Energy Efficient Blog Layout Design?

A long time ago I remember going to a blog-layout site that advertised "green" layouts. "Green" meaning eco-friendly. This was a foreign notion to me and I didn't really read too much into it other than noticing all the layouts they had available were black or dark. In re-designing my blog layout, I randomly remembered about this and wanted to learn more about it.

Here's a few things I found out:

• Reduction in energy usage can be obtained by designing web sites that use darker colors or shades, particularly within sites’ backgrounds.
• According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, “White and bright colors (especially in backgrounds) can use up to 20% more power than black or dark colors.”
• Your screen is composed of pixels, and the color of each pixel is determined by the amount light passing through it: white is 100% light output, and black is zero. The takeaway here is that for certain types of devices (e.g. projectors, older monitors, and LED screens), brighter colors consume more energy than darker colors
• If you’re viewing these websites on a state-of the-art LCD screen, the difference in color amounts to pretty much nothing. But with old-style CRT monitors (which are still heavily used) and even LED monitors (which are increasingly being adopted) —the impact of color is significant.
• If you want to save energy while searching the web, try Blackle, a black-bacgrounded version of Google.
• While there is controversy over whether a black color palette is more energy efficient than light colors on a website, there are still proponents of the darker website design.

Sources:
http://www.sproutreach.com/blog/design-for-environmental-causes/energy-efficient-web-design/
http://blog.opower.com/2013/06/saving-energy-by-design-how-simple-considerations-by-web-designers-can-shrink-the-internets-energy-footprint/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/09/20/making-the-web-a-better-place-guidelines-for-green-web-design/

I have an iMac which has an LCD screen so I guess the color difference is "pretty much nothing," but I figure if other people viewing my blog might have different kinds of screens, it would be good to revamp my layout to be more energy efficient and thus, more eco-friendly.

So I went from a super bright-based layout...

...To what I have now. I opted for a dark background but of course had to have a pop of pink :P

What do you think of the idea of "green" blog layout design?
Is your layout energy efficient?

Introducing { e.motion in: motion; } Version 3.0! Updates, Changes, & Additions explained!

Hello loves! Just wanted to thank everyone who shared their thoughts in my last post. Your input is very much appreciated and very helpful : )

But, being the super-indecisive person that I am; I STILL couldn't make a decision between the two. Sooo... I decided to make a compromise and combine the two layouts into one. I am happier with this combination and I hope you'll enjoy it too. I simplified the banner so it would be less busy and more balanced; kept the quilted background; and removed the eyeliner separators (they were cute but started to seem a bit "much" XP).

You may or may not have noticed, but a few things were also moved around, removed, and/or added. This post is meant as a little explanation about the new or recent features and changes the blog has undergone. Hope it helps! : )

I removed the Blogger navbar.
So if you were used to using the "search" functionality there, it has moved to my sidebar!

The drop-down navbar is back in business.
With information about the blog, myself, sorted posts, & more.
Will be adding a link to my blog sale here.


Semi-new Announcements & Updates section.I always have had this section but never really made use of it. From now on, it'll be a list of my upcoming post schedule and other updates, such as additions to my blog sale, giveaway/contest announcements, etc.

Semi-new "Connect" feature.I decided to add this in my sidebar since it seems to be a common feature on most blogs. An easier way to get connected with me! You can view/subscribe to my rss feed, catch me on my Facebook fanpage, my Youtube channel (which is currently being used solely for my video editing projects), check out my artwork & photography at my Deviantart, and email me.

Btw, thank you to everyone who has "liked" { e.motion in: motion; }'s Facebook fanpage so far! It really means a lot. Since I figure just about everyone has a FB now, it's another great way for me to keep in touch with my readers and announce new blog posts. Plus, I post a lot of promo codes there *wink* ;)

Join me on Facebook for post previews, pictures, sales, updates, and more!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/-emotion-in-motion-/118026268238581

Semi-new Review sorting.
So this feature has been around for several weeks actually, but I just thought I should point it out anyway ;) Created this section for a quick and easy way to search through my pile of reviews; sorted by brand, product, or type.

New Jump breaks,Also a few new additions. I don't really like jump breaks much myself, but I know that some of my posts get retardedly long and even I don't like looking at them much. So I'll be using jump breaks occasionally.... :P

New Post separators,(the pink line between my blog posts)
I actually didn't know you could add post separators until I came across this wonderful code from AllBlogTools. If anyone is interested in having fancy dividers between your posts, check out the link!

and New Numbered page navigation.
I also found this code from AllBlogTools (that site is so freaking awesome, really). Decided to add this feature to make it easier when going through my older posts!

Removed my Formspring box, & linked it instead.
And lastly, I have removed my Formspring Q&A box since I haven't been getting much questions lately so it was just taking up space. So incase anyone has any questions they'd like to ask, my Formspring is still linked under the "Contact me" section.

So that's pretty much all that's new with { e.motion in: motion; } Version 3.0. I hope you like the new layout and that the new additions will make this blog more user-friendly : )

SKIN MD GIVEAWAY WINNER!!!

Thank you everyone who entered my Skin MD Natural Giveaway!
There was a total of 71 entries (including all extra entries).
And the winner was #39,
Wehaf!

I have sent you an email, so please get back to me within 72 hours!
If I don't receive a reply, I will be choosing another winner.

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NOTD - UD "Gunmetal" + BLOG SALE UPDATE

Quick nail job today.

This is Gunmetal from my Urban Decay Apocalyptic nail kit. It's a really nice well... gunmetal color, with fine metallic shimmer and a high-shine "metal" finish. It's a really nice dark-but-not-black color. It was a lot more sheer than Big Bang (used in the previous NOTD), so it took two coats for full coverage. Excuse the chipping pinky nail.

Also updated my blog sale!http://ectmakeupandmoresale.blogspot.com
I bunched everything under "latest items"

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{e.motion in: motion;} version 2.0! & Your thoughts on...

Hello loves!

What better way to start off a new year than with a new layout?! I'm trying to improve the navigation and functionality of my blog with this layout -- I think this version of 3 columns is better than the last one I used; it seems more organized (to me at least). I must say I do miss the penguins and all, but I've kept the same color scheme/theme to keep things easier for me (haha) and added my favorite touches: pink, bows, crowns, Korilakkuma! and an urban-couture vibe.

I've been working on this for awhile... still tweaking some things and adding some things and deciding what I want to keep/change so bear with me for a bit XD

Also, please let me know if anything is glitching for you, like stuff not showing up, not aligned, code showing, etc. I'm pretty much a diehard IE user (I know, I know...) so I don't know how my ish looks in other browsers XP

I would also like to know your thoughts on...Music players!

• 
  
• Do you have one on your blog?
• Does it autoplay?
• Do you listen to other people's music players?
• Or do they annoy you?

I was inspired to raise this topic after a convo with Alienman about music players. Someone had left a comment to me saying that my music was disruptive. At that time, I felt as if it was simple enough that they should just find the pause button or use their mute button -- after all, music players are so prolific on blogs nowadays. I neglected to think that maybe they'd be listening to their own music, or just don't like sound playing at all.

Now that I think about it, sometimes I am listening to my own music and other people's music players annoy me or I don't like their songs -- I usually just search for their pause button. Other times, I thoroughly enjoy listening to other people's music! It all depends. But now I realize it is common courtesy to take into account that other people might be listening to their own music and do not want to search for your pause button or mute their sound.

So I would like to know, would my readers like to have music on my blog or not? If the response is more so NO, then I won't make it autoplay. Any feedback is appreciated!

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Charm updates, Giveaway reminder, 190th post hehe :3

FOR SALE NOW:

1 blue cupcake charm and 1 good luck mochi charm are available for adoption now :D
All charms are $5.00 each~

Go to: http://tinikawaiicharms.blogspot.com/ for more details.

I have been diligently working on everyone's custom orders... should be done very soon and I'll post up the pics of the new charms! Thanks everyone :D

Don't forget, if you want to enter my giveaway, the deadline to email me is by this Sunday!
Click HERE for giveaway details.

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My blog sale has moved (:

http://ectmakeupandmoresale.blogspot.com/











From here on, the link at the bottom of this post will take you to the new home of my makeup & more garage sale (: Old links will be redirected there as well. I added some new items for sale, specifically = lots of brand new CLOTHES! Two HK items up for sale now, as I've noticed lots of ppl have gotten into the Hello Kitty trend lately (I personally hate HK :P). Thanks everyone who has purchased stuff so far!

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