Blog Post # 1: Interior Design Choices

Today, blogs are the online internet-homes for a writer's thoughts. Accordingly, Written in Rubies was built to comfortably house my ideas about literature. Welcome to my humble abode.

First and foremost, a home is meant to create an environment of comfort and familiarity. The font must act as the pillows and cushions of the house, figuratively making both the writer and the reader feel instantly more snug. How? The font applied to this blog, GFS Neohellenic, is designed to look somewhat like my handwriting, something that grows more familiar every time I write on a piece of paper. GFS Neohellenic is light and informal, creating a mood of ease. If different fonts were to be used, the blog-environment would immediately lose its comfort factor. For example, if I were to employ Times New Roman or Showcard Gothic, my home would feel more like a formal workplace or a dramatic stage (Cousins, "Establish a Mood with Typography"). Although GFS Neohellenic is designed to look slightly like handwriting, it is easily legible, simple and has average width strokes and lines, something important for the functionality of a body text. In this way, the font of the text doesn't distract from the actual content being discussed (Cousins, "Establish a Mood with Typography"). In contrast to the body text, the title of the blog acts as the giant welcome mat to the house. Employing the large font, Rocksalt, my title manages to dramatically welcome in the reader as a guest. At the same time, Rocksalt doesn't lose the integrity of the blog by still offering a familiar, homey feel through its handwriting appearance. Under the title is a comical quote written by Jane Yolen. It states, "Literature is a textually transmitted disease, normally contracted in childhood" (Yolen). This quote becomes a humorous painting in the house, reminding the reader and the writer that literature is something always passionately carried but not necessarily always taken seriously. Thus, the quote functions with as both decor and a symbol.

In order to be comfortable, a home should also be calm. If the blog used a color like red, a color commonly associated with stimuli, the house would immediately become chaotic and tense. For this reason, I chose to use muted shades of dark blues, grays and indigos in the background cloud scene, colors known to alleviate and soothe (Cherry, "Color Psychology"). On top of the picture background, the background panel of the text is a continuous and transparent white, creating an open and well-lit house. The body text is a chic black that blends into the serene, dark colors of the picture background, yet are still easily legible against the white background panel. Hints of sky blue text also position themselves throughout the blog, adding on to the relaxing effect of the blog. The colors of the text act as furniture, serving their own functionality yet still matching the house as a whole. The combined effect of the typography and color creates a perfect home, a place where my thoughts about literature can openly and comfortably express themselves.

Sources:

Cousins, Carrie. "Establish a Mood with Typography." Tympanus. N.p., 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Aug. 2014. <http://tympanus.net/codrops/2012/02/19/establish-a-mood-with-typography/>.

Cherry, Kendra. "Color Psychology." Psychology- Complete Guide to Psychology for Students, Educators & Enthusiasts. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2014 <http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm>.