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Beyond the theme  

— Nate Wright, @NateWr �& Sophy O, @sssoz

2019-11-20

✺ PKP 2019 Conference: Barcelona

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✺ Beyond the theme

Introductions. 

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✺ Building blocks: what goes into a journal’s identity?

Colours, typefaces, logo, visuals, & theme. 

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✺ Building blocks

Find inspiration everywhere.. 

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✺ Building blocks

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✺ Building blocks

Create a simple & cohesive colour palette.. 

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✺ Building block: colour palette

1: stick to black & white

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✺ Building block: colour palette

2: one base hue; keep it monochromatic

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✺ Updating base hue in Pragma: adaptative colours & greyscale

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✺ Updating base hue in Pragma: adaptative colours & greyscale

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✺ Building block: colour palette

3: up to three hues based on a scheme*

* CSS / LESS + more time required

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✺ Updating colours in Immersion: colour blocks by section

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✺ Updating colours in Immersion: colour blocks by section

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✺ Building blocks

Use a nice and legible typeface that suits the  journal’s tone.. 

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✺ Building block: typefaces

1: let your theme handle typefaces

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✺ Building block: typefaces

2: choose only one typeface for headings & body text*

* CSS / LESS required if applied to content

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✺ Building block: typefaces

3: pair two typefaces

* CSS / LESS and a lot more research required

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✺ Building blocks

Display a simple & versatile logo for use in various contexts.. 

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✺ Building block: logo

1: don’t make one if you don’t need it (yet)

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✺ Building block: logo

2: make a logomark*

* Logo maker or graphics editor required

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✺ Displaying logomarks: dealing with long & multilingual journal titles

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✺ Displaying logomarks: dealing with long & multilingual journal titles

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✺ Building block: logo

3: make a logotype *

* Logo maker or graphics editor required

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✺ Displaying logotypes: using a transparent background

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✺ Displaying logotypes: using a transparent background

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✺ Displaying logotypes: removing clutter, simplifying text, & using visuals

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✺ Displaying logotypes: removing clutter, simplifying text, & using visuals

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✺ Building blocks

Use high-quality photographs & illustrations.. 

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✺ Building block: visuals

1: don’t bother sourcing images

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✺ Building block: visuals

2: find high-res visuals *

* Make sure you have the rights to them

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✺ Visuals: avoiding poorly-compressed, stretched-out, & distracting images

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✺ Visuals: avoiding poorly-compressed, stretched-out, & distracting images

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✺ Visuals: personalising visuals with your colour scheme

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✺ Visuals: personalising visuals with your colour scheme

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✺ Building blocks

Putting it all together. 

� See: ojs3-theming.netlify.com. 

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BREAK

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✺ Tools and techniques

CSS: Typography and color adaptations. 

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✺ Derive color and typography from the logo

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✺ Use a new font from Google Fonts

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✺ Update the article title to match the new font

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✺ More work to do

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✺ What to check after a font change

· Does the text size need to be increased or decreased a little?

· Does the font weight (normal or bold) need to be changed in places?

· Does this font need more or less space around it?

· Has this font created an unexpected impact anywhere?

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✺ Should I build a child theme?

· Do I want to reuse these styles for more than one journal?

· Do I want to include images directly in the theme?

· Do I want control over the LESS/CSS variables?

· Do I want to override one or two HTML templates?

· Do I want to stage my changes or use version control?

If the answer is yes, visit the Theming Guide to learn how.

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✺ What kind of changes should be avoided

Especially:

· Trying to make things more “interesting” or to make things “pop”

· Colors or fonts that a key stakeholder thinks “look better”

· Adding or moving things to get rid of empty space

Be cautious of any change that does not emerge directly from a qualified designer’s recommendation, a journal’s visual identity such as a color palette or font pairing, or from an audit of some kind that identified a problem that needs to be solved.

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✺ Tools and techniques

Mobile compatibility & accessibility. 

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✺ Device mode in your browser (press F12 or CMD+option+i)

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✺ Keyboard navigation

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✺ Accessibility audit with Lighthouse (requires the Chrome browser)

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✺ Thank you! ✺

Nate Wright — github.com/NateWr �Sophy O — github.com/sssoz