Writerhead

I am pleased to announce the new launch of Writerhead …with Kristin Bair O’keeffe. This is the second project I get to work with Kristin, the talented writer. Two years ago I created a web site for Kristin’s first novel Thirsty and we both were very happy with the project. So when she approached me to turn her static site into a vibrant, dynamic blog, I didn’t hesitate.

Before I even gave Kristin an estimate, she already had all the contents ready for me. I wish all my projects could begin this way. Kristin also knew exactly what she wanted: simple but bold. As you can see from the site, you can’t get any bolder than a big, bold persimmon masthead with an incredible amount of text. My first instinct was that it’s too much text for a site description, but then I didn’t want to take it out after I see the playfulness of it. That’s what making the site stands out.

Kristin wants the ability to update the entire site herself; therefore, WordPress is the perfect tool for this project. The theme is based on “Toolbox: An HTML5 WordPress Starter Theme.” The theme is styled with semantic HTML5, but I modified the codes a bit to incorporate HTML5 Boilerplate. I tried to stay closed to “Toolbox”‘s structure as much as I can so Kristin can add new widgets or create new menu item without me going into the codes. I relied mostly on CSS to jazz up the look and feel. I also used CSS media queries to make the layout responsive. CSS3, HTML5 and WordPress make me love what I do.

Writerhead is truly a rewarding project to me. Even though I digged into these new technologies with Visualgui.com, Writerhead allows me to see WordPress really works. With Visualgui.com, I customized almost everything so it is very specific for my own needs, but Writerhead is much more flexible since I have to design with other users in mind.

So thanks Kristin for the opportunity. I hope you’ll enjoy using the site as much as I have enjoyed designed and developed it.

By the way, Kristin will open a personal essay workshop online. So if you’re interested in improving your writing skills, check out her classes.