My website has always been very important to me. I registered the domain around a year and a half ago and my weblog has always somewhat defined me as a person. The designs have always been original and made by me, and the site currently hosts a slew of themes ranging from ones I've made from my own mind, to themes based on other websites such as $jark's Yellow Alien dot NET.

The time has come where I need to put the design into new hands. By simply clicking through my current styles, the links on the right hand side and some of the links I will supply later, it becomes clear what kind of site I am looking for. I want a clean looking site with an original feel. Some ideas that have been put forward by friends are a clean anime-style theme or a theme based on the polar bear idea, but honestly I am open to any kind of design. Here are some links to my favorite sites which I think are extremely well designed:

Binary Bonsai - possibly my most favorite weblog design ever, definitely a design close to my heart.
Stop Design - both $kevin and $jark listed this in their favorites and it's definitely in mine, a wonderfully designed site.
yellow[alien]probed - $jark's awesome yellow site, a wonderful design by starvingartist.
A List Apart - Not only the layout, but the beautiful design principles used both in the contents and the design. A beautiful site.
Bartelme Design
Justwatchthesky



At current there is no official entry date. The contest will run for approximately one month from this post, however the exact date of it's finish will be decided in the future.
All entries should be posted as a comment to this journal. Don't note me. Don't email me. Don't post it on my userpage. Don't post it anywhere but here. If you are unsure, during the course of the contest I am more than happy to give advice as to how I think things may or may not benefit with change and what I think of your design. You won't have to fly "blind," so to speak.
The design must be a working HTML design, not just a photoshop design, however you are free to post only a screenshot if you are worried.
The design must use valid XHTML and CSS
The design should be tested in both Firefox and IE, but preferably a quality design that will work in any browser.
You must have complete permission for any graphics used and the winning entry will become property which I may use.
You may enter up to 5 times, I have only set a limit in case someone decides to put forward every design idea they have had since 1974.


It would be an advantage to include a design for a new logo. The "mind gear" that has sat on the site for so long now has grown old and I think it's time for an upgrade. Also, a favicon would be helpful too, any little things like this can definitely give an edge.
The design should employ both graphics and CSS to achieve the look and feel, too many graphics would be a bit of a design no-no, but too much CSS could be boring - look for a happy medium.
Design for a weblog and design for Wordpress. I can adapt your design, but it's a definate advantage.
Collaborate. Join forces with a friend and split the prize. Two heads are better than one, so have fun!
Please please please. No bananas. No toast. It's a fun name, but unfortunately it ends there.


Being the poor kid I am, the prize is simply a years subscription to deviantART (for the winner or someone of their choice) or a print of the winners choice. Possibly other prizes will present themselves in the future, but alas I am poor.
A GMail invite for everyone who enters (not that I think they are hard to come by these days).
Credit will be given to the winning party at the bottom of the site and in a thank you entry both on deviantART and on the site itself.

The site will be powered by Wordpress for the engine and Kubrick for the theme and any theme that utilizes both of these will definitely gain an advantage. This is not essential however as I am quite adept in adapting designs to fit.

Be creative, don't limit yourself to the sites I have shown and don't feel that you have to abide by any rules. Make the design what you think a weblog should be. Your design must be original. I can rip a design from somewhere or make minor alterations to a design, but I want the site to look original. Anything that looks exactly like another site will more than likely be ignored.

Any questions or comments can be noted to me or commented here. I am only to happy to help in any way possible, short of designing it myself.

Can't design, but want to help? Give a link to this journal in your own journal and get more people to enter. Any links to the journal shall recieve a GMail invite also.