Going Blegging

Would it be possible to make a blog that looked pretty like design*sponge using existing blog platforms that were only slightly modified, or does it need to be a top to bottom custom job? I mean, having the pretty scanned items as borders, etc. I'd basically like to make a big collage, scan it, and have it come alive as a typepad blog--how unrealistic is this and does anyone have advice? Please, no comments on how I don't need another blog and can't even feed the blogs I have. This blog would be for business, so it's totally legit, and anyway John and I have religious beliefs that prevent us from using blog control. We're just ready to accept however many blogs God's going to bless our lives with.

Comments

[Kip Manley]

I dunno how much control Typepad gives you over the CSS, but that's what you'd be looking at: using an existing blogging platform to manage the database aspects (archives, feeds, categories, the whole you type it in here and it makes it appear there bit), while yourself or someone does a "top-to-bottom" design into which to pour that content. (Really, if you're looking for as bright a line as you can draw between form and content...)

Anyway: WordPress, Movable Type, TextPattern, any of those platforms could easily manage Design Sponge's layout (actually, looks like Design Sponge is a WordPress blog). So: you'll want to be learning some CSS.

[todd.]

What do you mean by "only slightly modified," exactly?

design*sponge appears to be a WordPress blog with a custom template; MoveableType (isn't that what TypePad is based on?) allows approximately the same level of functionality in the template/layout department as WordPress. But you'd definitely need HTML and CSS know-how, plus the willingness to learn the ugly syntax of blog template engines. I'm sure you could get ahold of the templates for J&B and CT to help out with that.

Blog templates are all basically the same -- 2 or 3 columns and a header and so on -- so you wouldn't *have* to start from an empty text file, if that's what you mean by "from the ground up."

[Gaston]

Sho-to-ka-ka-a-like:)