Favicon
The favicon, or simply the site icon is the smaller icon which appears in a browser tab. This can be used to quickly identify different sites if you are unable to see the full name. This is especially useful if your computer frequently has dozens of tabs open, like mine does. I chose to make the site’s favicon a simple abbreviation of the name “Christian Speaks.” I believe that overcomplicated logos can dilute the purpose of the image or just be too cluttered.
Site Header
The site header is what greets new visitors to the site at the top of every page. For this, I decided to full expand the “CS” logo of the sites favicon. Therefore, I fully wrote out the words “CHRISTIAN SPEAKS.” I think that having the full name of the site spelled out is important and has a complimentary color scheme with the favicon. I added shadows and a border to the text along with utilizing the same gradient that was used to create the favicon.
The Black and the Red
I chose to create a black and red gradient color scheme using Vectr. I chose these colors as they remind me of the football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I am a big fan of the Buccaneers, particularly their color scheme and use of pirate imagery and livery. I took inspiration from the color scheme and decided to utilize it for my site favicon and header. It was important that the site had a consistent aesthetic and retained the same color scheme throughout. I decided to go with simple text due to skill limitations with graphic design software, as well as a desire to avoid over complication or clutter. I also found Vectr to be limited with the shapes and icons available in the free version. Therefore, I found that utilizing simple text was an effective way to get the message across that I wanted to send (what site you’re on) and to have an aesthetic that I liked. I used JPEG images for both the favicon and the site header. I chose this as it was one of the only image types allowed to be downloaded on the free version of Vectr. I made sure to size the images correctly before exporting so they would not be blurry or have to be modified once uploaded to my site.
