Back in May, I started the work to create a WordPress theme that was me… I was longing for a throwback to old LiveJournal and the vibes of the early internet. Through a lot of thinking and tinkering, I landed on a Cherry Blossom color palette. It made sense at the time… it was spring, I love when the cherry trees bloom, I had played some Animal Crossing, and loved seeing the petals float around. However, I started growing bored with it. Plus, plum/pink isn’t 100% me.
So, I started tinkering again and am updating to a v2 that’s going in a totally different direction. This time, I’m taking inspiration from playing with old OSes… specifically, Windows 2000. I remember when it first came out and setting up my machine. Upon first boot, you’re thrown into a clean screen with a simple blue background. But it was a beautiful blue… almost a blue-grey. It wasn’t a harsh navy or bright blue, but something much more pleasant. So, starting with that (RGB 58, 110, 165 | #3A6EA5), I’m working on an updated theme, reworking images, accents, and other little details. I’m still trying to keep some of my sage and darker colors from the Cherry Blossom theme… just not so much pink, plum, and dark purple.
The more I worked with it, the more I realized I wasn’t really trying to recreate Windows 2000 itself. I was trying to capture some of what I liked about that era — simple interfaces, clearly defined elements, muted colors, and computers that weren’t afraid to look like computers. It’s also given me an excuse to rework some of the site’s graphics, icons, and other little details so everything feels like it belongs together.
In a way, the inspiration hasn’t changed as much as the colors have. The original theme came from nostalgia for spring, Animal Crossing, and the older internet. This one is just pulling from a different corner of that same nostalgia.
I’ll continue to tinker with it… and I’m sure I’ll probably grow bored of this one too. My attention span seems to grow shorter and shorter… as soon as I’m done with one thing, I’m ready to change it again.
Until next time…