This is a personal photoblog, but the approach could be used for any visual graphics. The cms is Drupal 4.6.3. The theme is custom and powered by phpTemplate. Node display is limited to one per page, mostly to follow conventions of many photoblog interfaces, but also to minimize the bandwidth effects of having multiple images loading. (A visitor may only look at one or two images before leaving -- hey, I know I'm no Ansel Adams.)
Module use is minimal: image and pathauto are the main ones. Use of the image module is obvious. I customized the image sizes, and added a custom link to the node-image template so that it's clear that larger image sizes are available from the teaser view. (Those links are not available by default in the links array for the teaser.)
Pathauto is used not only for url aliasing, but also for categorization (different paths for different node types) and index aliasing. This way, display of just the "words" or just the "images" can be done simply by linking to the index alias of the pathauto paths for the given node types.
The "words" are created using the "story" type. Since multiple contributors are not part of the plan for this site, I opted to use the story node type rather than blog node type. Because reading white-on-black is hard enough on the eyes, I softened the effect a bit within the story node display. (Nevertheless, if one were intending to write more than post images, I'd recommend going with a dark-on-light schema instead.)
The gallery displays are out-of-the-box, albeit with some customization of the module's css file.
Feedback is welcome.
Laura
pingVision
PS - If this proves to be a popular theme approach, I'll bundle a simplified variation of it for contribution to Drupal.org when I get a chance (and a decent cvs client for Mac that won't set me back $200).
(Cross-posted at Drupal for Artists & Musicians.)
Comments
Now with linky
Now with linky goodness...
Scattered Sunshine
...at least I'm assuming that's it?
Yes!
I'd edit my post, but apparently I don't have that permission. I neglected the link because in the D4A&M site the link has its own input field, and I did a cut-and-paste of just the main body over to here. Arggh! Thanks for catching that!
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Laura
pingVision
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Laura Scott :: design » blog » tweet
I'm impressed.
I'm impressed. It's interesting what you say about light text on dark backgrounds as if you use a CAD system that's exactly what they recommend. Black workspace with white or brightly coloured lines. I wonder if it's only text that becomes difficult to look at?
The page vs. the theatre
Unless you're using an older CRT, I find black-on-white to be much easier on the eyes. I think it's harder to read the letters if they are white-on-black -- perhaps because the black screen offers fewer visual cues for focus.
On the other hand, images have a larger surface area so focus is not a problem. And personally I find a dark background more complementary for all but perhaps sepia-toned "b/w" images. Call it the movie theatre effect.
I initially tried making the background 18% grey (an old photography reference standard), but I felt that the colors popped more with the black bg.
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Laura
pingVision
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Laura Scott :: design » blog » tweet