Template Moods





Over the last few days I received some mails from friends asking me why I had changed the appearance of my blog. Most of them seemed to like the change, I don’t know if they seriously meant it. Or just wanted to agree with the change.


Then I asked myself why I had done that. Looking at it, I found I had some reasons. My blog had the picture of an old man with a camel against the background of a sunset in the desert. The whole picture was fiery red . The rest of the template was black with tongues of flames on either side. Altogether ,red and black and the gloomy figure of the old man with a lantern walking towards the end of nowhere, as if in search of something so far far away.

Over a period of time I got bored with that old man. My mood when I chose that template was one of anger and resentment, which changed to some kind of gloominess and then some vague indifference.
When I decided to change, I had no doubts about the color. I always end up with blue. Most of my shirts are blue or some shades of it. Even if I go to the shop with the idea of buying something of a different color, I end up coming back with something in blue. I don’t know if you would believe, a friend of mine once bought me a birthday present.. a gold ring on which was set a blue sapphire. I asked her why and she said that was my birth stone.
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Don’t we have personal choices of colors? I tried to find out some information on colors and mood and stumbled up on some interesting facts. Look at the description of colors below and see if it has something to do with your own choice of colors and your moods.





Red
Red is a stimulating and energizing color. It also enhances self-assurance.. Red is the most intense color choice. It is bright, vibrant, and draws the eye. It is the color of love, and also of anger. It is a hot and passionate color. In the bedroom, red light helps sexual activity, and could lead to active nights.
Yellow
Wearing yellow will rejuvenate and balance the mind. It wipes out the feeling of heaviness and oppression. Yellow is  sunny and reflective and is a pensive color. It will lift ones mood to be positive and optimistic.
Orange
This  is also the color of love.. Wear it to lift your love life. Orange is a very high energy color imparting boldness and distinction. Like red and yellow, orange is stimulating. It is an antidepressant and also stimulates the mind. Anyone with a desire to sharpen and add focus and purpose to their life can do with a little orange.
Green
Green is relaxing and tranquil to the eyes. It reduces stress and brings a feeling of tranquility. Wear it to inspire harmony in others and restore your energy. It represents dependability and tactfulness. Green is also reminiscent of nature and serenity.
Pink
The color pink is trendy. It is a girly color and is a symbol of innocence and beauty. Pink has a soothing effect. It also speaks of pure love. It is a romantic color, while red is hot and passionate. It also is bright, vibrant, a strong and healthy color.
Blue.
Blues are amongst the most relaxing of colors, reminding viewers of summer skies and ocean water. Blue causes a slight psychological change which results in people feeling less hungry.. Blue is also regarded to be effective for increasing wisdom energy. It is the color of peace, tranquility and is excellent in increasing spiritual meditation and healing. Blue is also something of a paradoxical color, because in certain settings it can appear cold, formal, and sad. “The Blues” got their name from the sad aspect of the color.
Purple
Purple balances the mind, brings serenity and combats fear. It’s connected with psychic powers and helps wake up that aspect. It is  also the color that speaks of royalty. The color purple rarely appears in nature, so overuse of this color can appear artificial.

I was not planning to write on colors, but ended up just doing that. I wanted to ask how often would you change the appearance of your blog or would you do it at all.







When I started the blog I experimented with many themes and colors before choosing one. My choice of colors and theme was just natural. Over a period of time, readers connect the appearance of the blog to you and your personality. I don’t know if others think the way I do, but I sometimes get an impulse to make a change. But how often can you do it? Frequent changes can erase the mental image of a blog that the reader has. Can also irritate some readers, for sure. I change the colors when I myself get bored  looking at it. Not because anyone has complained.

It is true, content is the king of the blog. But kings need good castles too !  Having good content is the priority but a good design can definitely compliment. Clutter and difficult navigation can be avoided.

Custom made templates will cost you. But there are far too many designs available free. Wear the color that fits your mood and the nature of the blog. Changes are a matter of personal preferences.

I am no expert. But these are tips I got from experts.






30 comments:

  1. I like to change the look of my blog every few months and colors and templates depend on my mood as you pointed out. I really like this new look and color scheme of your blog. And change is good because even a good thing packaged forever in the same way can get boring.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dr Antony,

    Contents are important but template needs to be good too.

    Dr, Antony, I do not lie so I will not admit I like your template. Sorry. But if most people like it then you should keep it. My specific comments on the template is :-

    1. Yellow and Navy are too much contrast for me to handle.

    2. Reading area is small i.e only 1/3.

    3. Cat animation is annoying and distracting.

    4. I am not too fond of Yellow colors. I prefer blue or white shade as background. Actually most web page designers would recommend you that.

    Having said that your contents are SO GOOD..SO GOOD...at the end it does not bother me so much. I will continue to visit and read.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thats why I mentioned in your previous post, that your blog template was good - esp the flowers. But as A said, the reading size is too less.

    Your blog template reflects your mood, yes. Its nice to see an autumn like mood. My favorite color is blue as well - Peace and tranquility :)

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  4. The header is very good, Dr. Anthony :)

    but the reading size is too small. but not bad. :)

    You can add the shoutbox so that your blogwalker can "Talk" with you, Dr. Antony.
    But it's just advice. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I too have been thinking of changing the looks of my blog, but am too lazy to do that!!!

    My favorite colour has always been green, followed closely by mauve/violet, because in the mountains you see a lot flowers with mauve colour. Brown follows next. But then, I like almost all colours, i guess, depending on my mood.

    I agree with A, the yellow and blue is a bit jarring... You can widen the margin by changing the Html or whatever. I have done it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hated the colour red up until I started the new blog. I forced myself to chose that colour. I guess I was tired of the blues and greens. I used to use pale colours too. Now I like bold colours. But if this yellow was another other shade of yellow, I would have hated it on a blog. But the blue flowers add the beauty here. Use the template designer to change the width and fonts.

    My favourite colours are Violet and yellow. :) Blog is a personal space. Change it as per ur mood. If the content is good, people will be back! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would go with insignia's comment...the writing space is less as compared to other one....But I love CAT ...
    to me Blue is always connected to moods and thats how your blog says that too...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Doc, you mentioned all possible vibrant colors except 'black'. the theme for 'haute couture' in fashion was black and grey the past spring.
    Strange , isn't it ?

    As you said Red has aggression and may be flaming passion.
    Changing templates and choosing the correct combos is an art and the job for a computer savvy. I'm not , so I stick to my theme of blue.
    But a sun set is not too bad an idea.

    ReplyDelete
  9. ..because you asked, i tell you. your life is a treasure hunt and just because you come along a beautiful flaming red treasure doesn't mean you can't keep going along the way until you find the blue and yellow treasure. seek. eat up the joy along the way and don't worry about the rest of us. we'll catch up.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sir me a blue man tooo. :-)
    Templates well I am no good at them when I had blogspot a special person helped me.same with wordpress.
    I like the colors on the blog nice and bright.

    I like it...

    This is the third time I am trying to post the comment.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's your blog so choice is completely yours.I like your template and i love what Tracy says.Have a nice day Doc .

    ReplyDelete
  12. I also keep changing the template the colors, it brings some freshness to everything.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi,
    No matter the king's castle is good or not, I'll visit regularly to meet the king (Content) ;)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love the color blue myself.. nd even I changed my blog template recently since I wanted a change.. nd I guess I shall do it more often too..

    Guess you can increase the reading space like everyone suggests.. but then your blog is easy to navigate and the content is always good.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I liked the header of your blog very much. Very beautiful, bright, colourful and excellent post. Very well written. I feel that changing the template depends on everybody's choice but it definitely brings freshness.
    You are welcome at my new post-
    http://urmi-z-unique.blogspot.com
    http://amazing-shot.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. @Rachna
    We thought alike.Frequent changes are not that advisable according to experts.We tend to associate the blog with the person.
    @ A
    Thank you. Honestly, I was playing with some designs, and then realized I cannot change the width of this template! I wanted to place the flowers for a change.I will give the cat some rest.Don't be surprised if you find another change,before this gets stuck.

    ReplyDelete
  17. well...i have not changed template even a single time yet....but after reading this i am thinking for it.....:))

    and personally i feel that colour or design of templates doesn't matter much as long as fonts are clear and the background of the reading area is such that it does not irritate while reading.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi friends,
    I was playing around with the template,and at the end,this is what happened! No eye strain,i thought I would keep it for sometime !

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dr Antony,

    This design is much better for my taste. Much much nicer than yellow color. Glad you kept white background.

    You should be able to change the width of each column of the template. It is possible.

    In this case the width seems okay. But may be you can increase the width of reading area but not necessary.

    You should be able to change width under Design

    If you have difficulties doing, send me your email address at arealblogger@gmail.com and I will send you more specific instructions.

    ReplyDelete
  20. change is good
    good to know and read about colors again.

    ReplyDelete
  21. nice header doc..!! great job of searching a nice template.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Dr Antony, I am looking at this blog and commenting during my lunch hour after a heated discussion with my boss who had taken a report that I had done and asked someone to change the font, layout, put pictures etc. I was hopping mad because I felt it takes the seriousness out of the report. I am all for form so long as it does not affect the content. Change is always welcome in form- I would not like to see Heart Beats change or go down in the quality of its contents. And before I close I must confess that my favourite colour is also blue- next being purple.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I have heard about the connection between our characteristics and colours..thnks fr this post..this new template looks very nice. but in comments section the font size looks very small.

    ReplyDelete
  24. @Hi friends
    Thanks for your suggestions and comments. I got busy with a change of job,and so,the silence.
    @A
    I tried the template designer. Some of the templates do not give the option to change anything.Like the blue one earlier.Thanks for the interest you took.

    ReplyDelete
  25. hai doc, I love ur new template. anyway, I love white, so what would it to be :D
    and oh, have a nice weekend for u n ur fam :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. I like the looks you chose. I like most colors but did appreciate your information on colors. Have a nice Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi friends,
    I am in the middle of a change of job.I sorry I cant write to you individually.But hopefully,I could be back with you in a weeks time.
    with love and regards.
    dr.antony

    ReplyDelete
  28. All said and done, its looking colourful now :-)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I am an oldie and failed the only time i tried to change the look of my blog. i managed to do it but reverted to the old design in no time.

    Blue is my favorite color too. Navy blue and sky blue in particular. Green is the next favorite. i avoid red and pink. i wouldn't know the reason.

    ReplyDelete
  30. hi doc,
    really liked the new change gives a glimpse of a peaceful lake to me,

    it is beautiful ,am looking for the day when i get bored from my header pic,seems have to wait,


    changes always deliver some fresh ideas and blooms to the soul,
    best of luck
    god bless doctor.

    ReplyDelete

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