Spoke to Mom and Dad tonight, and they had some comments about the redesign. Like quite a few people, Dad misses the cartoon. He even suggested I might lose some readers! The cartoon, however, was one of the things that made it imperative (for me and only me perhaps) that I redesign the site.

But why did I redesign in the first place? Well, I’d been increasingly having people from the games industry and other non-bloggers coming to my blog, people around whom I feel I have to be sort of respectable. Call me silly, but I was a little self-conscious directing people I work with to a page that has a cartoon of me in a skimpy purple latex outfit.

I felt I needed something a little less sexy, but definitely wanted to remain feminine, and include the gaming angle more clearly. Wanting to avoid breaking completely from the design of the chronicles’ first three years, I kept the yellow exclamation mark. The other icons allowed me to get rid of the cartoon, but still have a fun and colorful graphical element. They reflect the fact that I talk of personal things (not just games), modern games, vintage games, and the star is a symbol that if you know me, you know I adore.

The initial pink redesign came from my desire to reflect the feminine aspect, but it was too over the top. By then I’d realized that there were enough elements to suggest femininity, without being so blatant with it. Having successfully brought the elements I wanted together (gaming and girl), I could bring the whole thing down a notch, and lose the Pepto Bismol.

Anyway, enough of this navel gazing. Thanks to all who provided feedback, with special thanks to Sadia.

Stay tuned for content!