Blog layout and HTML coding

This post shows some of the internal work completed in order to give our blog an easy-to-use and (modestly) stylish interface. First, check out the default interface compared to the final edit. Some features such as the menus on the navigational panel have been removed as not all features were necessary to keep. Also notice that the template title "Central" has been changed to "Chatty Commuters", with our rationale printed below so you know what we're about. The social profiles feature such as our email (hyperlinked into the mail icon) and Instagram page is a nice addition.

Default blogging interface. 

Chatty Commuters edit.

In order to make these changes, I had to interpret the html coding for this blog. Once I understood them, I could make the necessary changes to complete a distinguished look for our interface. Using the Blogger descending navigation panel on the left side of the screen, select Theme and then Edit HTML.

Blogger descending navigational panel to the left on the left side of the screen.
Select Theme and then Edit HTML, to the right of Customise which is in orange.

For ease of navigation through the html codes, I pressed Cmd+F and typed in 'Business', which is the second option on the interface navigation panel. I then changed that to 'Intervention' and made use of the sub-menus to show audiences that we have three interventions planned.

Default html.

I have hinted at the stigma of interaction on public transport in an article for London Connected about my local route 18/N18. I went out to review its move to a new operator with new buses, got to Sudbury and boarded an N18 back home. A simple gesture to the driver turned into a night full of politically and sociologically loaded chat about life as a bus driver and the experiences one gains from it. For example, we reminisced of a time where passengers could talk to their drivers (or conductors) and how a bus service could be central to a strong sense of community, compared to now where the potential for interaction on public transport feels awkward and limited, hence our rationale: to relieve the stigma of interaction on public transport.

Anyway, I have added 'London Connected' as the 'Featured' link on the navigation panel from which referential resources such as previous interactional encounters with bus drivers can be drawn. London Connected have similarly added Chatty Commuters to its Links as a method of promotion.

Chatty Commuters edited html.

The slideshows are a key part to this blog, as they allow us to summarise the main themes influencing our intervention. Therefore, I edited the default slider html codes accordingly.

Default sliders.

Edited sliders.

I think it is important to commit to the aesthetics of the blog, so that it is accessible and users can navigate their way through efficiently. I particularly like the fact that the blog layout is simple but effective as it is sort of symbolic of our intervention: something as simple as saying "hi" to your bus driver can be as effective as making them feel acknowledged and appreciated by their passengers.

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