change

Changes, Challenges, And New Beginnings

Calvin & Hobbes - Changes & Challenges

One out of the many unpreventable consequences of our existence is facing countless changes and challenges of varying magnitudes, both in personal and professional capacities. To our advantage, if it wasn’t about accepting certain changes and tackling the challenges our pursuit of surviving against the odds would be permanently impeded and life itself would become dull and repetitive. Yet there’s no denying the fact that everything is shrouded in ambiguity without any access to answers from the future unless we gauge the situation first-hand.

In short, I could be intellectually prepared to face an unknown confrontation with time but I would have absolutely no control over when that event would occur or even have any visibility of the consequences thereof. Needless to say, there’s always a sense of apprehension lingering about how might I perform to the best of my abilities, and what path I might undertake that would align with my goals when I eventually face the challenge? Or how would that process change me for the better or worse?

A proud and a delightful moment is being unfolded, one that would unimaginably transform my viewpoint on matters relating to ‘challenges’ for the rest of my life. I’m embarking upon a new voyage in rediscovering myself all over again, and regardless of whether I’d end up smarter or lame, this wonderful token of blessing has ‘JOY’ written all over it!

Time For a Fresh WordPress Theme?

I have mulled to change the current WordPress theme, and it’s not an easy task. In 2014, I chose this design for its RWD capabilities and simply loved it. Almost 2 years later, and after many design analysis, I have realised the flaws which are crucial, not just for the visitors but for me as a designer. Here’s what I have found with my review and why I need changes in the theme desperately.

Search
The all-important search functionality lies buried under a cryptic ‘folder’ icon and glancing at my analytics, not many users have ‘cracked the code’. It’s a worrisome situation if users have to first find the search function, before looking for information.

Font Customization
Despite the Easy Google Fonts plugin, I find it hard to change the font for the H1 tag unless if I edit the stylesheet within the WordPress system (which is very meh!). The one way I can bring subtle changes to the theme and effect a better user-experience is by toying with the typography. I quite frankly want to move away from the current typeface used for H1. I even started a thread on WordPress Support forums for help which is lying ‘dead’.

Featured Image
I think a large featured image is an absolute overkill for a write-up. Unfortunately, for my limited coding skills, I would rather change the theme. Besides, I really don’t need large images to convey meanings.

Blockquotes
Simply large and bloated, and I would appreciate a more subtle approach.

Challenges with New Theme
I’m looking for a new minimalist theme and this is taking time. A changed theme means a new experience for the user, a fresh learning curve. I also have no idea what happens to the design of the posts (i.e. the large featured images) when the new theme takes over. Hopefully, we will know soon.

Lastly, Designing from Scratch
My first priority is to design an original theme. Considering the challenges and limitations, I’m keeping all fingers crossed for now.