First off, happy new year everyone! We've officially kicked off 2014, and it seems like we're off to a really great start.
Around this time last year, I opened up my inbox to theme/theme blog review requests, and I'd really like to do that again! We've all improved substantially in the last twelve months, and there are a ton of really great up-and-coming theme makers that I'd absolutely love to meet. When I did this before, I was asked to review fukuo and yukoki, and I did so based on a set criteria that I'll be tweaking a little bit for this year but will remain essentially the same:
Theme Blog
Basic Layout
Navigation/Information
Resources
FAQ/Terms
Other
Themes
Aesthetic Appeal
Code
Practicality/Options
Overall Summary
Suggestions/Tips
If you're interested, feel free to send a message and I'll get something written up for you as soon as possible! It doesn't matter whether you've been making themes for a long time or if you're just starting out--I'm just here to help in any way I can!
I'd like to close by saying that I'm by no means an expert on this stuff, and any opinion I give is purely suggestion. Half of theme making is putting your heart into it, so as long as you enjoy the work you can't really go wrong! Thanks for reading, guys. And like I said--happy new year!
Hello, dears! Miss Alexis of Yukoki Themes asked me to review her brilliance, and, after a bit too much gaping at my inbox, I happily agreed! (I hope this is what you wanted/expected, dear!) Alright, here I go:
{Theme Maker's Blog}
Basic Layout
At first glance, the many boxes give off a cluttered impression, but, everything is wonderfully labelled so there is really no issue there.
The various windows and sidebars are all positioned in places where a browser of any size could easily see them. Yes! Great!
Your color scheme is nice and neutral, with diplomatic "basic blues" as your accent tones. Personally, I love that. It brings the focus to your posts rather than to your theme, which is always a plus!
I really like the idea of a chat box, but, eh. I couldn't quite figure out its purpose? Perhaps that's just me, though...
Navigation and Information
I love that everything is right there, ready to be clicked, with very little hunting around involved. Overall, that aspect of your navigation center is both really, really helpful and a bit overwhelming. So many buttons, so little time!
The four links on your sidebar image (index, faq+ask, archive, credits) are a little tricky to see when hovered over. Perhaps two shades of blue darker? I understand the opacity drop on the unselected links, but the selected link is still very light.
Very concise, to the point description. Who you are, where you're from, what you do, and a sweet greeting. Lovely.
Resources
I absolutely adore your resources page. Everything is neatly arranged, and separated out into extremely helpful categories. The links along the top of the image of Tsuna are brilliant, too. I, personally, wouldn't have thought to add those.
It does, seem, though, that you have two links to your theme recs and tutorials pages? One of each on both your resources page and your main page? I know you have a reason for that, but it confused me for a second. Whoops.
As much as a love orange, it doesn't seem to match the color scheme of your blog. I had to double check that I was still under the same url when I clicked the link...
FAQ, Terms, Etc.
Your FAQ/ask page is, quite honestly, the best one I have ever seen so far. Ever. Ever.
The way you've organized your answered questions if phenomenal. Really. It makes searching through so much easier!
Twenty points and two thumbs up for Kuroh.
Your Terms pages are lovely--simple, but still attention-grabbing. And not really, really sassy!
{Themes}
Aesthetic Appeal
Overall, your themes themselves have very unique designs. I love that. And yet, they each have certain elements in them that give away that they're yours. (Which is not a bad thing at all! I think every theme maker should have a trademark thing. Yours seems to be bars/borders. You really, really like putting bars/borders in your themes.)
However, certain elements of certain themes remind me a lot of both madarathemes and sakurane. Careful about that. I don't ever, ever, ever want someone as sweet as you to be accused of something I know you would never do. Some people are hateful and mean for no reason, but it's people like that we have to watch out for.
Why do your themes have cool names, but your pages (blogroll, about me, etc.) not? It makes answered questions about each a bit hard to find if you don't know what you're looking for off the top of your head. Maybe that's just me, though?
Codes
Your pastebin and individual codes are very easy to find. It's great that you use an account for pastebin, rather than simply posting as a "guest" like I've seen some theme makers do. It makes finding codes easier for users, and editing them easier for you.
Everything within your code is relevantly named, which is great. It makes editing them easier if someone wants to tweak a little thing here or there. Most of the code (on the themes that I scrutinized, that is) is a little cluttered, though. Might I suggest labels? (Things like /*sidebar*/ above all of the code that pertains to your sidebar, or something. <!--sidebar--> would also work.)
Practicality and Options
(For part, I installed Theme #11 on a sideblog of mine. I'm basically liveblogging what I'm doing as I customize it.)
All of your themes seem to have pretty similar "basic" options, which is good. Consistency is always wonderful.
Wow. Wow. I don't think I've ever seen so many color options in my life. It's like... a color option explosion.
I really like how you can change all of the font sizes. That's really, really great, and helps expand your user audience. (Like, an RPer could increase the font size, but a photo-blogger could decrease it, too, if he/she wanted to.). Good thinking.
Still loving all of those color choices.
And font options for everything! This theme is much, much, much more customizable than I had thought at first glance. Awesome.
{Overall}
Overall, you are both a lovely person and a wonderful theme maker. I still find it a bit hard to believe that you're only thirteen. I mean, wow. Just wow. You're extremely talented, smart, and nice. Keep being awesome, dear! I look forward to many wonderful things from you in the future. <3
