured out the basics it was smooth saiing. Long...but smooth. Hush now!

I found a more sophisticated template for Deadly Garden 2.0 - it was slick and modern. The multiple columns, graphics, and widgets looked cool...at first. But as the months passed I grew tired of the very dark color scheme (too much grey and black) and, frankly, pointless bells and whistles. Initially it was nice to look at but didn't really evoke Poison Ivy enough to inspire me. So it was time for a change.

Welcome to Deadly Garden 3.0! I brought in more lush green tones (okay a lot) and opted for a white post body instead of the drab dark grey. The posts will pop more now that they aren't flanked in so much shadow. I reduced the blog from three back to two columns. More than two and you are just providing readers with too much scattered and redundant information. The magazine style "featured articles" slideshow is gone. Sure it was swanky but I don't post enough for it to serve a purpose (beyond looking cool). It took up too much space and the rotation got annoying after a few spins. Honestly, the "magazine style" blog trend needs to go because there's too much emphasis on appearance and not on content or usability.

If you're wondering where I found the Poison Ivy header image it was in Gotham City Sirens #7. (David Lopez on pencils, Alvaro Lopez on inks, and Tomeu Morey on colors.) I took elements of the base image and created a collage of sorts. The end result is a beautiful and defiant Poison Ivy standing amongst her plants. I'm paying homage to the closing of Sirens but, more importantly, to this version of Poison Ivy. The DCnU relaunch is just around the corner and Birds of Prey awaits.

Thank you readers for putting up with all of the mad scientist goings on around here. Clanging around my lab is what I do best. And yes that is also Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy just before she redecorates the Turkish Baths - I'm corny like that.

Enjoy.

Posted in: Miscellaneous