Whimsical September

A Family + Lifestyle Blog

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Whimsical September Gets a Makeover

I’m so excited to unveil a fresh new blog design for Whimsical September. I hope you like it!

Once I found out back in April that I was selected as a BlogHer “Voice of the Year” and would be attending their annual conference, I knew it was time to do a little financial investing in my blog and spruce things up a bit before heading to New York.

I connected with Elizabeth from Chantilly Designs over a year ago and have loved getting to know her via social media and email ever since. Selecting her as my designer was an easy choice based on her pricing options and design skills. The blogs she’s designed are often aesthetically my favorite.
I went into the design process with a bunch of ideas floating around my head while also having a very hard time piecing them together and visualizing what I wanted. Elizabeth was very patient and very skilled at listening to my jumbled thoughts and paraphrasing them back to me to confirm if that’s what I wanted or not. I even threw her a curveball last minute regarding a completely color change, but she rolled with my punches like a friend would.
Here were a few ideas she tossed around for my header. She was so open to my tweaked ideas and worked quickly to spit out modified ideas.
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After a bit of tweaking with graphics and fonts, we finally settled on the finalized logo you now see at the top of the page. I love how it depicts a road under “September” symbolizing how much of our lives we spend on the go. Ultimately the road leads to a house because Jamie and I agree that there’s no place like the place we call home together.
Once we agreed on a header, we worked (and then reworked) the color scheme. We were originally set on this – 
– but ended up switching gears and landing on something like this.
We also worked on brainstorming and selecting icons for each sidebar menu topic. She did such a wonderful job with those icons; I’m so happy with them!
Up top you’ll find the aforementioned new official logo as well as a simplified menu bar. On the righthand side you’ll find a set of graphics that lists topics I frequently discuss. Not only have I added three new menu categories (Travel, Military Love Stories, and New? Start Here), but each and every menu page has been updated with fresh layouts, pictures, and information. Take a look!
You can also still connect with me via my social media icons, search for specific topics, and browse through the archives.
I’ve had to really stretch myself and get out of my comfort zone during this process to make sense of various design elements, but each time I accomplished something new (even something small like purchasing and using new fonts) felt like a victory. I very much love to share and write, but the design elements of blogging often feel very foreign. I love that I’m continuing to learn so much through doing something I truly enjoy.
I hope you find my blog easier on the eyes, more user friendly, and easier to navigate.
As always, I’m so glad to have you around to share my family’s lives with. I love connecting with you through the comment section and would love to hear what you think!
Thanks again, Elizabeth! Working with you was an exciting experience.

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