Travel Blissful» design Archives – Travel Blissful

Some of you might remember my October post Getting It Right. I wrote about the process of finding the right blog theme and how I wanted Travel Blissful to develop in the future. At first I liked my chosen theme, but wasn’t 100% content and when I found this new theme by WooThemes I just couldn’t resist it. This is the right one. I can feel it.

I will still implement some of the plans and ideas I had before. First up is a new header.

Update: When writing this post I was using Gotham News in style Brown by WooThemes.

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Getting It Right

A Window into My Seoul – A Double A Experience

Erica Johansson — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:40:24 +0000

Cate Dowman discovers a café design museum in Seoul’s up-and-coming neighborhood Mapo-gu.

Written by: Cate Dowman

Mapo-gu is home to one of Seoul’s oldest fine arts universities – Hongdae. Like most art university areas, Mapo gu attracts the edgier side of the city to it, through its fashion, music and eateries. It’s a place best described as boho, minus chic, plus character. An area experiencing a rejuvenation, Mapo-gu is fast becoming one of Seoul’s happening places to be. Cafes are no exception to this change, all fighting to stake their claim; many survive, others die a quick death. No matter how often you come to Mapo, you will be surprised to see a new eatery or three open for business.

Eighteen months ago a special cafe design museum, Cafe aA, set up base in Mapo and has been going strong ever since. The museum is a popular piece for expat and design bloggers. Of course myself too, the better late than never blogger. The cafe museum is popular because it’s unique.

Cafe aA does the cafe scene on a large individualistic scale. It offers more than just coffee and tea. It’s a cafe, furniture store, museum package, housing an eclectic mix of designer furniture (let me drop in Tom Dixon, Marcel Breuer), lovingly appreciated by its owner, Korean businessman, Mr Kim. You will often see him around his cafe – he is the quiet man sometimes with a hat, always with dark rimmed glasses, who mingles with, rather than stands out from, his cafe crowd.

From my past visits, I would say that Mr Kim envisioned the cafe’s design long before he built the place. No detail has been been overlooked from flooring, lighting, seating, outdoor tiles, balustrades, even the rest rooms. The combination of eras, Italian turn of the century meets retro, clash gently enough to stimulate the mind and conversation.

But the beauty of the cafe lies not just with the design, it’s a cafe that doesn’t discriminate. People come here from all corners of Seoul for that double A cafe experience: amateur photographers vying for that shot, girlfriends gaggling over cake, dates cooing in the corners; mum and dads looking on intrigued.

My favourite time to visit is during the week, when it’s near empty, and bossa nova permeates the cafe; heaven.

From a caffeine perspective, the espresso based coffees, teas and non-caffeinated drinks are decent, but the food is a little lame. I recommend visiting this cafe for its atmosphere and design, not for its dining experience.

Cafe aA is easy to get to from Hongdae subway station line 2.

408 -11 Seokyo dong, Mapo gu, Seoul.

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Getting It Right

Erica Johansson — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:28:03 +0000

Getting it right can take time – both in life and in terms of blog design.

Since I launched Travel Blissful in August this year and moved away from Wordpress.com I have been experimenting a bit with different themes. This post is just a way for me to “think out loud” and let you know my thoughts about how Travel Blissful will develop in the future.

Finding the Right Blog Theme

My first theme looked fresh and clean, but I changed to another one because I wanted more of a magazine style. When I had that I realized the site looked a little too messy and changed again. I know of a few other bloggers with this same theme, including Steve at Asian Ramblings. The last thing I want to do is imitate anyone, so I believe it’s important to give the site an individual look. That’s what I intend to do.

Choice of Colors

What I need to consider is the colors. How do they match? Are they appealing? How about the color of the banner ads?

Since we’re moving towards Christmas, I thought the red titles combined with a wintry header image shot in the ski resort Engelberg was a good choice.

Still haven’t made up my mind regarding the background color. The grey works ok, but perhaps something more colorful would look better.

Advertising

I do want to offer advertising, banners in different sizes and locations, at the same time I don’t want to clutter up the site with too many ads. A couple of relevant, quality ads are good. Too many can be annoying. Balance is the key.

Categories

Since I currently have more than 20 categories (excluding sub-categories), I obviously can’t place them all in the navigation bar. Two lines of categories would look way too messy. I chose to show only non-destination categories, hence Africa, Asia, Australia & Oceania, Central America, Europe, Middle East, North America and South America can only be seen if you scroll down to the Categories widget. At least for now.

The Look

Apart from choice of colors, the look of the site also depends on how well the content is arranged. The MooTools featured slider under the navigation bar works ok, what I need to fix is the boxes below. I’d like them all to be aligned rather than in different sizes. Hopefully I can solve that, or perhaps make the boxes wider and order one after the other as opposed to two next to each other. I did consider a blog layout, but thought this style looked better.

Personality

I want to give the site a more personal look. In the coming weeks, and months, I will make some changes. In the sidebar, I plan to add an Aside with a current picture of myself (can’t stay camera shy forever) similarly to how Cheryl on Planet Pink n’ Green did, perhaps a short bio and a brief text about Travel Blissful with a link to the About page. What else can I do to give the site a more individual appearance? Include more widgets in the sidebar, change the About page, add more links under My Content.

RSS Subscription

If readers wish to subscribe to the RSS feed I want to make it easy for them. I’d like to make a big subscription form and place it further up in the sidebar, if possible under the navigation bar or under the 300×250 banner.

Links

I have a page with links to different great blogs. Initially I considered having all links in the sidebar, but realized the blogroll would be too long. So at this time I have chosen to feature the blogs I read most often.

Video

If possible, I want to make the video player bigger. The videos will include feature films that take place in one or several destinations or countries worth visiting.

Header

To make the site look good, the length of the header does play a big role. Many bloggers choose very small headers while others, like Christine at Almost Fearless, opt for a larger header.

Footer

The length of the footer is also something to take into consideration. Some bloggers go for a large footer, like GoMediaZine.

Title

The title is one of the most important aspects of a great site. As you can see I am still working on that one. Either I will just add “Travel Blissful” or “Travel Blissful – wherever you are”.

As said above, getting it right doesn’t always happen at once. Sometimes I know exactly what I want, other times I need to experiment with different methods until I find the right solution.

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Update: When writing this post, I was using the PNT The Gazette Edition by WooThemes.

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Fashionistas, Art Devotees and Design Enthusiasts Discover the Latest Trends in West Hollywood

Erica Johansson — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:12:40 +0000

Whether you are a true fashionista, an art lover, a design aficionado, or simply don’t want to miss out on the latest trends in design, fashion, art and beauty, visit the Avenues of Art & Design in West Hollywood. On Saturday, May 31, 2008, thousands of people will meet on the 11^th annual Art & Design Walk, a mile-long open house with more than 300 high-end art galleries, fashion boutiques, interior design stores, specialty shops and restaurants. Staged along Melrose Avenue, and Beverly and Robertson Boulevards, the event highlights exclusive receptions, personal appearances, shopping discounts, and entertainment hosted by individual showrooms.

Admirers of minimalist and colour abstract art will want to stop by Hamilton-Selway Fine Art’s newest display “Contemporary Contemporaries”, featuring work by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, David Hockney and other twentieth century artists.

Other gallery exhibitions include George Stern Fine Art’s ‘Robert Frame’ showcase and Glass Garage Fine Arts Gallery’s ‘Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque’.

The fashion conscious in search of the latest fad can enjoy haute designers like Stella McCartney and James Perse. The fashion boutiques along the Avenues have something for everyone. And home aficionados will like Ligne Roset by Linea, the fine collection of Peking glass by Robert Kuo, White Orchid Living at north Robertson Blvd and the special surprises from Phyllias Morris/Circa.

Once again, the downtown Los Angeles non-profit arts education center Inner-City Arts will benefit by the Avenues of Art & Design thanks to a silent auction taking place on the day of the event. Inner-City Arts “…uses arts education to positively affect the lives of at-risk children by unlocking their creative potential for a more hopeful and productive future.”

Admission to the Saturday’s Avenues Art & Design Walk 4p.m. to 8p.m. is absolutely free. Fiji Water will provide free bottled water to guests at their stations all through the Avenues and Urth Caffé offers free coffee drinks and tea. For more information visit, http://avenuesartdesign.com

About The Avenues of Art & Design

“Established through a West Hollywood City Ordinance as a Business Improvement District (BID) in 1996, the streets of Melrose Avenue, Robertson and Beverly Boulevards are where fine, decorative and culinary arts are conceived, created, and consigned to aesthetically-minded, design-savvy connoisseurs worldwide.”

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Mexico’s Best Design Hotels

Erica Johansson — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:15:45 +0000

Row of Sun Palapas on a sandy beach in Mexico.

Residing in a design hotel with a hip ambience and a sophisticated feel will give you a remarkable vacation experience. These six Mexican hotels are a safe bet.

ESENCIA

A sumptuous heaven set at the tropical Caribbean seaside on the Yucatan Peninsula. Wake up for a cooling swim in the pool, a session of yoga, an organic Spa treatment or an ocean dive with skilled scuba instructors. If needed, multilingual nannies can provide baby-sitting. This laid-back hotel has 29 rooms, 17 suites and two cottages for $525-$2,800 a night, including breakfast. As it darkens outside, relish the chef Alejandro Rojas’ Meso-American cuisine at the hotel’s restaurant Sal y Fuego, sip an Esencia Carbena in the chill-out lounge or stroll to the beach and watch the sunset.

Location: Carretera Cancun Tulum, Pedio Rustico Xpu-Ha Lote 18, Quintana Roo

IKA DEL MAR

Living in one of the 30 villas boasting their own private pool and outdoor terrace with beds and hammocks costs $585-$2,500 a night, including breakfasts. To ensure peace and quiet, cell phones are prohibited on Ika del Mar’s premises and no children under 16 are allowed. Available activities include hatha yoga, snorkelling, scuba diving, sailing and horse-riding. End the day with Azul Restaurant’s international and domestic gourmet cuisine.

Location: Playa Xcalacoco Frac 7, Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo

CONDESA DF

Javier Sanche’s architectural gem stands along a Jacaranda-lined avenue in the trendy Condesa district, 30 minutes from the international airport. The Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes has listed the building as cultural heritage. A tranquil site filled with funky simplicity and glamorous cool, especially the central patio devoted to relaxation, dining, and people watching. The 40 rooms and suites have an airy feel, chocolate brown tones and functional furnishing. Don’t miss the club in the basement or a sushi at La Terazza bar offering views to neighbouring Parque de Espana and the Castillo de Chapultepec.

Location: Avenida Veracruz 102, Mexico City

HABITA

Mexican architects Bernardo Gomes-Pimienta and Enrique Norten teamed up with hotel keepers Carlos Couturier and Moises Micha for a 2000 premiere. The result? A contemporary designed five storey hotel with 32 rooms and four suites in the fashionable Polanco neighbourhood, near Chapultepec Park in the city’s business centre. Enjoy the aesthetic rooms, admire the view from the rooftop bar – almost a must in a design hotel – and savour Aura Restaurant’s modern cuisine.

Location: Av. Presidente Masaryk 201, Col. Polanco C.P, Mexico City

DESEO

Situated in a charming fishing village 35 minutes drive south from Cancun International Airport, Deseo is one of the hottest spots on the Mayan Riviera. The 15 rooms and suites – some with ocean view – have a plain feel with natural colours and white marble floors. The hip hotel pool terrace offers king-size beds and pillows for optimal relaxation.

Location: 5th Av and 12th St, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo

AZUCAR

According to hotelier Carlos Couturier, the elegant Azucar hotel is a tribute to the sugar industry, the Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz who dedicated a song to the sugar cane and items special for Mexico: the huarache (Mexican sandal), the machete (Mexican cutting knife), and the sombrero (Mexican hat). The 20 spacious bungalows with thatched roofs, white colours and cotton attire all have a private terrace facing the Gulf of Mexico.

Location: Km 83.5 Carretera Poza Rica – Nautla, Loocalidad Montegordo Veracruz

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