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What i'm already considering:
- desaturating the desert graphic a bit more
- a few egyptian-style graphics here and there

I personally dislike the top banner very much, and overall, while the site has a nice graphical base, I find it boring to look at.

I like it so far, but I think you're right - desaturate and add some other stuff.

"Andy's Dumb Ramblings" is a little out of place. Maybe if you could put it on an object in the desert foreground, like a sign in a camp?

<Genki> needs more boob
<Detty> i agree
<Detty> but I don't think i'm allowed
<Genki> :/

Well, it's not supposed to be exciting to look at, you're there to read the content, it's a blog theme.

I've racked my brains for ways to make the title text look less out-of-place, but all the ideas i've come up with would require changing the markup. I can't change the markup.

It's supposed to be a blog theme that any old joe might be interested in using. If this were just for my own uses I would go crazy with it, but as it is the more I add the more specialised it gets.

First off... the dunes are out place... mexico doesn't have that many dunes. Second... THATS NOT EGYPTIAN! It looks like Aztec or Mayan Symbols. Third Whats all the giberish?

Firstly, the thread title is the out of place part. All source graphics are based on photos of Egypt. If you are referring to the dunes looking out of place design-wise, like Jepman has mentioned, you could be right If you can think of something more appropriate, go right ahead.

Secondly, yes they are Egyptian, those exact hieroglyphics can be found at the temple of kom ombo, egypt.

Thirdly, the giberish is standard filler latin filler text that can be found in many different design fields before content is added.

It seems that the middle bar (that lies between the title and the content) is too low. Perhaps this is simply because the bottom of the screen is cut off.

Poor layout and the colors are just different enough to clash. It's an interesting idea, though, and given how picky you are about other people's coding I'm sure it "validates" very nicely or whatever

Looks very... Standard. A good thing for a theme, I suppose.

I think it's pretty nice, but I agree that it gets a little boring to look at. Maybe darken the bars a bit to give it more contrast?

It would be improved if the hue of the dunes were adjusted to better complement the sidebars.

Also, the title text is text and not a part of the image? if so, that's really difficult. Maybe you could simply remove the text and make it a part of the image. If not, then just fix the image.

Neat. GW Detty.

Ah, if its meant for a blog theme, then you hit the nail straight on in terms of layout. As Thrawn mentioned though, the colors do clash, but I'm pretty sure if you go with your original idea of desaturating the dunes, it could work. Or perhaps trying a duotone.

My only other suggestions would be using perhaps pictures of a pyramid or egyptian temple and/or more of a sup'ed up generic pyramid wall texture.

I like it. Though I think that the white text in the top bar is a little bit too hard to read. Maybe make it a few pixels bigger or up the letter-spacing.
I guess it's the white color, that "glows" too much.

Cut off some of the sky. The blue forces the text down vertically in the banner, making the banner seem abnormally tall. Also, I suggest using a serif font for the title.

I have a photo of a (the?) sphinx that i'm going to try and work into the banner

But here's what i've done so far:
Link

Incidentally, the backround texture for the main content is based on a photo of papyrus that I found

Okay, maybe it doesnt have to be exciting, but it should at least make the reader feel at ease on the site.



If it would make you go crazy, fix it so it wouldnt. Dont put out stuff that you dont like. You dont have a client telling you what to do, so you still have controll of the design.

I didn't say it would make me go crazy, I meant I would go all out in using every css trick I know. I can easily make it look very good if I restrict myself to a fixed width or allow myself to just make a fancy graphic for the header rather than having a plain one with plain text over it. As it is, the name of the site HAS to be done using text not graphics.

I do have a client telling me what to do, I can't just do whatever I want. I'm limited to using a single overall layout, and can't change the markup unless it's beneficial for lots of themes rather than to just enable individual ideas.

I am getting paid for this.

you never mentioned that before :p

hm, it's becoming increasingly evident that it's going to be difficult to get this looking "good", if anyone has any ideas that would be really useful. I like the look of the body content and i've darkened the symbols but i'm still unsure about the banner area.

Have you tried cutting some of the sky out, making it less high?
Well, I like it the way it is. It's pretty concise, the body area can be comfortably read and the "administration" links kind of fade out in the background. I think you can sell.

Make a small title bar above the menu bar and below the graphic for the "Andy's Dumb Ramblings".

-Basically, it just looks out of place to have in the middle of the dunes.