Content: 2
Now I understand that this blog is primarily for women, but I can't help but read it every once in a while. The content is very hit or miss for me: I love Marie's taste in music and movies, and I think she has a fantastic sense of humor, but when she gets on her rants about fashion or "ladyboning" Julian Casablancas, I skip ahead to the next post. What I'd like to focus on here is the design.
Design: 5
Right from the start you recognize that Marie's site has a signature look and feel. She created a photo for her header and accompanied it with a font that is very complementary. She then uses that font for all of her titles throughout the blog. She even designed a custom signature to sign each of her posts with. There is a bit of clutter at the top of the page with buttons and banners, but even they seem to coincide with the overall look and feel of the site.
Marie uses a template with two columns that are discernable and easy to navigate. And she uses lots of "white space," which tends to make the images and titles jump out more. Its very easy on the eyes. And again, she maintains the color scheme of black, white and red all throughout. If I had any problem with the design at all, it would be the font size for the body of text. However, it seems that this blog is more geared towards photography, and since you don't want the text to take too much away from that, I feel she made the appropriate choice here.
Agent Lover: 7/10
Content: 4
I found this blog while doing research on Detroit last semester and I've been hooked ever since. You would never imagine that there could be so much going on in a city so desolate. Its absolutely and infinitely intriguing to me. To watch one of our great American cities just collapse from the inside out like this is just astonishing. The best way I can describe it is a beautiful disaster.
The blog is written by a local journalist who goes by the pen name Detroitblogger John. He has such a compassion for the local residents and he does a fantastic job of bringing a positive light to many areas that have known nothing but darkness for many years. He is a great voice not just for the city, but for the human spirit.
Design: 5
As my history teacher used to pound into our heads: keep it simple stupid. And it doesn't get any more simple than this. Its must be the most user-friendly blog I've seen to date. Like furniture ought to be, this blog is extremely functional and stylish. It has a beautiful picture of downtown Detroit for the header with the name blended in. Underneath are four simple buttons, and then it gets right down to business. The template is centered, with absolutely no ads or banners to be seen. Its just smooooth sailing. Start reading and put it down when you're content, just like a book. There are no distractions: no sounds or movies or unnecessary titles. Just well-placed pictures to accompany the article and to help you become more involved with the content. He's not selling you anything or bashing your eyeballs with flashing lights; he just opens the door slowly and says, "Welcome. Come on in." Therefore I believe the design for this blog fits perfectly. He really considered his reader when putting together the site.
And just because I always have to mention the text, I will say that white text on a black background can make your eyes a little more exhausted than the opposite, because its simply not what they are accustomed to. However, black backgrounds, minus the white text, can actually help more than just your eyes: they reduce the amount of energy needed for your screen, and therefore can reduce your energy bill, and on some microscopic level, help the environment.
detroitblog: 9/10
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