New Design!!! Kinda…?

Posted on by lauren kara

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So…… after almost a year I FINALLY have a new-ish design. I wanted to revamp the entire theme, but I’ve honestly spent MONTHS trying to find one that works the way I want it to and my current one is the only one that comes close.

You all know I’ve said in the past before how limiting I find free accounts when it comes to design and it’s something I really struggle with. I was fully planning on purchasing a premium account until I realised it was billed yearly, not monthly. Unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of money up front so I tried to work with what I have, the best I could.

Despite knowing a decent amount about web hosting I still don’t feel quite ready to make that leap for a number of reasons. The main one being that I’d need a month by month web host, which do exist, but then that means if I’m short one month (which is a high possibility) then my blog is down. Obviously, this wouldn’t be an ideal situation, haha. At least here my blog will be here no matter what.

The header image for this theme is pretty limiting because of the way it rescales to fit certain browsers and mobile devices, so I had to keep it pretty simple, otherwise pieces would be cut off on different screens. My entire design method is simplicity, which I struggle with a bit because I see other people out there create these incredible intricate designs but then I also think sometimes simple is better. When there’s too much happening in the background it can distract you. Or, maybe that’s just me trying to justify my methods 😎 Either way, I’m pretty happy with how the header turned out. I like the colours and it’s straight to the point.

I only changed the most recent featured images because I’m lazy as hell.

Image result for but i already did something today

Honestly, not a whole heaps has changed, but I hope you guys like it!! Would love to hear your thoughts ♥

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Find me: Twitter – Goodreads – society6 – RedBubble

89 thoughts on “New Design!!! Kinda…?”

          1. True. So true. I’m playing with it and I did make my new Class rating System (though I kept it similar to my regular rating System to make it blend)…I can picture what I want in my head, but putting it into graphic form can be difficult. You’ve got major skills in that dept!

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            1. You’re way too kind! I struggle with “in my head vs on the screen” a lot 😂 I always have a really vivid idea of what I want in my head, but then when I try to create it on Photoshop it just never seems to work out. Because I can’t draw (which most designers can do haha) which means I have to rely on pre-made assets and sometimes what I want isn’t available and it’s really frustrating 😂

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  6. I often find myself comparing my blog to others with fancy layouts and professional graphics, but I don’t have the skills or money for that. 😫 Still, it should be about the content first, right? And personally I prefer simple designs too – let your writing be the star attraction! 😀

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    1. Aw, yeah, comparing myself to others is definitely something that’s still a struggle for me. I think I’m slowly getting better 😀 Definitely. Admittedly, themes are the first thing I notice but if the content isn’t what I’m after then I don’t stick around. Hopefully, my writing can cut it 😂

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  7. I love your design. It works well with the theme that you choose! I love the colors and the typography! ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

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  11. It looks great Lauren, I love it 🙂 I really love the colours ❤ And I totally agree with you about the simplicity – I think it works better for blogs to keep looking nice, but simple 🙂

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  15. I love your new design Lauren, I think it definitely suits your blog, and I think it’s nice every now and again to have a kind of revamp. I’m working on mine at the moment and I already prefer it to my old (current at the moment) design. I kind of want to change it now but there’s a schedule I need to keep to!
    I’ve seen plenty of people thinking about moving over the premium blogging. I guess there are pros and cons to it but I think you did amazingly with what you had with this new design! 😀

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    1. Aw, thank you so much Beth :D♥ I can’t WAIT to see your new design!

      Yeah, definitely! I really want the freedom, but at the moment I don’t think I’m quite ready for it. I really wanted to change everything, but since I didn’t really feel happy with it I decided a few little changes would be better than nothing haha.

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      1. It will be up next week. I’ve got nearly everything sorted for it, just got a few finishing touches to go! 😀
        That’s how I feel as well. Now I know that I can stick at blogging for more than few months, which I doubted I would when I started this blog, I feel one day I would look at self hosting, just not yet I guess! 😀
        Little changes are definitely better than nothing, and I really love the little changes you made as well Lauren! 😀 ❤

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  17. Ooooooh I love it! I like blue much better than pink, and I like that even though you changed the design it still looks like your blog, like, it’s not too different!
    Also can I just say that my Twitter feed has been really sad and there’s been so much negativity, and I really miss your fun presence there? Cause I do. 😭

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    1. Thank youuuu ♥ Haha, pink is one of my favourite colours but I was feeling the blue so I rolled with it 😀

      Aww, Izzi!! You’re my favourite. I always worry I’m suuuper annoying on there 😂 I should be back soon!! Whilst what’s happening on Twitter is totally justified sometimes I just can’t handle the fighting when I have so much of it in my real life too? So just taking a little break helps!

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      1. Noooo you’re not! I love your random football/band tweets. 😂 Yeah I support all of the calling-out but it’s too much for me sometimes. 😔

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  20. Eeeeppp I really love the new color scheme Lauren!! 😀 the header looks so pretty and the font is so spot on! I feel you though, I want to get the premium plan because free plan is sooo limiting. I want design options and all those plugins hahaha even if I have the money, I feel slightly scared of paying yearly bill because “what if I get bored?” hahaha anyway, can’t wait to see more of these new designs ❤

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  25. I think it’s really pretty and I think it’s a great representation of who you are and what your blog has to offer. Sometimes simplicity is so much better. Plus, I love that header and the way that you have your blog style laid out! 🙂

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      1. You’re welcome! And I know!! I love seeing what everyone upgrades to. As far as layout, theme, etc.

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      1. That’s exactly right, practice makes perfect right so if this is the level your at now I can’t imagine the insane level you’re going to be on after another few months! ❤

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  33. Love the new design! I’m so glad I talked myself out of a premium account bc honestly I don’t post consistently enough to justify paying that much just to have a nicer theme xD

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    1. Thanks, Ngoc ♥ Ahh, yeah, it’s SUPER pricey considering you don’t get a whole lot either :/ Like you can’t have plug-ins and you still don’t really have complete control over your theme just a few more options and CSS customisation, which the price isn’t worth IMO. Not when you get that on sites like Tumblr and Blogspot for free, haha.

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