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A Fresh New Look Coming For My Blog

If you’re thinking the ol’ blog here is ready for a fresh coat of paint, I’m with ya on that one, and I’m happy to announce that sometime this week we’re going to flip-the-switch on a new redesigned look and functionality for this blog.

It starts with a logo design (see above) created by my good friend, and Kelby Media Group Creative Director Felix Nelson, who combined my photography with book authoring into one simple logo that covers both.

After that, my in-house Web designer Fred Maya customized a new WordPress template for me, which gives me the ability to post larger sized photos with my posts (which means less having to click to see a larger version), plus a nice large sized-gallery at the top of the blog and a update of my portfolio, too (thanks to RC Concepcion for that piece of the puzzle).

There’s lots of functionality tweaks for me, since we pretty much started over from scratch with this one, but one that I hope you all will like is a new, much-updated and improved Commenting feature (the one I’ve been using is pretty darn old and outdated). The new look isn’t radically different from the existing one, but it definitely has some advantages for me, and hopefully for you, too!

Anyway, look for the new look this week, and my thanks to Felix for the logo, and to Fred who has been working on this update for a while and has tweaked it more times than any of us can count (since I’ve had a hard time making up my mind).

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Scott Kelby Author
Scott is a Photographer, bestselling Author, Host of "The Grid" weekly photography show; Editor of Photoshop User magazine; Lightroom Guy; KelbyOne.com CEO; struggling guitarist. Loves Classic Rock and his arch-enemy is Cilantro. Devoted husband, dad to two super awesome kids, and pro-level babysitter to two crazy doggos.
62 comments

  4. Looks CAKB, Scott! I really like the new logo. Will the new comment form allow us to go back and correct spelling mistakes after we post? I know I’ve had a few in the past….

    Can’t wait to see the updated portfolio, too.

    –John

  8. I’ve got to agree with the others Scott, that’s a cool new logo Felix has created there. A simplistic yet stylish design that captures the essence of what you do very well.
    Look forward to seeing the new look site.

  13. The new logo is brilliant! Now you just need a guitar in there. (kidding)

    Looking forward to seeing the new site, and good luck with it!

    Do you have any sort of a rough estimate on when Volume 4 of “The Digital Photography Book” will be released? :) Sorry for going off topic.

    Thanks,
    Darren

  20. Great updated logo Scott. Any chance you could share the plug ins or other methods that are used on the new site for the gallery and the larger pictures on the posts? Some of us struggle with WordPress and just can’t seem to get the functionality we want. This would be extremely helpful.

    Bill Bogle, Jr.

    1. Ditto!! Some of the nuts and bolts of the new website would make a great tutorial – bet Fred and RC could whip that together for us without breaking a sweat.

  27. Yep totally agree with everyone here; loving the new logo…simply stunning!

    Looking forward to seeing the new layout too Scott; i can imagine that’s taken quite a bit of work but darned sure it’s been worth it.

    Cheers,
    Glyn

  29. New looks and functionality are definite pluses for the readers!

    I hit this blog everyday and learn “CAKB” tips ‘n tricks, stay abreast of current topics and products, and generally enjoy the “KelbyLove” of the team and community. Thanks Kelbymedia!

  31. Love the new logo, unfortunately Felix forgot to incorporate the 3rd thing in your life. COD. Have him throw in some kind of an Assault rifle or Bullet, and the logo wil be second to none.

  33. I love the idea of larger photos. I know it can be a pain to switch around web sites (I’m trying to get three of them cranked out), but it’s nice when you put away some issues that have been nagging you. Should be interesting to see what you guys created.

  35. I’ve noticed your writing is more photo-centered lately (which makes sense as you are moving more into the photography field itself, rather than graphic design), and now the blog is getting a facelift in that same direction. Are you still going to be putting out Photoshop (meaning the CS stuff, not Lightroom) materials or has that particular gambit run its course in your writing collection?

  36. Awesome New Logo, Scott! Looking forward to working around in your new layout! Did any of this new design come out of RC book?

    Waiting with great anticipation!

    Dennis

  41. Scott, a couple of folks have asked about any of the plug-ins used for this WordPress theme, I would be interested in any info on that as well…but more importantly, could you tell me which WordPress theme was selected for the new site?? I am also a WordPress user and am happy with my current theme, I did a lot of customization to it, but it is a couple of years old now and time for a refresh.

    Hope to hear from you. Great logo BTW…

    Cheers,
    M.

    1. Mike,
      Nothing crazy, a lot of standard functionality… I built the theme using my own concept design and some popular WordPress techniques. Since it was mostly a solo effort I used a couple of plugins (slightly modified for our needs). I’ll add some detail, keep in mind any of what I mention here could change at any moment, I wouldn’t be surprised if plugins get re-written in some capacity by our dev team as we move forward.

      One feature that may interest photogs here is the slideshow I used for the front page. That’s based off the excellent Nivo Slider script by Gilbert Pellegrom which was made into a handy WordPress plugin also… http://nivo.dev7studios.com/features/#wordpress

      For the image “lightbox effect” I used the colorbox plugin, its not perfect but adequate for our needs at this point. It helps that its also backward-compatible with the previous JQuery scripts I used (for the last theme on this blog).

      Here is the link to that plugin:
      http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/jquery-colorbox/

      F. Maya

      1. Hi Fred,

        Thanks very much for the response. I am still not locked down on anything in terms of a new theme but I was looking for something a little cleaner and lighter. I currently use Pixeled as a theme and love it, but it is a dark background and thought it was time for a change. I appreciate the link for the plug-ins…I will check those out.

        The front page slider I really like, so I will definitely look to incorporate that into whatever I do going forward.

        Nice job, and thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to reach out to me :-)

        Cheers,
        M.

      2. Hi Mike,

        Thanks for the kind words! I enjoy playing with this stuff at work so if any of it can be of help to others even better! :) I would also say many people here share that feeling (no doubt). I plot around these pages / comments learning new things every day.

        If you are curious about anything else don’t hesitate to ask. I tried not to run too long and out of scope on this thread but feel free to email me with any questions.

        Cheers

  43. Hi Scott,
    There used to be categories on your old blog where we could search entries about lighting, etc.
    Will you be incorporating that feature into the new blog?
    Regina

  45. Love the new look!!! . . . Portfolio looks great – really shows off the work! . . . The Gear page is better than scrolling thru a catalog! . . . and the About page makes it personal!! Job well done!

  46. I hate to be a naysayer, but I really liked your old website. The header on this design underplays your name and excellent new logo. The header needs more presence, if you ask me (and I am a graphic designer). Your name, your photo, all are so small I would think a new visitor unfamiliar with your site would have to hunt to see whose website this is. Just my two cents… Still LOVE your content and all you do for the industry!

  48. I love the new look of the website! One critique from a details person: at the top of the page you have Twitter + Plus + Facebook, but at the bottom of the page you have them in a different order: Plus + Twitter + Facebook. Certainly not a biggie, but I’m a huge fan of constancy. I’m jealous you have Fred Maya working for you!

    1. Whoa! Fast fix, for sure. Now I am just curious why the order of Portfolio categories, the text in the upper right on the portfolio page, doesn’t correspond to the order of the portfolio pictures just below them? Don’t get me wrong, great site indeed. Such a clean, fresh look, and the logo is outstanding. Kudos all around!

      1. Hi Toby: Yeah, I’m not thrilled with the whole opening page. I’m going to work on that this coming week. Ideally, I’d like just one photo there, and then the categories up top, or at the very least, they should certainly correspond. Still a work in progress. :)

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