Big Changes Coming 2/1

Two full weeks is a long time to go between blog posts. The longest in a while, actually. But I wanted to check in with everyone to say I'm hard at work behind the scenes on a major relaunch of Icethetics. The big switch happens on Feb. 1.

This is different from the annual blog refresh I usually implement. It's much more than a redesign. I'm changing a lot about the way Icethetics works. And, of course, it will look completely different as well. (You won't even recognize it!) Don't worry, it's all for the best.

New Features

The biggest change to the content of the site will come in the form of a new weekly feature series. Every weekend I'll be posting in-depth articles on relevant topics. Those stories will be the focus on the new home page. This feature will ensure regular updates to the site as well as giving readers a little something beyond the day-to-day news — especially when it's light.

Speaking of the news, the blog will be getting a bit of an overhaul as well. New blog posts will be very short and to the point and should come more frequently, depending on what's going on. Over the long weekend, I shared on Twitter a sneak peek at how blog posts will appear on the new site.

Icethetics will get more than a facelift in 2014

I've tweaked the Icethetics logo and nav bar, as you can see. And the site will start taking its color cues from the teams in the news. Plus, the background texture just feels right for a site about hockey jerseys.

I also plan to expand IceHL fantasy league coverage with individual team history pages (which will likely replace the annual yearbooks). The jersey galleries will be reimagined (again). And in the coming months, we're returning to our roots with a new NHL Tournament of Logos (and other minor leagues to follow).

Formatted for Mobile

Another feature I'm really excited about is the new responsive design. If you read Icethetics on your smartphone, the site will be specially formatted for the smaller handheld screen. No more zooming and panning around.

What's Not Changing

I suppose just as important as what's changing is what's not changing. The Concepts page will continue to see daily posts and you'll still have access to great Icethetics-exclusive templates.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Email or comment. Just be sure to mark your calendar for February 1!

Icethetics Gets Another New Look

Welcome to the redesigned Icethetics.info! What do you think?

Every so often, I get tired of looking at my own blog. And I get an itch to flex my creative muscle. So every year around this time, Icethetics gets a whole new look. This year is no different in that regard. After a few weeks of toying with different ideas, I finally settled on a design I'm happy with. Hope you guys enjoy it as well.

Along with the new look comes new features to be rolled out over the coming weeks. I'm adding member accounts so that you can register and post comments without moderation and track changes to your favorite sections of Icethetics. (For example, get an email every time new concept art is posted.)

I'll be adding some all new sections to the site (details to come) and I'm also considering trying out a message board. (How long it lives will be determined by you guys.) Let me know what you think and drop me a line if you have any suggestions.

And lastly, for the sake of posterity, here's what the site looked like before today.

New Look for the New Year

Just rang in 2011 at the Space Needle here in Seattle. They put on a spectacular fireworks show, let me tell you. Very much enjoying my new city.

The new year will mean lots of new features and endeavors for me and Icethetics. But more than that, a change in the calendar usually means a new look for this particular website. And right now you're looking at it.

Gone are the bright blue and orange in favor of a more muted color scheme and widened page in anticipation of a brand new signature feature of Icethetics. Details to come on that soon.

The new design isn't fully integrated yet. I still have some work ahead of me, but I wanted to get it launched right away. So if you see something that doesn't look right, I'll be getting to it.

If you have any comments on the new look or suggestions for new features, just scroll down and join the conversation.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the redesign and continue to make Icethetics a regular read in 2011. Happy new year!

By the way, don't forget the NHL has moved the Winter Classic back to 8 PM eastern tomorrow night. Looking forward to seeing both teams in action in their new sweaters. And the game should be exciting too!

Merry Christmas to All!

Welcome to the improved Icethetics! It's been a long time coming but I'm excited to once again get back into the swing of things.

The New Look

The first thing you've noticed is the brand new layout. I'm always excited to be able to improve upon the look of Icethetics and I'm very happy with this one. It's an ever-changing beast and while I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with my own work, I think each iteration has been an improvement over the last.

The biggest change beyond the extra 120 pixels in width is the primary font — which has been Trebuchet since I launched the blog in 2007 — to Georgia, which is easier to read. Trebuchet is still sticking around, however, for headings and other elements. Plus, the new banner at the top of the page now includes the .info domain.

More Concept Art!

Of course the new look is not the best news of the night. What I'm really excited about is the implementation of a new approach to concept art. It's a process that will make it easier for me to offer more frequent updates. Rather than going for a week or more between posts, you'll be finding something new every day or two. The idea being to keep you guys coming back for new concepts on a regular basis.

In fact, tomorrow morning you'll find brand new concept art — and it's NOT the fourth installment of the Strauss NHL Rebrand (that will come later this weekend). More good news. By popular request, there will be new concept art auto-posted every day while I'm off in Las Vegas getting married in January. Details to come.

New Sweater Gallery

The best news of the night — a brand new hockey sweater image gallery like no other available on the web. I've always tried to make Icethetics a place for content that's hard to come by or found nowhere else — a tradition I intend on continuing in 2010.

My resolution is to make more of an effort to keep Icethetics fresh and new every day in the new year. I miss that and I know many of you do as well. There will be plenty of jersey news to follow in the coming year as well as loads of awesome concept art and new logo and uniform tournaments!

But enough talk from me. You've heard it all before. Keep checking back for the proof!

By the way, I'm open to any and all suggestions for making Icethetics more awesome than ever. Just drop me a line by email or in the comments. And while you're at it, let me know what you think of the new design.

Merry Christmas to all!

The Annual Facelift

As you can see, Icethetics looks very different tonight. I just finished up with the annual redesign. From the few comments I've seen already, it sounds like most of you like it. If you've got anything to add to the facelift discussion, leave a comment here.

Update on Thursday · Dec 24 · 2009 | 9:12 PM PST by Chris

This is an update for posterity. It's Christmas and Icethetics has endured yet another redesign. In case you've stumbled across this post and are wondering what the July 2009 redesign looked like, here's a sample.

Screen shot taken just before the Christmas redesign