The question to ask yourself is “what’s the job I want to accomplish with the header?” The answer will tell your designer what tool to use. Hint: a super-jumbo flash sledge-hammer will not be that tool. Another hint: “all it can be” is not an acceptable answer.

If your goal is to present your logo and permit navigation, then I propose something simple like the following (I believe I sent this sometime back). A side bonus is that it will take your designer about 12 minutes to produce it!

http://www.z-dog.com/bp.jpg

Your header and site design is less of a concern to me. But since your site redesign, there is a lot more flow from RSS. What I would like is a way to lose the video and third-party commentary. My time is limited, and I want to read you, but not get the rest of the flow.

- Reduce your logo. Your brand is everything you produce and how you present it. It’s not in the logo.

- Loose the flash banner all together. It’s wasting space, annoying users, slowing load times and serves no quantitative purpose. Gain 100px.

- Simplify you main navigation tabs (Big Picture, BP Cafè, Book Club, Video, Digital Media, Job Listings). No icons, bigger / text only. But do add a :hover over effect.

- Ditch your secondary navigation (About, Contact … Disclosures) to a footer navigation bar. Gain 40 px. I’ll bet you all my belongings that unique views for those pages are a fraction of main content page hits.

- RSS and email subscription goes into the right col. Search bar goes next to the main nav tabs. Gain 40 pix.

- Get rid of the Quote of the day. It’s lame, distracting and in a valuable position of your site.

- Consider adding an image per article. Large version for Article views, thumbnail size for Section / Homepage veiws.

- Homepage:
Have one Featured article with a limited amount of intro/teaser text. Then subdivide the rest of the page into Section boxes that list the 5 – 10 most recent articles in each, by title and date only (no intro text). Your homepage shouldn’t be a default Wordpress / blog like list. It should provide an overview of your site’s content.

Seb
Freelance Web Design & Development

Look at the content on these high traffic blogs, all business no bullshit:
http://gizmodo.com/
http://blogmaverick.com/
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/

Get rid of all that COMPLETLEY POINTLESS flash bullshit. Make the first post start no further than 300 pixels from the top.

And don’t pay some ad agency to customize your Wordpress blog. Put an ad in craigslist for a wordpress designer (there are thousands) and ask for links to samples – you will get higher talent for a fraction of the price.

This is your blog now:
http://images.truckinweb.com/brandpages/hummer/0508_03z+custom_pink_hummer_h2_sut+front_right_view.jpg

This is what it could be: http://f1.com/news/headlines/2009/1/8847.html

And Barry, if you decide to keep the high bandwidth and massive real estate header, could you please make another static page on your site with just an RSS feed and your ads for people who read you often, especially on an iphone? Thanks and good luck.

Hello, from STL!

As a long-time reader of TBP and was one of the original critics of the header. I’m glad you’re considering a redesign. As a former graphic designer, and COO of several design studios in in 80’s & early 90’s, I’m a big believe in the “KISS” (keep it simple) school of design.

The key with good design is the ability to prioritize and subordinate. IMHO… TBP’s excellence is based primarily on it’s content…not flashy, cutting edge web design. I’d suggest simplifying the header, keeping the tabs, but avoiding the temptation for ‘visual clutter’. I’d also significantly reduce it’s depth.

If I still had my design studio, I’d have my creative team submit an alternative design. But unfortunately I sold my business in the early 90’s. There are a lot of good web design out there. I’d pick a format/style that you like and have your web designer modify it for use on TBP. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

PS: You might also consider switching to a san serif face on your site, such as ariel or helvetica. It’s simply easier to read.

All sites I have ever seen have static art in the header. It is changed only occasionally, and maybe embellished for a holiday.

You, BR, can be an innovator. How about making the header, or large section of it, variable in content. It could be artwork, something topical, a game, or anything you desire. It can rotate randomly, daily, weekly, or whatever. While the content below the mast changes several times per day, the header cycle would follow a different rhythm.

Above the artwork would be fixed text that states the website name. Thus, the header becomes another form of editorial content, but using a different context and type of message. Header comments might even add another aspect of uniqueness, depending on the header of the moment.

A prolific,obsessive writer such as yourself could easily think of ideas for it.

Or, you could just put a collage of fine artwork from the above mentioned web site I linked to.

Strictly personal opinion– design to lowest common denominator, within reason. 1024 screen size (stop making me nudge the screen over to read the quote!), no unexpected mouseovers, flash only when necessary for enhancing content. Your blog appeals to me because it cuts through all the trendy financial chaff. Let your web design do the same. Clean, focused, thoughtful, nuanced but no-nonsense.