I didn't want to stop at just a banner and theme in terms of personalisation of my blog and decided to add a few things. 

Favicon Icon

Icon (Image by Amadee Stenzel)

My favicon icon is designed to replace the standard Blogger one which appears on the tab. By having a customised favicon icon, it distinguishes my blog from other tabs a reader might have open. 

To create the image I used Adobe Photoshop and overlaid text onto a background the same colour as my blog theme. It was a simple process but I believe this small change will benefit the feel of my blog. I feel that the customised icon on an open tab looks more professional. 

Icon viewable on tab (Image by Amadee Stenzel)

Gadgets 

Gadgets are useful when wanting to add additional features to your blog to enhance user experience. The first gadget I've used is 'Popular Posts'. 

Popular Posts (Image by Amadee Stenzel)

This gadget is has proved to be useful on my other blog in terms of linking readers to older posts which have been popular. With this addition to my blog, my audience can have their interest peaked and click through to an article which may have been posted months prior. 

Another way I personalised my blog was through using social media links. I taught myself how to add buttons to the side panel of a blog on my other blog and it's proven to be the easiest way to get people to find my social media accounts. 

Social media links (Image by Amadee Stenzel)

To create the buttons, I took already made icons from a blogger called Carrie Loves Design who offers a variety of colours and information on how to create the links. I chose the colour shadow  #656565 because it was neutral and looked similar to the dark grey in my chosen colour palette. 

To create the links themselves I uploaded the icon photos to Photobucket and pasted the html link into a new gadget. However, this just links the photo to the side bar. To make clicking on the icon redirect to my social media, I posted the link to each page with the html photo link in a new gadget. It was complicated at first but now I understand the process and it's definitely an interesting feature to my blog. 

Colour palette

I chose cool-toned colours to keep the colour palette calm and soothing. The basis was the grey background as I believed warm-toned colours would clash too much. The colour scheme I decided on for my blog revolved around the idea of calm soothing tones to compliment the lifestyle oriented content. 

I decided to do my colour palette after my banner because I wanted to use tones from the image as a guide to the overall colour scheme of my blog. To do this, I took a screen shot of my blog and used the Adobe Kuler program to select the colours I'd used.

Screen shot from Adobe Kuler (Image by Amadee Stenzel)

Each colour can be found somewhere on my blog, mostly in the banner and I liked the idea of using images to set a colour scheme. The colours I've chosen are the following four. 

RGB: 204 199 209 HEX: CCC7D1

RGB: 97 144 142 HEX: 61728E

RGB: 177 175 196 HEX: B1AFC4

RGB: 59 59 59 HEX: 3B3B3B

The meaning behind my chosen colours is to keep with the calm and simple plain. My ideal blog design would utilise these colours in more places than just the banner. I'd use the purple and blue shades to accent my blog posts and the dark grey as a font colour. 

It was suggested to pick only three colours, however I feel like these colours rely on the other to keep them from looking too grey-toned. For example, without the first shade of light grey, the blue and purple don't appear to have the same delicate undertones. Whereas the combination of the first three distinguish them as completely different colours when compared side-by-side. 

The last shade and darkest colour is essential as I would use it as an anchor to prevent the text from blending into the page. The grey colour of the body text isn't dark enough to properly distinguish itself from the background and proves to put a slight strain on the eyes. The darker grey-black shade would be much easier to read without eliminating the simple and calming effect of the other colours. 

It's banner time

The banner is one of the most important visual aspects of any blog. It's the first thing people see when they open the page and can give readers the initial impression of what kind of person the blog belongs to. My personal style is very simple and minimalistic so I decided to reflect that with my banner. 

I decided to use an image as my banner background because I felt it worked in unison with the images I've used in my posts. I felt that if I had used a pattern or simple text that it wouldn't stand out on the page and catch attention as much as a photo would. 

For the photo, I tried to reflect my intended content on the blog. However, because I aspire to work for a lifestyle publication there were many different avenues I could have represented. So to keep it neutral, I featured a book and pen to represent the written content of the blog and a necklace in the background to hint at my intended audience being women. 

How did I make the banner?
To make the banner I took some photos on a table using items I thought would make the photo more visually interesting. In this case it was a journal with a textured cover, a pen, a necklace with a chain and a tiled table top. Each of these aspects contributed to the overall image and 

Original photo (Image by Amadee Stenzel)

To make my banner from the photo I created a new document in Photoshop and scaled it to fit the banner space. I used this as a guide and placed the photo over this template to size and adjust the photo the way I thought looked best. Next I adjusted the levels of the photo so that they would be more cool-toned and vibrant. Finally, I added the title of my blog, 'Amadee May' over the top in Georgia font to match the rest of the page. 

First edit (Image by Amadee Stenzel)

However, although I loved the vibrant purple hues of the image after I'd adjusted the levels, it just didn't suit the rest of my blog. It was too intense a colour to work in unison with my grey background. 

To combat this issue I decided to adjust the vivid colour of the image by adding a grey layer and adjusting the transparency. By doing this I was able to integrate the colours in a way which was more visually appealing next to the grey. 

Final banner (Image by Amadee Stenzel)

I was overall happy with the final result. The colours work well with predominately grey theme I chose whilst still adding a slight pop of colour. 

Where words fail, font speaks.

I'm quite fond of font. I believe there's a connection between the font you use and what kind of person you are. For this blog I wanted to reflect my simplistic style and not over-do the overall appearance. Font was no exception to my simplistic ideal, I wanted something that was easy to read and complimented the ethereal quality of my theme. 

In researching the font I wanted to use I decided to gain inspiration on the Frankie blog and was delighted to find a post which linked me to blogger Emma Dine, writes reviews of different fonts. The post with font I found most intriguing was 'TOP-NOTCH TYPE #26' which discussed the font, Linux. 

Ideal Font: Linux

Linux Font (Image by Amadee Stenzel)

Linux was my ideal font, I knew it the moment I saw it. The tilted letters, the curled edges and the sense of familiarity connected with me. It's not often that you have an emotional bond with font and when you do, you embrace it. Unfortunately, I had an issue with using Linux as my blog font and ended up settling with Georgia. 

Settled Font: Georgia

Georgia Font (Image by Amadee Stenzel)

Side by side both fonts are very similar so it doesn't impact the overall affect I wanted to portray. Georgia font is slightly wider and more rounded than Linux, however Georgia does feature the same serif's on each character. 

I was disappointed that I couldn't use Linux on my blog but I am happy that I found an alternative that didn't completely sacrifice my ideal font style completely. Unfortunately, I'm not yet a master of html codes but I'm learning everyday. 

Keeping it simple

I prefer the simple things in life. Tea, a good book and a clean blog theme. The template I decided on for my blog is by a free-lance designer known as Mooi.

Mooi template preview

This theme caught my eye after searching through template after template of corporate-looking designs. What drew my attention was the ethereal quality the theme had whilst still maintaining a simplistic layout and colour palette. Personally I prefer a clean looking blog that's easy to navigate and this theme ticked all my boxes. However, there are some limitations to the theme which proved difficult to work around. 

Unfortunately, I was unable to alter the colours used by the designer which limited my overall colour palette. If I was able to change the background colour, I'd choose a blue-grey shade which would compliment the text colour but lessen the large quantity of grey. Further information on my colour choices are outlined in another post, here.

I do enjoy the design layout of this theme. It's easy to navigate and doesn't look cluttered. The solid background and empty spaces bordering around the text prove to be excellent  example of using white space (or in this case, grey space).    

Strengths and Weaknesses

(Image by Amadee Stenzel)

{If you haven't already seen my post about my dream career, have a look here.}

What are my strengths?

My biggest strengths are that I'm a very independent and detail-oriented person. I like working alone, I can complete tasks without assistance and pride myself on learning the skills I don't know through teaching myself. This is a strength because I don't require round-the-clock assistance and am comfortable working solo. Additionally, my attention to detail is a strength because I pride myself on creating the best work possible. If something isn't right then I take every step possible to fix it, regardless of if it's a favicon icon that's blurry or an unaligned text box. 

What areas am I a little weak in?

Nobody likes to admit their weaknesses but it's an important step in improving personal skills. My biggest weakness is time management. I've always struggled with allocating my time on each task and more often than not end up finishing the crucial steps at the last moment. It's a constant struggle but necessary when working in a field such as journalism where deadlines are unavoidable.  

What opportunities would prepare me for after graduation?

The most promising opportunity that would prepare me for entering the journalism industry are internships and work experience. Although I might not be able to immediately gain an internship at my dream magazine, any real world experience at a media outlet would be sufficient. Various news organisations based in Brisbane, such as the ABC, offer work experience programs which would allow me networking opportunities required to get a foot in the door that is the journalism industry. 

Another opportunity to assist in my future is blogging. Blogs such as this one act as an online portfolio that potential employers could access to gain insight into my capabilities and potential. By creating content for a blog not only am I able to learn valuable skills but also gain my own following which could be an attractive quality when it comes to sticking out from the competition. 

What are the biggest threats to achieving my goals?

The main threat to achieving my goals is the competitive journalism industry. The decline of print journalism would limit opportunities to work for more popular magazine publications due to competing for positions with other qualified journalists. In order to combat this threat, I would have to distinguish myself from the competition. One way I could do this is through utilising the tool of blogging, as mentioned above. 

Dream job

(Image by Amadee Stenzel)

I've never been one to have my mind set on anything. I change my outfit five minutes before I leave the house and bring at least two different lip colours everywhere. There's only been one thing I've never wavered on and that's what I want to do with my life. Ever since people started seriously asking me what I wanted to do with my life, I'd always answer with "journalism". 

Journalism just seemed like such an exciting industry to me. I loved the idea of being in a competitive environment that would force me out of my comfort zone on a daily basis. Admittedly it's a little daunting when I think about the dwindling job prospects of my future, but I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life.

Ideally I'd love to work at a women's lifestyle magazine. There's such an extensive range of content such from beauty and fashion to celebrities and food as well as an array of elements which go into producing each issue. Some of my favourite women's magazines include Frankie and Yen. 

What I love about these magazines is the unique style of them. They're not the typical glossy magazines with pictures of celebrity weight loss. They have substance and are more artistic and creative both visually and in content. In a way these publications have their own individual style. The origin of Frankie magazine is even described as a response to publisher Louise Bannister and creative director Lara Burke feeling "uninspired with what was being offered on news agency shelves". 

In terms of what type of content I'd want to produce for a publication such as Frankie or Yen, I'm still undecided. As I've only recently started my journalism career I'm still learning different skills and haven't yet found one particular field of production that's whole-heartedly caught my fancy. However, I do enjoy design and feature writing and look forward to furthering my skills in that area. 

{For further information on my career plans, have a look-see at my SWOT analysis}