Blogs play a major role within the web; gone are the days where blogs were just for the normal individual who wanted to write whatever was on their mind. Most companies not only have a website but now utilise blogs too. More and more corporate companies from all sectors of business are utilising blogs to not only advertise their products or services, but to give their brand a voice. And with this surge of new blogs, came new design challenges.
Designing for blogs is not just about using the thousands of free templates that are so readily available or just sticking a colourful header graphic at the top. Blog design is about creating a solid visual structure, with a thoughtful hierarchy of content elements and should be able to connect the content of the site to the presentation.
For this to be achieved, you need to think about accuracy, simplicity and a good use of typography and illustration. Because blogs are content based, mostly being text, getting the typography right is the most important element of blog design.
There is a large difference between corporate blogs and personal blogs. With corporate blogs, they are often made to look the same, if not very similar to the main website. This allows them to tie into the main corporate identity to amplify the company’s personality. Good examples of company blogs can be seen from Econsultancy.com and Topshop.co.uk
However, personal blogs take a slightly different design slant, with many designs using slightly more adventurous styles to create attention-grabbing and unique identities online. Because of the nature of blogs, being that they are an expression of someone’s thoughts, likes and dislikes the designs often reflect this and become a very personal thing. Good examples of personal blog design can be seen from ilovetypography.com and bubblessoc.net
Overall, blog design relies heavily on how the content and text is structured and treated and for what purpose the blog is being used for, whether it is part of a company’s website or a standalone blog.
