Monday, March 8, 2010

Best Designed Blogs

As many of you know, I find great blogs on a daily basis and I have seen a lot of great blogs out there but some blogs just stand out more than others. I’m not saying that the quality of the work is better than all the rest but I think, in terms of design, these blogs stand out among all the rest. I also want to note that I am not discouraging or making fun of any other horror blogs out there who don’t have the money or the talent to get a good page designer. I just came across these blogs and said, “Wow, those are really well made blogs.” My goal is not to offend people.

With that said, here is the list of blogs that I think have really outdid their blog layout design… in no particular order either.



Kindertrauma
I love this site because on first glance it looks like it’s a nice little blog about the days of growing up and playing outside. It has a lovely pink background, a chalkboard and even little letter bocks for the categories. It looks so innocent until you start reading it and you realize that this site is meant to tap into your deepest childhood fears and provoke them. I have to thank Lance Vaughan for effectively tricking my eye but also for creating a very cool blog layout.



Attack from Planet B
When you first look at this blog you will notice that the name and it’s lettering is very reminiscent of 50s b-movie cinema and low budget sci-fi films. That’s the whole theme of this blog is to capture that essence again. It combines those great serial looking faces with a very unique style of 50s comic book lettering. The colors all seem as though they are washed out and vintage and it just adds to that retro feel. Of course this is yet another blog on Wordpress. Adam Akers did a great job with this setup. I am sure that once the blog starts hitting it big, it will only further it’s appeal.



Lost Highway
Now we get to my personal favorite blog of them all. Steve, like Adam, designed his own webpage. When you first look at Lost Highway you will notice that the background looks dirty, crumpled, raw and grainy and then you realize that this will be a fun read. The theme to this blog is “a detour through b-movies and cult films” so like any good roadmap you’d expect road signs, attractions, maybe a little comic book feel to it and maybe some twists and turns. Well, this blog as all that and more. Each film has it’s own little ‘roadside attraction’ and is dated on nifty little route plaque. You’ll even notice the pictures have their own commentary.



Classic-Horror
Ah yes, much like Lost Highway, this blog really utilizes the older vintage look to its advantage. The blog’s name and letting reflects the earlier age of horror when titles were shown in big bold letters and looked as though they were markered in. The blog is beautifully colored and I really enjoy the paper creases that the banner and the bottom have. It has a great image of a zombie lunging out towards you, which is very reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead.

Again, I want to reiterate on something: these are just the blogs that I think have the best layout and the best theme. I’m not saying they are THE BEST blogs out there, nor am I saying that they are better than anybody else. I am one for website design and I love it when a blog can reflect their theme and I understand there are people out there that don’t have the tools or the money to afford a designer. All blogs are equal in my opinion.

8 comments:

  1. These blogs looks pretty cool. I wish I knew how to do all the code to make mine a little different too, but I just haven't learned enough about it to give it a try.

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  2. Damn my flash, HTML, Javscript and Photoshop skills suck

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  3. I like your "All blogs are equal in my opinion " and your praise of blogs that are not your own. You are a good person. Rock on dude.

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  4. Cheers for the comments about Attack From Planet B. Hope to take the site from strength to strength.

    Cheers Again

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  5. Thanks for the compliment but I have to give props to Aunt John, he came up with the pink and did all the grunt work! P.S I'm very envious of Classic-horror's beautiful design!-Unk

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  6. Ah golly, thanks! The Classic-Horror.com design is largely inspired by the B-movie posters of the 1950s (although my color scheme and logo font are tributes to the original Invisible Man poster). I also looked to the amazing graphic design of Rue Morgue magazine. Thank you for the words of praise!

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  7. hey, you forgot mine :p

    naw, i'm brand new and still getting it all together. nice selection though. love to see props given to the people that put in the work. and it really is work. you do tend to very much consider your readers and what they might like to see or know. at least i do, as well as stay true to myself.
    you have a nice site yourself. great links. it's like a library. lots to check out. nice to see. thank you.

    http://musingthetrauma.blogspot.com

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