Over the next couple of days I’ll be updating Wordpress to version 1.5. What this means is that the design of this site will be put to rest (it’s been good to me for the past year or so) and will be replaced by the default template (designed by the talented Michael Heilemann). As much as I like Kubrick it will only be around temporarily until the redesign of kartooner.com resurfaces.
The good news is that eventually you’ll see a brand new kartooner.com with a much needed facelift and re-structuring. I can’t put a definite time frame on when the new design will be unveiled, but one things for sure, the design and coding itself will be much cleaner.
Thanks for your patience.
Update: Presto chango! This site is now powered by Wordpress v1.5 and for the time being dons the Benevolance Kubrick template. Sadly, as you can see I had to scrap the previous design and as soon as I figure out the new template system I’ll be working around the clock to build a new design from scratch. Bear with me.
Geez! I hit the comments of the previous article and all of a sudden the style changed! That was disconcerting.
Good luck with the redesign!
Yeah, sorry about that! It was a hasty procedure and I was hoping to do it quick enough to prevent too much jarring.
In the mean time I’ve been trying to get back on my feet after upgrading. The decision to scrap the previous design was difficult, considering that I was moderately comfortable with the previous design.
I’m just in the mood for change and would love to incorporate several features that just weren’t possible with the structure of the last design.
Nice to see you back and writing :)
Make it cool man, we know you can.
The Themes system really rocks. I have yet to fully exploit it though.
Gary: Thanks Gary. I just needed a break to focus on certain aspects of my life. Now that I’ve had a break I’m back at full force with creativity kicked up a notch.
Rob: Give me time and I will deliver. I need to wrap my mind around this new Theme system, which seems powerful.
Now if I only had the time to redesign myself… nothing wrong with Kubrick, but it’s not of my own design.
Cool, will you keep us informed on all of the ups and downs of the 1.5 switch?
Johan: Yep, Kubrick is a great template for someone who wants to adapt and modify it to their liking. Michael did a superb job in regards to the functionality and design of his template, however it doesn’t reflect who I am which is why eventually it’ll be replaced.
On that note, I plan on implementing some of Michael’s handiwork into the next incarnation of kartooner because it’ll save time on having to code it myself.
Chad: Sure will. As for my experience, I opted to do a fresh install of Wordpress 1.5 upgrading my previous database and starting from scratch as far as the design is concerned.
The Wordpress Codex explains that you have the option of keeping your design or scraping it and starting anew. If you decide to keep your custom template you’ll need to make additional modifications to it in order for it to play nice with 1.5. It should be noted that 1.5 hasn’t been officially released and at this point I’m playing with fire hoping that Matt and team won’t change too much and if they do that it’ll be a painless process to upgrade to the new build.
As for the changes in 1.5, I think it’s amazing how much has been improved. For one, the addition of a robust Dashboard is a much needed feature because it’s essentially a hub that shows your most recent comments, the total number of posts, etc. Not only that but they’ve incorporated a variety of Wordpress-related feeds from sites like Planet Wordpress. The UI has been improved and I believe theres even an effort underway to improve not just the functionality but the design since at this point it’s still pretty sparse.
Wow, looks spiffy cool Eric! Have you heard when 1.5 will be released? I’m anxious to try it out.
Scott: It’s reported that it will be released on the birthday of a famous Jazz musician, at least according to this article.
I’d say that it’s close to release but it wouldn’t hurt installing it on your testing server and playing around with it.
Oh, this is exciting! Let the change begin.
Well, today is Nina Simone’s birthday…and no 1.5 release.
I installed it (somewhere on the ‘internets’) and played around with it. I like it, but I’m going to have to get used to the new themes. It’s probably a lot easier to start from scratch than to port an old design over.
I must say, I’m totally digging this clean look. I’m doing the same thing at CF77 while I struggle to keep my visual wits about me.
Yeah, I dig the clean look as well Charlie. I refer to this revisioning of the Kubrick template as a blank slate, heck even Michael thought Kubrick looks clean stripped of its packaged images.
I keep repeating myself but as soon as I’m “one with the Themes editor” I do plan on creating a custom design eventually, when time allows for it.
The whole Theme thing will be great, once I get to where I know it inside and out. So far I’ve been able to port my old design over, but I know there can be so much more.
Oh, this is exciting! Let the change begin.