ELEMENTS: Blog Design for Photographers

WE'VE MOVED! WRECKLESS ELEMENTS IS NO LONGER HERE!

2011-06-22T03:17:00.000-07:00

Hello! I've moved all information about Wreckless blog design and photography to www.wrecklessgirl.com. Please head there for rates & information. THANKS SO MUCH!

Kristy | Wrecklessgirl

A Quickie Update on Redesigns

2011-02-08T15:00:00.000-08:00

If you're interested in working with me to completely overhaul your blog, please email me at we@wrecklesselements.com to be placed on my waiting list! I'm current working on my own redesign (surprise suprise) and a new list of services.

I'm starting new projects from January-May (as I'm a full-time photographer May-December every year), so I'd be happy to work with you while I embark on new designs with my next set of custom design clients!

I'm currently booked the following dates:

Beginning May: booked
Middle May: booked
Beginning June: booked
Middle June: booked
Beginning July: booked
Middle July: booked
Beginning August: booked
Middle August: booked
Beginning September: available
Middle September: available
Beginning October: available
Middle September: available

Otherwise, if you're interested in purchasing one of the customizable blogger templates, please visit this Basic Services page! I'd be happy to install your template this week! The pre-designed template service is fairly speedy if you're looking for a quick, inexpensive blog design fix.

Hope you are all well and enjoying your blogs! Take care!

Jamie Delaine : A Custom Wordpress Design

2011-02-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

I just wrapped up a darling little project working on re-designing Jamie Delaine's blog and a few matching elements in her ShowIt website. She wanted a blog that felt less like a photographer's template blog and more like a magazine column and a personal blog that also could function as a place to share imagery. I love the excitement of breaking free from the typical photographer's navigation bar at the top below an image header. Amen! I can't really stress enough how important it is to have a strong brand to work with when you're revamping your site or blog. You don't need a complicated, involved logo, something simple & gorgeous like Jamie's logo works really well for inspiration when you're wanting to embellish a new blog or web design. Many thank yous to Jamie for being entirely clear what what she wanted (the girl knows what she wants!) and being such a delight to work with.

I'm headed to Europe next week, last minute style. I'll be stopping in Seattle first visit a very special vagabonder .. and then off to Norway--and oh, how I've missed it! How I love this random life of mine! I'll be spending a month working on blog designs, shooting my lil heart out, and spending time with my wonderful friend, Andreas.

LadyKnitster / LadyLIke - A Custom Wordpress Blog

2011-01-10T13:18:00.000-08:00

Welcome

2010-08-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hello there.
My name is Kristy.
I adore blogger, wordpress, and squarespace blogs.

I can mostly definitely help you:
post larger images
widen the width of your blog
change font sizes and styles
add a navigation bar
add widgets (ie. twitter) and gadgets (ie. search forms, calendars, archives, bios)
change the feel of your standard blogger, wordpress, or squarespace blog template/theme.

NOTE: I am accepting new blog design clients (of all kinds) starting in January 15 of 2011.
Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

START HERE by checking out Basic Services.
feel free to contact me: we@wrecklesselements.com

Square of Life: A Custom Wordpress Design

2010-08-09T23:23:00.000-07:00

Beth is an amazing, multi-talented artist! I adore her eclectic lifestyle and I was so honored that she hired us (Andreas & I) to revamp her branding and her blog, which is now both her website and her blog!

We wanted to create a photographer's/artist's space that was nontraditional in layout, but effective in purpose. I've seen a lot of the same ole design for photographers and our hope was that we could step outside the box and not be so square in terms of design, all the while keeping her artist's space clean and manageable. To see the full transformation, visit her old blog. And then visit the new blogsite!

For more information about Elements Wordpress custom design work, please click here.

Introducing .. Wordpress!

2010-05-06T09:20:00.001-07:00

I've teamed up with my web design friend to tackle Wordpress themes! Here's one we worked on last week. This is a FANTASTIC blog and now one of my favorites for its gorgeous content. Rebekah, you are an amazing photographer!

To check out our Wordpress design packages, please visit here.

FEATURED BLOGGER : ANNA JOY

2010-03-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, I'll be featuring my favorite blogger/blogspot photographers' blogs with really beautiful templates! If you'd like to nominate your favorite blogspot bloggers, please @reply me on twitter at twitter.com/wrecklessgirl and I'd be thrilled to consider them for my weekly features on this Wreckless Elements blogsite!

To kick things off, I'll start with Anna Joy! I've been following this darling girl for a couple years and was so stoked when Jeremy at www.805collective.com designed her amazing website and updated her blogger blog. Her branding makes my heart leap with joy and encompasses her gorgeous, sweet, and gentle photographs so very well! Bravo!

Things I adore:
the textured background and main posting area
the camera graphic next to each of her post titles
the large Georgia font in the post titles
the really classy smaller serif-font for the post body
wide main posting area with two columns!
the gentle drop shadow behind the main posting area
her easy to see lists in the sidebar (but not distracting in any way to her gorgeous images!)

Blog Template Sale

2010-03-04T06:29:00.001-08:00

All template designs are $100

To get started, please check out these popular three:
ELEMENTAL
WHITE AS SNOW
CLEAN SWEEP

Or, if you'd like something more custom, please email me for information on custom blog designs.

New Template : Elemental

2010-03-04T06:14:00.002-08:00

This is a sweet & cozy template easily snazzed-up by your own branding or aesthetically sufficient as-is.

Elemental $100.00

* Customizable background
* Customizable link font colors
* Customizable header
* Customizable links and label names
* When you click "Categories," the page jumps to the bottom of the page where your most used categories are cleverly linked.
* Add your bio image and information or your logo below the navigation bar, above the posting area.

Aurora Photoblog : Customized Template

2009-12-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

Enjoy sassy Aurora Photography's new Aurora Photoblog! Amy was such a pleasure to work with! I was really inspired by her old-motel styled logo .. so I made a custom tiled background that's speckly and a muted gold tone that would enhance the retro feel of her branding for her blog. I enjoy how she posts her images with drop shadows; it give it a different feel than a lot of other photoblogs.

New Template : White As Snow

2009-11-25T14:32:00.000-08:00

A new template (YAY)!

WHITE AS SNOW $100.00

Super Clean.
Super White.
Simply Basic.

* Your logo rests snugly in the top header.
* Your links to informative pages are linked in the simple navigation toward the top of the page.
* When you click "Categories," the page jumps to the bottom of the page where your most used categories are cleverly linked.
* Easy-to-change color options: links and navigation.

What more could you ask for?

email me to inquire. we at wreckless elements dot com.

Chyna Darner - Customized Template

2009-10-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

Catching up on posting some blog designs I did at the end of last year. Some nice features I liked about this design were the sidebar (whcih is less obvious than most, yet still functional) and the three-column footer at the bottom of the blog with lists for links, archives, etc.

Cynthia Warden - A Custom Blog Design

2009-09-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

A fun project with a dear friend of my friend, Gina at Warm Pears. Cynthia wanted a new blog design and ended up with that and a new logo & header as well! She wanted something more cheerful and bright, something that would connect her more to her fun family clients.

KelleyPhoto - A custom blog design!

2009-07-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

All I can say is RAAAAAWR. Kelley is my dino-loving, sister-like-friend. She wanted to revamp her blog so I took her photoshopped mock-up blog design and made it reality!

She is all abouut BIG images, BIG headers, BIG font. I love the results! She's so brilliant! See her awesome blog come to life for yourself by going to her blog: http://kelleyphoto.blogspot.com.

Wowsa!

2009-07-16T16:55:00.001-07:00

I'm working on a wreckless elements blog revamp right now along with my friend Jeanne from Three Paper Pigs who is my go-to girl for graphic design elements. I recommend her for new logos and if you want further branding beyond what is included in your blog design fee!

We're going to whip up something special and give WE a little facelift. I just finished a recent project for my friend Kelley over at her blog; I'll post her about new blog design soon. She photoshopped the blog design she wanted to have, and I helped her customize her blogger blog to achieve that style! I'm still working on a few blog designs that I'll show you when I finish them up this weekend! Woo!

CleanSweep Template

2009-06-15T15:25:00.001-07:00

Hello!

Here is my first of many template posts for photographers using Blogger/Blogspot blogs. Most of the elements are easily customizable within the blogger dialog so you can change font color of the date, the header, the label text, label links. Images post best at around 700px!

CLEAN SWEEP $100.00

Thank you so much for taking a peek!
Blessings!

Mel O. Photos

2009-06-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hello there! Well, I've been wrapping up a few projects this last week!

Mel is such a sweetheart to work with and I'm really excited about her new senior blog! I love shooting seniors myself, so it's great to produce something that reflects the fun, sweet nature of senior photography.

Here's the color palette that inspired these blog elements.

Last but not least, I love the way the most important aspect of the design for a photoblog (the PHOTOS!) stand out in a simple way because of the layout.

Happenings, and a bio-of-sorts

2009-05-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hey there. Wow, I feel like there has been an overwhelming pull in my heart to be blog designing more. This past year, I found myself more interesting in pursuing and accepting blog design help and projects than portrait commissions. So, here I am, attempting to pull this all together and form a new entity, Wreckless Elements. I am so excited about where this might be able to take me! I absolutely love helping my photographer and artist friends with their blogger accounts and template design. I think web presence is so very important for we artists because our imagery and artwork is what should be paramount. Also, for we writers and travelers, Our words should look attractive and function neatly and with character. I've enjoyed designing travel blogs lately. I would LOVE to start designing for fashion bloggers as soon as I can get my hands on some trendy, sassy ladies who are dying for a redesign.

I know things may seem a bit awry, but this week, I'm hoping to line up some templates for you to purchase as well as explain how the process works, and offer some new design packages to incorporate a deeper sense of individuality by providing my custom blog design & template clients with with stand-alone graphic design elements; these elements will be offered in new packages and will be working together with Jeanne from Three Paper Pigs.

Brook's Adventures -custom blog design

2009-05-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

SQUEE!!!! I'm so excited about this design. Just finished it up tonight! I have a lot of amazing friends who are just as passionate (or more!) aobut traveling the world. First blog re-design was for one of my best friends, Gina, for her Warm Pears Italian blog, and now it's my other bestie, my friend Brook in South Korea! Here is her blog, The Adventures of Brook. I shot her profile image waaaay back in the day during a mini wreckless photography photoshoot in Oregon. I was so glad when I realized the citrussy color in the background of the image is the SAME COLOR I picked for her complementary hue to the berry purple. Isn't she just gorgeous?

She wanted a travel journal, so I whipped up a bold, sassy, clean lil blog for her to write and post all her gorgeous images on! Wooo!!!

alas, the color palette.

Hidden Treasures Found - Full Redesign!

2009-05-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

I could go on and on about Valerie, seriously. She's one of my few favorite clients AND a repeat client, both in the photography-sense, but also now, in the blog design sense. She trust me 100% and for that, I am grateful!

Alas, here is her final blog design/concept. http://hiddentreasuresfound.blogspot.com. She sent me a list of things she found beautiful and amazing and it read like a map to me, all interconnected. So I turned her blog into a treasure map. The map scrolls down as long as you need it to, neverending. With a sweet little treasure chest at the top of the blog that pops up out of the main posting area. Thanks a BUNCH to Jeanne from Three Paper Pigs who is a partner of mine (partner in crime!!) for my blog design business. I absolutely am DELIGHTED to be working on blogs now, more full time. It's such a rewarding job, and when you work with talented, kind people, it makes all the difference!

Here's the final blog, feel free to pop over and experience it for yourself!

Jessica Schmale

2009-04-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of a template blog I designed for photographer, Jessica Schmale. She liked the Ambient design, so I installed it on her blogger, changed the width of the posting area, the colors, some of the fonts, and voila!

It's the Ambient blog design, yet it looks so much more like her style with just a few adjustments. Thanks Jess for being such a loving, fun client.

AMBIENT/JESS TEMPLATE : $50

Check out her beautiful image collages!

I love orange and oranges

2009-04-28T01:42:00.000-07:00

out with the pink, in with the orange. i played around a bit with this blog today! i don't want anything too fancy schmancy....yet. i'm working on getting a logo designed for wreckless elements, so my branding is going to seem pretty ambiguous right now. and bright orange. all my favorite items are orange: my piano books, candles (pumpkin), my macbook laptop bag, my favorite scarf, my favorite shoes, and my favorite eye shadow (well, it's a dark sparkley gold)! once i get a logo, i will trip this out with goodies and gadgets galore! hope you are all well! i'm working on three blogs right now:

chyna darner photography - almost done! here is the future location.
ashleigh eight pence and her two cents
vstarkey - DESIGN COMPLETE!
thesoulfocus

so excited! all three are VERY different in that they are blogging about different things, events, places, people, and the designs will have a different feel/aura about them. all three of these girls pretty much gave me the go ahead to 'do my thing' and are allowing me the freedom to explore with their blog design.

Adding to the fun

2009-04-20T00:13:00.000-07:00

I've asked my friend, a graphic designer, to collaborate with me on the next few full-designs. The next few designs are going to be FABULOUS!!! I'm really excited!!!
(Just thought I'd announce it to the whole wide world!)

Warm Pears, an Italian blog

2009-04-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

//UPDATE//:

I Recently changed some things around on Gina's Warm Pears blog that I thought I should share with you. Her images are MOLTO BELLO!

My dear friend, Gina, moved to Italy in early spring; I designed her this blog selfishly so I could keep up with her fascinating and beautiful life. How amazing to live in ITALY of all places!!!! She is in Firenze (Florence) for an indefinite amount of time. I'm planning on visiting her there in July! ;)

I wanted to design a much more colorful blog for her, something that would include a bit of whit and whimsy.

Ambient 11

2009-03-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

Hello there!!! A couple new blog designs!

Here's Ambient 11...I love love love how clean this one is. His "ambient" images pop right off the screen! I think it's so important to not over-do it with blog design (for us artists) because the images should be the sole focus of your blog. Doo-dads should take second precedence.

Anyway, here's Ambient 11's blog design.

AMBIENT TEMPLATE : $50

:)

I love that session he shot with Sarah Rhoads and Chris Rhoads!!

Keep Film Alive : Customized Template

2009-02-02T12:51:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a blog for my friend Tanja who is about to announce her non-profit organization, Keep Film Alive, to the worl at WPPI in Las Vegas this month. Her goal is to encourage film and digital shooters alike to shoot film.

Greater Works : Customized Template

2009-01-20T18:48:00.000-08:00

A probono blog overhaul job for my friend Sammy and her new Greater Works photoblog; I loved this beautiful, yet simple transformation. I used the elements of her logo and header throughout the blog to build up her branding. I spotted the purple in her logo and decided to go full-force with it. I love that little bird!

check out that RAD music player!!!!!

Refuge

2009-01-01T22:10:00.000-08:00

I designed a blog for Refuge Christian Fellowship in Santa Rosa, CA. My photographer friend, David, along with other pastors needed the following:

*a place where all church journalists/authors can post events and inspiration.
*podcast links to sermons each week/month.
*address and links to directions to the church (I find this drives me crazy when there is no way to find out WHERE businesses/churches are on the website). I tried to make this as obvious as possible.
*a simple design that would accentuate images and videos (David's a big videoblogger), but not overpower their already-crispy clean and bold logo design.

I made the navigation bar at the top as SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE, the authors as visible as possible (pictures and all) so you connect the bloggers face with their writings. I love the bricky/bloody red (for one, their logo is similar to the Red Cross logo), but not in a gory way--I think that's the same reason I picked serif style font to make it look large and in charge. David begged me to make an image header, but I honestly couldn't bring myself to finalize the design with an image header. I think it would distract the viewer and confuse them as to what kind of a blog it is. We came to the conclusion and compromise that any additional images will be added via the sidebar widget he could create on the right below "blog authors." Visit the site to check it out as a whole.

Also, FYI: most all the images are clickable to take yourself to the actual blog itself that I'm posting about, that I designed.

Freebird Productions Styling : Customized Template

2008-10-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

I designed a blog for my friend and colleague, Tia who does out-of-this-world styling. You can see her work at Tanja Lippert Photography...where all the photos in the galleries were styled by her (makeup, hair, wardrobe, etc). I wanted a rough, glamorous, nostalgic feel to her blog to represent who she is as an artist. I designed a background that resembled faded smooth stone. Something subtle and sweet, but also a little on the wild side. She loves the typewriter font, so I wanted the overall feel to be like a journal of a free spirit girl who goes around the world blessing us with her gifts. Alas, her blog.

Meeks Digital : Customized Template

2008-10-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

Trevor's blog got a facelift again, here is the new look!

MEEKS DESIGN : $50

Beautiful serif font that flows nicely with the rest of his branding and logos.
Simple dark hover in the navigation bar.

what wrecklessgirl loves

2008-09-10T02:43:00.000-07:00

...is color
design
elements that turn the ordinary into something spectacular
effective
daring
moving.

i would love to help you design your blog! i get so many questions about blog design that i figured...well...maybe there's something to this passion for lovely, clean, funky blog design!!! currently, i've been working solely with blogger/blogspot blogs.

interested?
email me or leave a comment at the end of this (or any) post...and we can talk about it!

thanks!
kristy