You may have noticed it a few weeks ago as we fiddled with the best size and colors for our Facebook page. There was a barrage of new cover photos going up as we tried to make everything look just right on mobile phones and desktop computers here at the blog and on our social streams. The itch grew so strong to have a new design, that we waved the magic wand to make it go "poof!" on the live site, even though we were tinkering with a few details before officially telling you about it. So here's the backstory:
ORIGINALLY...
A Little Beacon Blog was started in 2011 when publisher Katie moved to Beacon from W. 104th St. and Columbus Ave. in NYC. After being blessed with a little baby girl, Katie wanted to keep things very simple with the blog, and decided to use Blogger as the base, as it's the easiest blogging platform around. She literally started it on her iPhone while riding shotgun in the family car on the way to Baby's R Us. The following Saturday, she designed the original logo seen here, pulling inspiration from the art blocks at the train station that represented different emotions and personalities of Beacon.
STICKERS!
In 2015, we officially "opened for business" here at the blog, and created opportunities for advertisers. We also wanted to be involved in the community in a physical way in addition to digitally, so we started making stickers, banners and ads as we sponsored different events like Beacon Open Studios and Beacon Riverfest. But the original logo wasn't working very well to turn into a cute circle sticker that could go in windows. It just wasn't shrinky-dinking down. It wasn't malleable. In our new Twitter and Instagram accounts, you couldn't immediately tell that the little circle logo representing us was A Little Beacon Blog. Plus, we started releasing Guides which each have their own really cute logos, and we needed to an overall look to contain everything.
"I WANT TO GO SHOPPING!!!"
As we featured stories on new businesses here in Beacon, we scoured Facebook pages and new websites of many businesses and saw many of your awesome looks. The world is in a time of a design liberation, with new graphic design and platforms easily available at the tap of a finger. Katie started dreaming of what she might make if her blog had a different design too. One day, someone offered to tweak the original logo, and that was the moment that she "gave herself permission" to unleash the change that had been brewing.
PUT A BIRD ON IT
Katie kept the most important design elements from the original logo: chickens, plants, cursive, and two strong colors to help it pop (red and teal). The new elements now are a chalkboard and wood. Sidewalk signs are such a big deal for stores, and we wanted to have one too! You can write whatever you want on it, erase it, and draw something new tomorrow! And wood is just so cool, even if it is in every remodel of a store. Plus, a black silhouette of a chicken looks great against wood. Why the chicken? Because Beacon has so many residents raising chickens! And with all of the public gardens popping up everywhere, and the CSAs and hops farms and apple orchards we all visit every summer and fall, it's apparent that agriculture is a really big deal to us Beaconites.
BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING
We went on a bit of an article freeze during the redesign, but a few articles had to come out because they were just so timely. But we are back now! And you are going to enjoy new series like our hiking series from a few different writers to see the perspective of hiking with kids, and hiking with a historical knowledge of the area. You are going to get to go inside of many stores you may not have stopped into yet in our new "Come In!" series. We are going to have a Bulletin Board page for flyers, as if we had a storefront. We have created new advertising packages to showcase the many businesses in Beacon and in surrounding areas that you will love and need in your life. And we have made ourselves more apparent on our About Us page, so you can meet the team to see how it all gets done!
THANK YOU!
A few people served as sounding boards for the new look, including Eli Barret, Editorial Assistant here at A Little Beacon Blog who is a touchstone to all things bloggy, and Allie Bopp who designs the Guide logos. Ken Rabe at Rabe & Co contributed his special gift of balancing the fonts and positioning of the words to help make sure the simple yet big impact look was in effect, which probably helped Josh Boos at The Green Room give his "Guy With A Short Attention Span" stamp of approval.
Thank YOU for your reading A Little Beacon Blog for as long as you have - be it a day or four years, and we look forward to serving you with more inspiration, ideas and things to do in and around Beacon (because Beaconites like to go on day-trips and drive to specialty businesses too)!
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