depth first search

I recently redesigned the header for this blog, using this neat header creation tool on a photo I found while surfing Wikimedia Commons. In previous iterations of the header, I tried to “design” my own based somewhat on the abstract notion of depth-first search. My first effort was marginal at best:

During a lull one particular Saturday, I decided to attempt a redesign:

The best that can be said about either of these headers is that they didn’t blink. I’m happy to admit that anything dealing directly with aesthetics requires skills that I simply do not have. I know what I like, certainly, but I’m not deluded into thinking that my own attempts had any merit, I always just find it frustratingly difficult to create something that looks okay.

With this latest effort

I was able to find something that I think passes muster. The original photo is interesting, and the header is just-too-overcropped, making it web 1.5 hip. So I guess the takeaway is that, instead of rolling your own design, wait for somebody to create a web script that does it for you auto-magically.

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