KELVIN SMITH LIBRARY

Case Branding Your Blog : The Series

Part 1 - The Planning Phase

The first item in your 'To Do' list is to suffer through a bit of planning. There are some key decisions you will need to make that will make this entire process much less painful if you just do a bit of up front thinking.

You are going to need the following resources which I will discuss in more detail separately for the sake of keeping things organized. Your planning process may vary slightly but this should get you started. If you don't mind your main index getting a little whopperjawed for a little while you can update that MT template first. Otherwise, you will want to identify an alternate first template for branding and proceed accordingly. I did the main index template first because it uses just about all of the variable elements and makes the others into a copy+paste project.

1. Decide on a general color scheme for your blog. There are a limited number of Case brand approved color combinations and you should use one of them.
2. Decide on either a Basic or Advanced layout. Most people and/or departments will be able to use the Basic templates. Try to not add complexity where it is not needed.
3. Identify pieces of common code that can be separated out as MT modules for easier editing
4. Identify a reliable source for the core images for your template or upload them into your account.
5. Create/Modify your stylesheets. You will want a general stylesheet from the Case template you have selected plus the 'screen' and 'print' stylesheets.
6. Create certain files that will be used to construct your template and make it easier to edit.
7. Modify your MT template files!