Two days ago officially marked one year of Broken Kode. What a year it’s been. Although I’ve been blogging for a little while longer (1.5 years), I didn’t buy the domain name till I was completely happy with WordPress as the defacto blogging tool I wanted to use, instead of Moveable Type. I originally thought it was the 6th of June, alas my blog never lies, and I stand corrected.

Here’s what the site looked like for 1 week before MT got it’s license rubbish done and forced a mass exodus to happy alternatives. I’ve never, not once looked back. The site has gone through roughly 3.5 version changes (0.5 since one really didn’t last all that long, and wasn’t a complete redesign, only the index page).

Version 1.0

This was me learning the ropes. I just had an idea, which was content was to be the centre of everything. Simplicity was the essence in this design. It’s a bit of a shame that I don’t have this design as a theme. The design lasted 7 months. Which currently is the record to beat really.

Version 2.0 - CoCo

Following the release of Manji, I decided to use the code for a theme. From there CoCo was born. Again I learnt a lot in the transition from one design to the other. This version lasted a month and a half. I know, weak. The problem wasn’t with the site design itself, but rather the fact that the use of the site changed so much. It wasn’t clear for people to find what they were looking for. So I tweaked.

Version 2.5 - Elk

My favourite part of this design was the ‘New and Improved’ star. It added that fun element to the whole design. This ‘design’ lasted less than a month.

Version 3.0 - Iso

What you see now is what I’ve dubbed Version 3. Sure the graphic stays the same but a lot was added to this particular version. I learnt a lot moving into this version as I had a slew of ideas I wanted to implement. I introduced the snippets to the site, which is a major addition. I got to grips with a decent three column design.

Version 4 - Coming Soon

I’ve been working on this version for a while now. It’s an idea that blossomed into something that I think I can be very proud of. Once that version is done, I’m seriously considering not redesigning for an entire year. I know based on the above that would be a very tall order. The fact of the matter is that this latest version will incorporate my drawings directly into the design. Something that I’ve never done. I was hoping to get it done for the one year anniversary, but alas that wasn’t possible. Hopefully I’ll get it done in the coming month or so.

Programming

Due to my involvement with WordPress I’ve by mistake become more adept at coding and designing. Standards actually mean something to me, and the latest web technologies actually interest me. See that wasn’t actually the real reason why I started blogging in the first place. All I wanted was an easy way to update my porfolio site. I got a hell of a lot more than I bargained for.

I guess what’s great about the WordPress architecture is the fact that it’s based on software that is open source itself. PHP, MySQL, XML, RSS, CSS etc. So when you decide to learn it, you’re effectively broadening your scope of internet languages that can be used and applied in any other application you decide to implement.

Rin and Manji

Without a doubt the most important thing I did was the release of Manji back in December. It seems like such a long time ago and my skill has improved greatly since it’s release that I am itching to get back into designing another theme a soon as I get my other projects done and covered.

Rin exceeded anything I could imagine. Coming 2nd in the theme competition (considering the truely awesome work it was up against) was a complete and major honour. The work done on this theme was an additional weeks worth. The deadline helped the theme come out in more ways than one. There are a couple of things that need to be cleaned up and a few more features that I’d like to add, and of course bring out a few more flavours, but again time is not on my side.

Internet Folk

I think that’s what I actually take from this blogging experience the most. I’ve been able to express my thoughts on a regular basis, while at the same time met a great bunch of people. I could try and name them all but then I’d miss someone and I’d feel really bad.

378 posts and counting. It’s been a fantastic year for me, and I’m hoping the coming year can live up to the previous one.

Cheers for reading and contributing to Broken Kode.