Construction and Interior Design (Blog Post #1)

A blog is meant to be your stake on the internet. As such, fengalisaapenglish2014.blogspot.com has become my little plot of internet-land and, figuratively speaking, I have built and customized every aspect of my viral residence.

The font of a blog is comparable to bricks: it is often the most obvious, small and very extensive, and generally not too flashy. Thus, the font employed in this blog is basic and commands neither attention nor praise. Its primary priority is functionality. Quiet fonts make for easy reading and a clear passive mind; they avoid interference with content and other graphics that may be present. Especially if an image or background is the primary focus of the page, a simple font encourages it to stand out (Cousins, "Establish a Mood with Typography). These neutral building blocks keep ideas and the mood clean, pure, and free from the predispositions we mentally attach to certain fonts and colors. For example, Times New Roman must mean politics, Calibri is fastened to the economy, and anything bolded in red larger than a size 16 is surely breaking news. Although the body text is characterized by its lack of character, the title is written with a slightly more decorative penmanship- a stone entrance-way, if you will. This is multi-purposeful: it manages to contrast with the body text, add a bit of adornment, as well as lead visitors straight inside the house by connecting it with the outside.

The interior color scheme of this particular house is bright and modern, but not so much that it contradicts with the wallpaper's unimposing grace. The wallpaper of choice, an artistically-blurred and washed-out photo of a telephone booth encompasses all aspects of the room and sets the mood. The effects used on the particular photo result in a dreamily rustic cottage-y atmosphere that reminds us of something homey but not quite commonplace, of something suspended between the ordinary and the extraordinary. Welcoming warm colors paired with delicate blue lettering and the scarlet of a telephone booth forms the ideal mix between coziness, coolness, and vitality as the three shades lend their individual effects to create an overall mood for the blog/house (Cherry, "Color Psychology"). Though the booth itself is red, it is not an eye-searing shade; though the background isn't exactly clean, it avoids looking clustered or grimy. Hints of the robins-egg title lettering linger- almost subconsciously- in the wallpaper, which basks in the same gently-worn lighting as the smaller profile picture. All of the text backgrounds are transparent so that the wallpaper is seen as continuous rather than having been paused and then resumed. The color of the body text matches so precisely with the background that it looks to be neatly engraved in the wallpaper itself rather than plastered over it, further promoting openmindedness and serenity. Though there is color, the effect remains modest and comfortably natural. Consequentially, the dynamic of the house is demure and peaceful, but not uninteresting. This, I hope, will reflect the ideas planted on this plot of land-- they are to be reveries immune to judgement, fleeting whispers to be pondered.


Reference Sources:
Cousins, Carrie. "Establish a Mood with Typography." Tympanus. N.p., 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 25 Aug. 2013. <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. 25 Aug. 2013. <http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm>.