A New Look, A New Approach

It takes a fair amount of obsessiveness to line up the elements in this photo the way I did, but the fact is I couldn't help myself. Whether this, or Shutterfinger's new look, was worth the effort is for you to judge.

I've been wanting to change the look of Shutterfinger for some time now. The width of the old content column felt too narrow. The photos seemed too small. The font and line leading lacked refinement. Rather than agonize and procrastinate over switching blog platforms from Typepad to Wordpress and all that that involves, I decided to change my Typepad design template instead. The change isn't necessarily permanant--what in this world is?--but I like it for now and I'm the boss, so there you have it. Those of you who read Shutterfinger through an RSS feed won't see much difference either way. I'm still interested in everyone's feedback though. Let me know what you think and whether you have any ideas for further improvement.

Another change that's in the works is my joining a few select affiliate programs. As most of you have noticed, Shutterfinger has been ad and affiliate-link free from its inception. This was mostly because I wanted to build an audience organically and at my own pace, without feeling compelled to do things only to build numbers and revenue. I'd say it's worked pretty well so far. The audience is building at an accellerating rate. Potential sponsors are beginning to take notice.

This doesn't mean that you can now look forward to an unending column of banner ads on my home page. Not only would they distract from my posts and the overall design, they wouldn't even be all that effective--not for me and not for the advertisers. When is the last time you clicked a banner ad on a blog? See what I mean? I also don't plan to becoming a gloried buyer's guide. If you want that you can subscribe to any one of the photography magazines on newsstands these days.

Yet the fact is that the only way I can afford to put in the time and effort it takes to make Shutterfinger worthy of your continued support is if I can leverage a few hundred dollars of revenue per month. Affiliate links seem the least onorous way to do that. Assuming things work according to plan, I'll be able to take photos more often, post more often, buy and review more equipment, share knowledge, and generally give you more of everything you like.

Comments

[John Wilson]

The old format worked fine. But this has a more open, airy, spacious feel. I like it.

Cheers

JW

[Nikhil Ramkarran]

I like it, clean and fresh (but I'm easy to please :). And a few ads in return for more of shutterfinger is a price I am willing to pay :)

[Matt]

I like it! Very fresh and clean. As for me Ads dont bother me and I do use them to support the blogs I read.

Matt

[Tommy Williams]

Nothing to do with your new layout (I read through the RSS feed all the time so I don't remember what the old one looked like) but I do have a question about the photo and the caption. What are the elements that you worked so obsessively to line up? And which are the elements that you didn't worry about?

[Gordon Lewis]

"What are the elements that you worked so obsessively to line up?"

Well, for starters, notice how the antenna of the car in the foreground touches the parking meter in the background; how the parking sign sits just below the reflection; how the parking meter in the middle lines up with the left side of the sunroof... I could go on, but if you look carefully you'll see that a lot of lines and edges are in very close proximity to each other. This was not an accident. Anything that didn't line up, well, that's what I didn't worry about.

[Tim McGowan]

Gordon, I like the new look and I love the photograph.

[george p.]

Like it - and didn't see any ads - best of both worlds !!

[Christian]

I like both the new look and the photo. They have an accidental (I assume) synergy, too. The white sky merges with the white blog layout causing my eye to try to see the top of the building, irregular as it is, as the top of the photo. This makes me instinctively aware of irregular straight-lines, and I immediately gravitate to all of the terminating diagonals.

It's a neat experience.

[Paul Van]

I always enjoy the pictures and articles, but hat's off to the new look! It's nice and clean without looking 'blocky.'

I enjoy coming back!

[Craig Hurda]

Gordon,
I liked the old layout fine, but really like this new one; much easier to read. And your photo stands out more, which I guess is the point.
I could live with a few banner ads, your content is always the best. Most down-to-earth, personable content I've found. You make me want to grab my camera and get outside!

[Greg Harris]

Gordon;
I prefer the new look, the obsessively lined up elements of your photograph and will be happy to support you through affiliate ads.
Greg. :^)

[Jose Luis]

I like the new design, I find it more appropriate to enjoy the pictures.

Great photo btw. Congratulations

[Bruce Robbins]

I like the minimalism and white space but I'm wondering if it isn't a little too clinical. Maybe if the "home, archives,etc" items were in red that might inject a touch of colour as a counterbalance to the very clean look. Or perhaps the ads will achieve that? Overall, though, it's a very accessible, uncluttered and professional-looking template and an improvement over the previous (still good) design.

Loved your words about organising the elements in the pic above. You must have a very tidy house...

[Miserere]

I like the new look a lot more than the old. Nicer to read, photos have more space, and it all looks neater some how. Are you going to allow HTML in the comments section now?

Good luck with the affiliate links. It's a long hard road...

[karl]

love the new look.