My New Website Header

Just wanted to give a shout out to Kim at Hot Damn Designs for making this awesome new header (the one above, not the little one you see in this post) for my blog, website, and landing page on Facebook.

[image error] Although I enjoy designing and maintaining my website myself and I'd made a decent enough header on Photoshop, it lacked panache and flair. It accomplished the job, but it was way too functional, didn't have much form. As Mackenzie, the location scout/art instructor heroine from my book BONDED BY BLOOD would say, it had no je ne sais quoi.

One day while on Twitter, I clicked over to author Gwen Hayes website. Oh wow, I had a case of serious website envy. The swirly thingies, the colors, the cool and grungy vibe, but most of all, that really gorgeous website header. Like I do whenever I see a cool design, I clicked the link on her page to find out who designed it.

Since I'd already put a lot of time into designing my website and am happy with the flow of everything, I didn't want to have it completely revamped. When I saw Kim does website banners as well as whole websites, I knew I had to contact her.

After completing my homework (easy, because I'd taken a marketing/branding class from Theresa Meyers a few months earlier where we answered many of the same questions), Kim got to work and created what you see at the top. Yes, it's similar in color and the font and tagline are the same, but it's got style now! I think it's sexy, mysterious, elegant, and just a little ominous.

I also took the opportunity to spruce things up on my pages. I got brave, downloaded some vector art from iStockPhoto, opened up Adobe Illustrator for the first time, and figured out how to put in some decorative lines and curliques.

I promised myself I wouldn't tinker with it anymore until I get the final artwork for my covers.

What do you think?