tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post54813229728182446..comments2024-03-20T02:26:46.482-04:00Comments on Joanna Bourne: Website designJo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-65097660952908540362012-05-10T00:05:23.817-04:002012-05-10T00:05:23.817-04:00I won't be able to make changes to the header ...I won't be able to make changes to the header of the website easily. But here on the blog I might experiment with new lettering. All depends on what kind of time I can scrape together to get the job done.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-64666457289703094312012-05-08T10:41:39.825-04:002012-05-08T10:41:39.825-04:00Blue would be nice, Joanne. The second to the last...Blue would be nice, Joanne. The second to the last photo looks great. But it would look even better if you add some shadow to the text, so you can lay emphasis on it. Perhaps providing your own image would best suite your preferences. A photo shoot with a pro can help you with that.Sage Aumickhttp://firstpageimpact.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-65480137733336023512012-03-04T23:12:40.445-05:002012-03-04T23:12:40.445-05:00Hi Richard --
I ended up going with something ver...Hi Richard --<br /><br />I ended up going with something very similar to the last banner. The final version is 'lighter' in feeling. And I went blue.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-80347824668156384542012-02-29T17:24:34.046-05:002012-02-29T17:24:34.046-05:00The last pic (and by slight extension, its red ver...The last pic (and by slight extension, its red version) looks nice. Well, when it comes to a banner, you have to make sure that the image blends together. It shouldn't be two different images in one space... the ideal would be to create one banner that blends together the images (something like the last one).Richard Redmondhttp://onlinemarketinginabox.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-45047620338754355762011-10-06T00:10:55.634-04:002011-10-06T00:10:55.634-04:00A good point. I think what one wants is bite-size...A good point. I think what one wants is bite-sized information. Blocks of writing broken by pictures, broken by white space. You want to leave space enough for the reader to absorb the material. Not so much space the reader feels she has to go hunting for the next factoid through a bleak wilderness. <br /><br />We get the whole 'paragraphing thingum' in writing. It must just get more complex when you're juggling several elements in website design.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-90637895111349732572011-10-05T23:58:50.937-04:002011-10-05T23:58:50.937-04:00Not all sites should be simplistic, it really depe...Not all sites should be simplistic, it really depends. Informational sites that are designed too simple will give the appearance of being empty and the whitespace won’t be appreciated.website designhttp://www.coolcreation.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-71784114698210072722011-08-23T13:14:40.160-04:002011-08-23T13:14:40.160-04:00Hi Carol --
I am still sniffling over not getting...Hi Carol --<br /><br />I am still sniffling over not getting to use the kissing couple. I do so like it. Maybe I'll find some later page to pop it onto.<br /><br />I will try to include an author photo somewhere on the 'Home' page. It seems to be the way it's done, when I go looking around the Historical Romance blogs.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-55710075509407180112011-08-02T16:49:30.649-04:002011-08-02T16:49:30.649-04:00I like the final pinkish one, but not the red ones...I like the final pinkish one, but not the red ones. Also I'm glad you do not use any face images - yes the top is a possible suggestion of what Adrian could look like, but I wonder if it is better to let each reader form her or his image of what characters look like. I think the woman holding the door and knife is good; suggestive and to me not like a murder mystery. it hints at intrigue. Would be more intriguing if we knew this was a bedroom door (we hope). but overall, I prefer to see a picture of you as the author rather than an image of a girl or boy, whichever character they might represent. <br /><br />Yes would like to read about Pax the librarian. As a librarian I love stories where they get to have adventures. And he does not have to look like Noah Wylie.Carolnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-43070774434094855252011-08-01T14:36:53.928-04:002011-08-01T14:36:53.928-04:00First, I'm sorry, but I'm not crazy about ...First, I'm sorry, but I'm not crazy about the first three banners. The main problem that I see with them is the knife. I'd like the knife if your books were strictly murder mysteries, but they are not. Since they are spy novels, something else is needed to showcase your particular specialty.<br /><br />Since the woman/knife doesn't really emphasize the spying aspect, I have a couple of suggestions. First, how about the woman with the knife on one side and a man in a demi mask & cloak on the other side. This way, you get the visual of murder with the knife and spying with the mask. this now presents another problem. We now have the spying aspect taken care of, but you lose the romance theme. This is important because first and foremost, your books are romance novels.<br /><br />So another idea is to have the couple embracing in banner 4 on one side and my suggestion of a man in a demi mask and long cloak on the other. Now you have a visual symbol of romance novels and intigue.<br /><br />If instead, you'd like your picture in the banner, then how about an embracing couple, but the man is wearing a mask of some sort. Or you could use the buildings in banners 2&3 and the street in banner 4, but surround them with fog. Your picture would be adjacent to it.<br /><br />As for the graphics, I like the one in banner 3 or the graphics in the lower examples: your name in larger print and historical romances in smaller print. You are the major player, so your name should be the prominent feature in the banner.<br /><br />Finally, I like the color red, but it doesn't work in the above banner. I'd go with a light pastel color such as lilac, pink or light blue.<br /><br />Good luck.Kimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-54319601394271392152011-07-31T23:44:32.845-04:002011-07-31T23:44:32.845-04:00Suzanne? I thought it was Severine! And yes, prett...Suzanne? I thought it was Severine! And yes, pretty please...<br />DLSAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-54986755057613387612011-07-31T17:11:24.163-04:002011-07-31T17:11:24.163-04:00Website design - I really like the final version b...Website design - I really like the final version but the red may be a lttle too intense...<br /><br />After Pax's story could we please (pretty please)learn about Doyle's daughter, Suzanne who is in Spain fighting with the partisans?<br /><br />Your books are so great,...November seems so far away...I guess I'll just have to keep re-reading the ones in print. Thank you for so many hours of reading pleasure. <br /><br />KayKaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-38998914689965330602011-07-31T11:30:49.286-04:002011-07-31T11:30:49.286-04:00I apologize if someone has already said this. I sk...I apologize if someone has already said this. I skimmed through the comments, but I'm sure I missed stuff. Folks have excellent ideas about the design, a topic on which I'm useless.<br /><br />I do have a suggestion about the size of the landing page, though. In my opinion, the reader should not have to do much scrolling to see the entire page. I like that you have just a handful of links across the top of the page and these are enough to bring the reader to most of the information she would want: books, for writers, IRL (it took me a while to figure that one out, as I don’t use/know a lot of Internet abbreviations, but I do like how succinct it is). I also like that the various links don’t have too much overlapping information.<br /><br />After that, the landing page should have your personal stamp, but not require the reader to hit page down more than 1 or possibly 2 times. The content/look of landing pages on the websites of Tessa Dare, Mary Balogh, Jennifer Cruisie, Lauren Willig, Loretta Chase, and Claudia Mills, to name just a few, have very different looks and vary in terms of content. What they have in common is they don’t make the reader work too hard to find the info. she wants and is unique to the particular author.Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00480968583416513772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-87302045464144085062011-07-30T23:18:41.002-04:002011-07-30T23:18:41.002-04:00Hi Jo,
Hmmm... This is probably going to be madde...Hi Jo,<br /><br />Hmmm... This is probably going to be maddeningly unhelpful, but for what it's worth, I like a gray or taupe for a neutral background. I like the idea of 'pops' of color - like her dress, a flower in the scene, something like that.<br /><br />I agree with earlier comments regarding the use of character pictures - you may want to set up pages for each of your books which include character pictures, but putting them on your banner may date the site too much once you've got a ton of newer releases out :)<br /><br />I have seen a website where the banner is an illustration of a dancing couple(www.vickydreiling.com). This would free you from having to find stock images that fit your purpose, but you'd have to find an illustrator to do it for you.<br /><br />Finally, you could pick an abstract pattern as the background of your banner - I'm thinking a baroque pattern in rich gold and red (kind of like this: http://www.patternhead.com/tag/baroque). You may also be able to find a fabric pattern you like from the historical record, and use that as the background. <br /><br />Whatever you decide, I'm sure it's going to turn out well, and I can't wait to see it!<br /><br />~ Lara (from B&W forum)The Romantic Scientisthttp://scienceofromance.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-26672805883906518142011-07-30T11:38:08.944-04:002011-07-30T11:38:08.944-04:00Hi Christine --
Yes. That is another possibility...Hi Christine --<br /><br />Yes. That is another possibility. The Pinky-beige background with some 'pops' of colour. <br /><br />Let me allow this to simmer in the back of my mind and go play with page proofs. (whimper)Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-67868568152284816272011-07-30T11:34:16.317-04:002011-07-30T11:34:16.317-04:00Hi Anon --
This font does look a bit angular and ...Hi Anon --<br /><br />This font does look a bit angular and modern, doesn't it?<br /><br />I have not tied down the exact font at the moment, because the web designer doesn't have the set of fonts I do, she being photoshop and me being GIMP and the difference between those two options being considerable money.<br /><br />The font in those last two examples (the ones with red) is Baskerville Bold italic. I like it, but I agree it looks modern. <br /><br />OTOH, I want to avoid a feminine curlicue-ness in the font. <br /><br />So -- not the clean modernity I would normally choose, but not Fanny Burney either.<br /><br />I will try to find a list of the fonts available in photoshop and see what the choices are.<br /><br />In terms of photoshopping the image of the woman with the knife -- I think there are practical limits to what can be done. At a guess, a rolled paper in the hand might be possible. A larger and more emphatic door, however desirable, probably not.<br /><br />But I do like the knife. It makes an immediately understandable statement. This is not a love letter and a midnight assignation. It's deadly games. We see that the odds are set high. <br /><br />And it's not inappropriate for the way my heroines actually behave. <br /><br />As to Pax and the story after . . . <br /><br />I can see doing Pax, because I kinda have an outline in my head of what's going to happen. I'm beginning to 'see' scenes.<br /><br />But I don't have a glimmer of the story after that. I would be inclined to stick with my spymaster's fictive world -- but I could see skipping a generation forward or a generation back, or setting one in India in the Raj.<br /><br />I won't know till mid 2012, probably. As soon as I come out from under these page proofs I will be gobbled up by the Pax story,Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-56511752873314705882011-07-30T10:58:47.689-04:002011-07-30T10:58:47.689-04:00Hi gamistress -
I will go back and play with this...Hi gamistress -<br /><br />I will go back and play with this in the afternoon when the page proofs begin to blurr before my eyes.<br /><br />I am no end pleased with myself that I can change the color of the skirt at all. I pushed and poked and prodded at the graphis in GIMP and couldn't do anything. Then the Resident Kid came by and said -- "Look. Do this." <br /><br />I did that and said , "Oh. Wow. Yes. How cool." and now the skirt is (clumsily) a new color. This technical fix will be good enough to sketch out the idea. <br /><br />I am very glad a professional will do the final image.<br /><br />Which I still have to go buy from the stock photo people to make all this usage legal. I will do that this afternoon.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-40451853489440355642011-07-30T10:57:26.649-04:002011-07-30T10:57:26.649-04:00Hi again,
I thought the colors on the previous b...Hi again, <br /><br />I thought the colors on the previous banner were working very well.<br /><br />If the dress was just a pop of bright blue with the more subtle background it could look lovely.<br /><br />I love that you worry about all the little details! I'm sure that is one reason your books are so wonderful. Nothing is thrown in as filler- everything has a reason for being in there.Christinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-46094064556609224062011-07-30T10:52:24.997-04:002011-07-30T10:52:24.997-04:00Hi Christine --
It is not necessarily bad for it ...Hi Christine --<br /><br />It is not necessarily bad for it to look like a nightie, you understand. All kinds of 'story' in that, don't you think? But, of course, in the Regency they didn't wear long nighties, and i would hate to have someone think it was a nightshift and then think it was an inappropriate and inaccurate nightshift.<br /><br />It has occurred to me that maybe I worry about things more than I should.<br /><br />I am currently agonizing over commas in the page proofs.<br /><br />Red for passion. Blue for reliability. I wonder what a faintly pinkie beige tone says about me.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-57551737684287190062011-07-30T10:10:34.813-04:002011-07-30T10:10:34.813-04:00Yep -- too much red. I still like the graduated o...Yep -- too much red. I still like the graduated or fading color in the header. I think blues would be good, but then I tend to favor blues.gamistress66https://www.blogger.com/profile/15832851155052440683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-27327187566022189602011-07-29T18:25:50.280-04:002011-07-29T18:25:50.280-04:00I do like the latest version. If you could match i...I do like the latest version. If you could match it with a more period font, it would help set the historical note. I like that red--I don't think its a vampire red, and it does signal danger, but I can see where a rich indigo would work well too. <br />Are you really wedded to the knife? I'm trying to think of other things that symbolize spies. Can you put a paper in her hand..or maybe peeking out of her dress somewhere? Also, is that a door she's behind? Could the designer put her more hiding behind it? <br /><br />I can see why thinking beyond Pax would be hard. In fact I can see why thinking beyond page 200 would be hard. But do you see yourself writing, say, in a different time period? Or nonspies? If you do, you wmight want to leave it a little more vague.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-61152332115666382372011-07-29T13:39:54.760-04:002011-07-29T13:39:54.760-04:00Hi Jo, I think an indigo for the dress would be be...Hi Jo, I think an indigo for the dress would be beautiful and eye catching. As I said above white would be correct for the Regency period but to modern eyes might look like a nightie.<br /><br />You are also correct about red- it's now associated with Vampire/urban fantasy otherwise I'd say go for it as it's the most "passionate' color. <br /><br />I think the whole philosophy of color is so interesting. People are supposedly more productive and calmer in a blue room. I was told in Law School to always make sure a witness wore a blue suit as it said "trustworthy" to the jury. That's also why so many hospitals and health care related businesses use blue on their logos- it inspires trust.<br /><br />It really does make you admire the people who put together a really gorgeous or unusual book cover or website. All the elements you don't consider when you just look and think "Oh pretty!"Christinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-20283190983780133222011-07-29T12:34:41.431-04:002011-07-29T12:34:41.431-04:00Hi Julie --
What do you think? I'm likely to...Hi Julie --<br /><br />What do you think? I'm likely to leave the background of the banner just a plain color. <br /><br />I tried a few graphics behind the writing but it was just too confusing.<br /><br />The overall color is what I have to decide on now. I am so drawn to red. But it's going to look all vampire/ urban fantasy if I do red. So maybe a strong indigo.<br /><br />I must experiment.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-6151723586584416112011-07-29T12:31:40.476-04:002011-07-29T12:31:40.476-04:00Hi gamistress --
I'm thinking, sort of in the...Hi gamistress --<br /><br />I'm thinking, sort of in the back of my mind behind a pile of lumber, of what color that skirt should be. <br /><br />I need to decide on the overall shade of the website, first. Maybe an indigo blue highlight with a true light beige as the background for all the text.<br /><br />This would lead me in a blue direction for the skirt. Maybe.<br /><br />Y'know -- all this picking colors is what artistic folks do. I had not properly given them credit for how hard it is.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-48969528892401447042011-07-29T12:25:50.618-04:002011-07-29T12:25:50.618-04:00Hi Elaine --
I do not know anything about the tec...Hi Elaine --<br /><br />I do not know anything about the technical side of these websites. <br /><br />I will go have a look at what you're talking about and bring it to the attention of the web designer and see what she thinks.<br /><br />In principle, I'm in favor of a website that has no moving parts. That is silent and simple and free of complex widgets and jumping beans. <br /><br />This is the sort of site I like to land in. Also -- again, I'm showing my lack of technical expertise -- I think a site without bells and whistles loads better for folks who have slow connections.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-69226866185291158162011-07-29T12:20:48.473-04:002011-07-29T12:20:48.473-04:00Hi DLS --
I am up to my ears just this moment in ...Hi DLS --<br /><br />I am up to my ears just this moment in the page proofs of Black Hawk. This is such precise and exacting work that I walking around cross-eyed, muttering, "What? I say, What?"<br /><br />But I am also thinking about color scheme.<br /><br />I like red and agree it is a bold dramatic presence. The problem with red as an accent color is all those vampire books out there. I don't want to look like I'm pretending to be one of them.<br /><br />I like blue better than green -- I did my blog in blue -- so I will probably move in a blue directions.<br /><br />Once I get the banner tacked down I'll try to think of other graphics that could go on the home page to give the right 'feel'.<br /><br />I have not thought at all of where I might go after the Pax book. I'm still just at the point of pushing all these interruptions out of my head and trying to dream up Pax. No chance of going beyond that and looking at others down the line.Jo Bournehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com