A Bloy and his Blog

This website has had basically the same design since I bought the domain name (way back in 2000). It is definitely time for a fresh look. I’ve named the new design “Color Bar” and I plan on changing the photograph in the heading occasionally (and perhaps some of the site colors too).

With the new design, the list of my current musical recommendations has been moved from its own page to the home page. Any web geeks out there may be interested to know that the entire site is now managed through WordPress (not just the blog entries). Those static html pages are so twentieth century…

So the previous design isn’t lost to the ages, I have archived a sample of it on a separate page. If you get nostalgic for the old Shield Swoop Design, feel free to go there and reminisce.

Update:
I discovered a few minor issues with how the Internet Explorer 6 was displaying the new design, which have been fixed. See any other problems? Just let me know.

This week, my latest web creation was launched: a new design of Edgewood College Library’s catalog.

Visually, I designed the new catalog to have an appearance that compliments the look of the library’s web site (with a similar header and footer on each page). Marketing types would probably use the word “branding” here somewhere. Some new features have also been unveiled along with the catalog’s new look. Check out the news blurb from the library web site for details.

read the rest of: A new catalog for Edgewood

Today the new website for the Oscar Rennebohm Library at Edgewood College was officially unveiled. It’s been a big project for me, one that had its beginning back when I was hired as the Web Services Librarian this past November.

A great deal of the design of the site was inspired by architectural elements of the library building. I created the header logo to mimic the window and roof lines of the building facade and the graphic at the footer on each page was inspired by the shape of the building. The official Edgewood colors were used (red and black) along with some shades of gray.

read the rest of: Edgewood Library website

This weekend my latest web creation, a site for the Cudahy Family Library, was unveiled. To learn a little about how I developed it, take a look in my portfolio on www.BloyDesigns.com.

Update: February 9, 2007
As of today, the domain BloyDesigns.com no longer exists. Information about my web development work can be found on my resume.

I’ve been creating and working with websites for about the past 8 years or so. Most recently, I started the first stages of designing a site for the library where I work.

Last night, I had my first web design dream. In fact, I had a small web design revelation last night — while I was sleeping. In my dream, I was working on the library website and I came up with what I think is a pretty good design idea. It wasn’t a big idea, just one for a particular aspect of the design. Is it conceited to be impressed with an idea your subconscious came up with?

Dreaming is something that I very much enjoy doing. Quite often, I find the experience similar to watching a really good movie. Be it conceited or not, the idea I had last night was a good one and I got a kick out of dreaming it into existence.

Today I finished a new design for the site that showcases my web design work, www.BloyDesigns.com.

I’ve been meaning to give that site an overhaul for a while now. The new version makes much better use of screen real estate, which was my goal to begin with. I’m pleased with how it turned out. Although I understand there currently is a display problem with a certain, outdated Microsoft browser for the Mac (which shall not be named). Hopefully I’ll have that fixed soon.

Oh and in case anyone’s interested, the panoramic picture at the top is Plum Lake in beautiful northern Wisconsin.

Update: February 9, 2007
As of today, the domain BloyDesigns.com no longer exists.
Information about my web development work can be found on my resume.

A new web creation of mine, Mixed Nuts Comedy, went live today. To read a little about the creative process behind the site, check out its page in my portfolio on www.BloyDesigns.com.

Update: February 9, 2007
As of today, the domain BloyDesigns.com no longer exists.
Information about my web development work can be found on my resume.