Layout Details
Since the point of this site is self-expression, I sporadically change the way the site looks.
Layout #1
September 2002 - November 17, 2002
This one was "recycled": I made it for the site when it was still hosted at Geocities. I modified an old black and white photo of myself using the Chalk and Charcoal option on Microsoft Photo Editor. The black font in the graphics is Papyrus - I can't remember the name of the font that says "Chez Anne."
Layout #2
November 17, 2002 - May 27, 2003
I visited art.com for inspiration for a new design and I typed in "black and white photographs." Examples of Kim Anderson's work appeared in the results, and I really liked them. (For some reason I find a lot of them particularly "eclectic.") I edited the picture using Paint Shop Pro, version 7. The fonts for the signs are Typecase - which is from a fonts CD - and Courier New.
Layout #3
May 27, 2003 - September 20, 2003
This design featured the painting Santorini by artist Marino Kounias. (See also.) It's from my "two-pixel line" phase, where I'm using a border, a picture, and blank space ... Giving credit where credit is due, I got the idea from one of Alison's designs. Her site offers free layouts for those of us that are, shall we say, "graphically challenged."
Layout #4
September 20, 2003 - August 4, 2006
This design features a screencap from the movie Amélie. I really like that picture because I can very much relate to longing for someone from afar. I know the background color is a bit bright . . . hopefully it's not too painful. *g* I edited the picture using Fireworks; the fonts for the graphics are Mistral and OCRA Extended.
In retrospect, this design *was* too bright. Apologies to visitors who endured it. I won't make that mistake again.
Layout #5
August 4, 2006 - June 9, 2009
This design is in a style that I either have added or plan to add to my other sites. I like this style because it requires fewer graphics than some I've done, plus it's expandable to fit the two common screen sizes - 800x600 and 1024x768. For visitors with even larger screen sizes, the text area widens, but the banner starts to repeat. (Hey, it's complicated enough to try to make a banner that looks decent in only two sizes!)
I had the idea for a "she's real" theme with that My So-Called Life quote. I think of that quote as a celebration of imperfection, and, being an imperfect person, I can certainly appreciate that. Making the layout was fun because if something didn't look quite right, it fit in with the "she's real" line of thinking. I assembled the banner using Paint Shop Pro; the fonts for the graphics are DomCasual (quote) and MisterEarl (eclectic). The pictures used in the banner are from here.
Layout #6
June 9, 2009 - present
I started a new layout for the site no less than four times before I finally remembered one of my favorite songs, "Less Like Scars" by Sara Groves. The song basically says to God that "in Your hands, the pain and hurt look less like scars and more like character." I think that is such a profound thought, and trying to look at my own "scars" that way helps me recall that they've often helped me by being a Lesson Learned. For the layout, I really wanted to use the "in Your hands..." phrasing, but I couldn't fit it into the graphic, so I paraphrased. (Plus, I wrote to Sara at her myspace to ask permission, but didn't hear back from her - I know she's very busy. So, I thought it best if I went with the paraphrase.)
This design takes advantage of the larger screen sizes that show up in my site statistics as being used by most visitors. The photo was from a free layout package that I've had since 2003; the band-aids and text were added by me using Paint Shop Pro. Style sheet sources and the inspiration for the text are credited on the links page. The font in the graphics is Jot Medium.
Disclaimer
Note that no copyright infringement is intended. From what I understand, use of these artworks in these layouts falls under the "fair use" clause, since I'm not using these images to promote my site. (The point of the site is the information about me, not the way it looks.) Nor am I making a profit from this site, or any of my sites. Displaying the artworks here has no adverse effect on their market: conversely, it is more likely to enhance their market by gaining exposure for them. However, if you feel that your work here is inappropriately credited, please let me know.
See Also
Specific sources for the current layout are credited on the links page.
My other website layouts are posted at chezanne.
eclectic is part of rusted-crush, with grateful acknowledgement to these sources
