Jon Bostwick Gets a New Look

“Jon Bostwick,” a media darling and up-and-comer in the close-knit web production world, recently unveiled a new website that is sure to stun its fans and shock its critics. Known for its conservative, stock Drupal templates, Jon Bostwick has a bold new color scheme for, dare we say it, a new generation?

Jon Bostwick, the creator of this unique site, a man with a unique style and a unique flair for the dramatic, lived in perpetual frustration over his site’s blah personality. “I have an amazing personality,” Jon confessed, “and this site with its generic themes was a rain cloud in my otherwise sunny disposition. I needed a change, and when it became obvious that no one was going to make it for me, I looked it in the eye and said, ‘You are mine.’”

Jon had few requirements, other than the site having bold reds and blacks, and a white background to keep text legible. He also did not want to spend more than a few hours crafting HTML and CSS from scratch. With all of the wonderful HTML templates in the open-source world, and the people who meticulously develop and test them, why should he make something from nothing?

Furthermore, Jon is not a master Drupal themer. He thought this would be a good opportunity to learn by taking an existing template and modifying it for his needs.

Browsing the Drupal theme repository, Jon found that the theme that came closest to his vision was the Acquia Marina, a well-developed, free theme by Drupal masters Top Notch Themes. Top Notch Themes produces excellent, paid Drupal themes. This one and the Acquia Slate theme are very professional for free themes, and a great starting point for developing your own variation.

The Process? Crisp Planning, Expertly Executed

Jon took the PSD files supplied by Top Notch themes on Drupal and spiffied them up in Photoshop. After settling on colors and changes to fonts, Jon modified the included “local.css” file to create CSS overrides for the master styles. This enables Jon to make updates to the site, as new versions of the theme are released, without damaging the changes he’s made. Jon updated the images with the new colors, tested locally, and FTP’d everything to the live site. Voila! A customized logo, a new color scheme, new fonts, while retaining the basic HTML and layout supplied by this excellent theme.

How long did this take? Jon is not a speed whiz at Photoshop, so this whole process took a couple of days, a few glasses of wine (red), and some beer. “I think I could have completed this more quickly, “ Jon said, “if I would avoided the drinking. But what fun would it have been then?”

The Result? Unadulterated Love

The reviews are in, and the consensus is overwhelming. “The deep red, the grungy logo, the black… what can I say? It’s fantabulous!” said Becca Petrin, a casual but non-committed fan of Jon Bostwick. Upon seeing the new theme, Becca Petrin decided that she had to register. “There’s never been anything like it – EVER – in the history of web production, and I just had to be a PART!” With one demo to one person, Jon doubled the membership and page views to Jon Bostwick. 

“In all honesty, I never expected such a rousing success, and I’m sure this is my springboard to a new and better life,” Jon said, eyes misty and clearly moved by the praise and adoration. “I promise to add new features on top of the great content that our members know and love.”

So What’s Next? A Better Site, for Better People

Jon has great plans for Jon Bostwick. There will be new features, many of them, and each of them will have new features, too. Expect the unexpected, Jon says, though he sidesteps and looks askance when asked whether he will mention the unmentionables. But first, there's some kinkiness to work out, and Jon promises to do so. Sitting comfortably on the sofa with Rain the Vizla by his side and his Dell 1530 laptop toasting his legs, Jon can barely contain his excitement for what is to come.  “This is about the web in your face, this is about daring innovation, this is about life and the human condition!” Stay tuned.

Cool Stuff Mentioned:

• Drupal – Great CMS. Download at www.drupal.org
• Theme – Acquia Marina & Top Notch Themes