Holy Muppet! I Finally Redesigned My Web Site Tuesday September 13, 2011

If you asked any web designer in the world what is the most difficult web site to redesign, without hesitation they will all say their own site.

It’s an impossible task to explain. But most designers will probably tell you it’s far easier to create a web site that encompasses someone else personality, than it is to revert that same challenge on your own characteristics. It’s with that tidbit of knowledge that makes this redesigned so special. So with that please enjoy the newly revamped ctoverdrive.ca.

Yes, this baby has been over a year and a half in the making. It signals a new personal branding direction and also the end of an era. Gone away is the messy and chaotic nature of the previous overdrive. In it’s place is this new robotic-retro overdrive, including a new mascot – roboto-overdrive.

The design and re-branding is something I’ve been toying around with for quiet sometime. I wanted to create something that embodied the fun nature of c.t.overdrive, while also streamlining and simplifying the entire aesthetic. This new look is less about experimenting and an anti-aesthetic, like the previous incarnation, it’s more of a showcase of my own personal growth… which all in all is a wordy of way of saying I needed to grow-up a bit.

The biggest change in regards to the site is that I’ve gone and fully embraced my career path. No more hiding that I’m in the web industry any more. The About Page is a lot less mushy and I’ve added a new Hire Me Page. This new page talks about my work with Armadillo Studios Inc., and also goes in to a little bit more regarding my professional history. The Randoms are still kicking around and are better than ever. I will be adding a Contact Me Page… soon… ish.

If you’re curious about the design inspiration, there are a few key influences. The biggest and most dominant one is the book design by Will Staehle for Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Which of course is a book I have been trying to finish reading for over three years now and could possibly be the most obscure reference I’ve ever made on this site. By the way, it’s actually a really good book.

The roboto-overdrive was inspired by GoMedia’s Branding yourself video tutorial and of course a bit of inspiration came from Calgary app developers Big Nerds in Disguise. (Psst, if you can’t figure it out it’s the glasses).

There is nothing really technically special about the site for anyone curious on that side. But for you design nerds, here is some of the dweeb meta info for you.

• Still powered by TextPattern
• The fonts are Wagner Grotesk BiForm from Veer’s Canada Foundry and of course Shadow Gothic. This ironically is as cheesy as Helevetica, when it comes to fonts.
• The Social Media Icons are courtesy of GSIX Corp.
• Also you are indeed correct, Helevetica is being used as the standard content font when viewed on Apple products.

So there you have it, the brand new c.t.overdrive. Please have a look around, explore and catch up on some old posts. I’d love to hear your feedback.

OH! And one more thing….

I’ve placed two Easter Eggs somewhere in the site. The first two people to find them, get a set of Armadillo Studios Stickers.

Categories: The-Site, The-Personnal,

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