Welcome to True Up 3.0!
Today I’m launching a big redesign for True Up, so if you use a feed aggregator, I hope you’ll jump over to take a look. The blog (along with a whole new identity system) was designed by the wonderfully talented Courtney of Seamless Creative (her blog, designworklife, is on my must-read list) and was WordPress-ified by Dan Masters.
One of the most exciting new features for me is the header — each time you visit, you’ll see a new pattern up there. (Feel free to bug me to keep adding new ones to the mix!) I’ve also added a FAQ and generally cleaned up and made things easier to navigate. The FAQ is still pretty sparse, so if there’s anything you’d like me to answer there, let me know in the comments! Of course there’s still a fair amount of tweaking to do throughout the site, but I just couldn’t wait any more. I hope you like it!
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Hi Kim! I am a big fan of your site. However, I’m not a fan of the change. For some reason the cut letters with the fabric and little threads hanging off the letters does more for me. The little true up logo, even though it’s in the left hand corner, to me gets lost within your sea of sponsors. I just liked the cleanliness of the white, it highlighted the fabric patterns more. Everytime you click on your site the pattern changes but it’s so digital. Doesn’t feel like fabric anymore. I know design is so subjective but I just had to comment. It’s like the tropicana fiasco, don’t mess with a good thing!
I like it! I think it looks cleaner & more professional. Great job!
Love it! Esp the selvedge (sp?) bit….
I think it looks great….and I love the selvedge up at the top – so cute!!
I love love LOVE True UP, but it pains me to say that I do not love the design of the new site. I dig the idea of the rotating swatch of fabric at the top and the inclusion of its color chips next to “True Up,” but I have to agree with Emily in the first post that it looks too digital. Maybe try using real fabric scans? Also, I’m not a fan of the brown on the sides. It makes the content in the middle feel really closed in and doesn’t do much for the overall design. Maybe keep that area white or use a softer color? I also think the name of the blog “True Up” gets lost among all of the stuff at the top.
Again, I LOVE True Up and just want to see you shine. I don’t think this redesign puts your best foot forward. Tough love, sorry!!
Nice digs! I will be reloading until I’ve experienced all the patterns.
Greetings from Prague! Seconding previous posters – I love True up, and I think the selvedge idea is pretty cool, but overall the new design is too digital for me. The original cut out letters did feal like real fabric, made me think quilts and sewing and the texture of frayed edges… I like KkL’s suggestions – scans of real fabrics and softer colours.
I think it looks great. Congratulations!
I looove it! Especially the “selvedge title”- what a clever idea! (I wish I’d thought of it, so I’m kinda jealous…)
It looks awesome! I’m enjoying the new layout and am finding it pretty user friendly! Great job to the programmers!
Oh and the selvages part of the banner is by far my favorite part!!!
It looks lovely.
whooot whoooot!
i’m LOVING it!!
just darling.
good work!
looks lovely!
I keep refreshing the screen! I love the header. It all looks gorgeous!
i DO use google reader, but had to hop over here for a peek. Love the selvage edge on the header! Love your daily posts, too.
thanks so much.
Looks great! Love the header! I keep refreshing to see the new pattern.
I’m with Emily, I know change is so necessary some times cause you just gotta move on but I much liked the ‘folky’ness of the True Up in fabrics. I’m sure you’ll have great headers coming up but currently the digital feel is too ‘digital’. We get so much of that in life already! But I have faith you’ll do some cool stuff coming up.
Looks great!
Even if your logo seems a bit lost in the middle now, I love the design and the changing header…your blog looks definitely 3.0
and thanks for make me discovering the must-read blog designworklife !
congratulations on all the hard work —I will miss your earlier header but most imporetant to me is the wonderful information you share with us and nothing short of a computer melt-down will keep me from reading you daily.
It looks great, professional but still very cozy! Congratulations!!!
I think the new design looks great! It looks vibrant and fun — just like the content of the site! Good work!
The selvage with the color windows is cool. BUT you could still put the old TRUE UP back as a heading in the top center like before. Put me with the ones who don’t go wild for change. I love the TRUE UP done in fabric – it makes your blog distinct from every other blog out there and draws the reader in. The True Up in fabric shows that you’re serious about fabric – to me this new blog format has lost that special fabric-centricity that draws all of us fabric junkies in.
I love it – but will miss the orginal True Up in fabric – maybe you could work that in elsewhere on the site. Well done!
New design is very dark and difficult, to the point of almost impossible, to read. I just clicked off without bothering.
It is positively LOVELY! Great job, I think it looks fabulous and is easy to navigate, too!
Hello Everyone,
Thank you for the support! To those of you who don’t like it, I’m sorry. But please, before you jump to criticize, realize that every detail has a lot of thought behind it:
1. The logo. I needed a logo that would work for a variety of applications — business cards, stationery, invoices, and, most importantly, REAL fabric selvedges
I liked the old header too — thank you! — and have it in the FAQ if you want to visit it.
2. “Too Dark.” I think you must be shocked by the transition from stark white to color. I wanted a deep, warm color palette (that still complemented most fabrics that I feature) because that’s SO me.
3. “Too Digital.” I wanted to avoid being too literal and heavy-handed with the fabric theme, and also to celebrate/reflect the new age that has arrived in the fabric industry with computer-aided design and digital printing. It is less textural and warm than using scanned fabric textures, and knew it wouldn’t please everyone’s tastes, but it was a risk I was willing to take.
By the way, every single non-fabric person asks what the dots are. But you readers, you’re fabric people, you *get* it. You’re in the club, and I hope that feels good!
Thanks for reading, friends!
Kim
I would read this site daily regardless so maybe it is not fair to say, but I love the new design. I have some heavy denim twill just like that background and think that is a cute touch. Sometimes ads are too much for me, but I personally love visiting the shops that help sponsor this site so that doesn’t bother me either.
I am also commenting to say thanks for putting the old header in the FAQ because I LOVE that image and did miss it. I really would love love love a sticker of that old header for my laptop! Any chance of that being a possibility? And what is all this about needing a selvage design, huh? Is that foreshadowing? Thanks for all the time, Kim!
well, you can’t please everyone!
change is always good in my book. i agree with gina pina, a sticker with the old true up logo would actually be really, really cool.
btw, when i mouseover “about this site” the drop-down is hidden behind the banner ad.
Hey Kim, love it and you’ll never please everyone and there will always be other opinions
. LOVE the changing banners and the menu at the top. Nice work.
Hey ho Kim…love the new look and the selvedge note at the top rocks! Very, very cool indeed!!
xNess
Great new look! Love the changing header patterns.
Can’t wait to see the “True Up” fabric that you hinted at.
Kimberly