Part one of this multi-part post explained how I go to Wizard's Place and then from Wizards Place (two words) to WizardsPlace (just one). Now let's take a look at some of the new branding, features, and focuses, of this re-developed site.
WizardsPlace - One Word - Many Stories
There was a lot to do in updating the look of WizardsPlace to match the new branding and, well, just be more modern. Somewhere along the line I updated the theme from a custom creation using Artisteer to the WooThemes premium offering Canvas. I was starting to use Canvas on several commercial sites and I really liked it's almost infinite configurability. It is now my go-to theme and first choice for most projects.
In the first instance I kept the boxed style with the grey background but later opened up the look, losing the box and the colored background, opting for a wider, fully open look. I was still using the old Wizard logo and it was looking a bit dated. I needed something different.
Since I focused mainly on WordPress (the WordPress WP in a circle logo had formed the backdrop of the old logo) and since the site was WizardsPlace, I adopted a simple WP logo in Jester font, the font used for the Wizardsplace name in the header. I use this for favicons and other simple quick branding situations but it wasn't what I really wanted for the main logo.
I hired Sally Milo from Milo Designs (http://www.milodesign.com/eBay.html), an accomplished logo designer to come up with something that expressed the concepts embraced by Our Hutch LLC -- the WizardsPlace parent corporation -- that I would be able to use on all company sites.
I asked Sally to incorporate the Kansas state flower and a single stalk of wheat in the design. What Sally delivered on the first pass was already shaping up to be interesting and then I saw something in it that amazed me. With a little tweaking, the wheat stalk extending in a curve up around the sunflower was turned into a Fibonacci, or Golden, Spiral, originating in the heart of the flower.
The Fibonacci Squares mathematical sequence, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, etc., which approximates the Golden Spiral, has always fascinated me. It will no doubt fascinate you too if you look at all the places it appears in nature.
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The fact that the seeds in the center of the sunflower actually follow that same spiral pattern is just a bonus. Got to love nature. Thank you Sally!
Click To Read PART ONE and PART THREE of this multi-part post.
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