If you visit the blog and do not read it from some other site or an RSS reader (no, they did not die with Google Reader!), You will notice that I radically changed the design. The last few times I’ve created a new WordPress blog theme, I always write it from scratch. This time was no exception. I start with an index.html file linked to a style.css and there I am building. Then I create the necessary files for a theme in a virtual machine with WordPress (like Varying Vagrant Vagrants) and everything takes shape there.
The static html file gives me the opportunity to test things without depending on a whole WordPress to build the idea of what I want to achieve with the final design. Many times I use a notebook and pencils or pens to make erasers, and then build on that. But it was not the case this time, I started to write HTML and CSS and I was putting it together on the screen itself. I decided to use Bulma, a CSS framework that I have been using in several personal projects lately and it has been quite good for me. It is relatively light and quite simple to use and it comes with everything.
The last “redesign” was in 2014:
New design in Chopping Code (2014)
Which in turn was more of a recycling of the new 2013 design:
New design in Chopping Code (2013)
The previous layout wasted quite a bit of horizontal space, but I’m getting more out of it now. It also improved the use on small screens quite a bit. Although I already had it in mind in previous designs, I think this is the best version at the moment. That way there are also more margins and paddings everywhere. This was made relatively easy for me when using Bulma.
You will notice a change in the colors of the site. When I started the blog back in 2007 and moved it to my own WordPress, I used to use quite dark color palettes, like emulating a command line with black or gray backgrounds. Thanks to feedback from various readers I ended up opting for a light background color in the previous redesign. But this time I decided to go back to the dark background for a simple reason: I like it better. I was quite inspired by the themes that I have been using in Emacs, and I am quite happy with the result. I find it has more of a personal touch than before. If you prefer a light background to read the blog, I highly recommend Firefox’s Reading View. It provides us with the content of a plain site or blog and a screen reader as well.
To keep in mind, what the site looked like until this makeover:
Design Picando Code 2019
I hope you like it, I was quite satisfied. If you notice any defect or error that I have passed from the theme migration, do not hesitate to comment, I will be grateful.
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