Since the start I’ve used the generic text header provided by Google’s Blogger platform. But I recently decided the website could use some sprucing up.
So I hired some high-priced consultants and an expensive graphic design firm, right? Of course not. I came up with the art myself.
Well, you get what you pay for.
My challenge was coming up with art that captured the themes of my blog: things like technology, entertainment and popular culture.
I eventually decided to alter a photo of the Chicago skyline (my hometown) to make it look like it was made of colorful Lego blocks. I used an Apple iPhone app called Lego Photo by the Lego Group.
Like artist Shepard Fairey and his Barack Obama “Hope” poster, I took someone else’s online photo and made it my own through art. I believe it’s a fair use application. At least my source material isn’t as recognizable as the AP photo Fairey used.
The typeface I used in the header is Comic Sans MS, a popular font with a lot of detractors. (See WSJ article and Wikipedia article.) But it was the one that worked best with the Lego background and the themes of my blog.
Sorry, font snobs.
March 24, 2011, update: I've just posted logo 2.0 for Tech-media-tainment. The first one had too much yellow and was giving me a headache. I'm all about trial and error.
Photos: Alternate Lego-style picture of the Chicago skyline (top) and what Tech-media-tainment used to look like.
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