TIEL, of TSK TSK, is one of those bloggers who appear in my reader sans pictures and copy and I always, always, click to see what new thing she's painted, or photographed. Her work is that good.

Not surprisingly, she's got the most to say about how she likes her blog to look. The theme, undoubtedly, from all the bloggers I've interviewed is a "less is more" approach. I'm unsure whether that's a particularly Australian design aesthetic. If I'd asked American bloggers I think the answer might have been more is more. I don't know about you but I can't come at a good proportion of American bloggers because their sites overwhelm me. One thing is for sure, in compiling answers for this series, I've learned a little about my own blog preferences. I am drawn to imagery and a clean blog design. The fact the answers re blog design are so similar is testimony to that. The question then is, am I simply a sucker for like-type blogs? Am I a blog snob with my own little clique of blogging favourites - all of them treasured online pals, mind you.

Do we all tend to fall for the blogs most like our own - in design and content? Is blogging just a natural social extension of our real-life selves where the people we meet and have in our inner circle reflect where we are, who we are, what we do, where we are in the cycle of life and what our interests are?

So much to think about.

Anyhoot, enough about me. Here's more about Tiel.

Q... What's the inspiration behind your blog and business name, TSK TSK?
A... Well, it's pretty straight forward. T is for Tiel, S is for Seivl and K is for Keevers. It's just my name. How I got such a long name is a story in itself but I won't bore you with the details. I was going to have TSK as a business name but it was taken, so I registered under TSK TSK. My name is too long and wordy to use as it is, hence the abbreviation.

Q... Who designed your blog header and how did you come to decide what images or graphics best suited your blog?
A... I have always designed my blog headers myself. I'm ready for a new one. With the current one I wanted to show two elements important to me. Nature and art.  I made these paper vases and one day decided to put a real flower in it. I stuck it to my toilet wall because it always had good light - in our old house - with washi tape. Simple. I just design my headers based on usually a photo or artwork that I have created. I get bored with them so I change every few months.




Q... Do you have a design tip for new bloggers?
A... Design tip. Keep it simple. I hate visiting blogs with too many graphics and ads, it can look like a dog's breakfast. Mine is a little messy right now and I need to strip it back. Oh, and don't use too many colours. Especially for the text component.  There's nothing worse than reading coloured text on a coloured background. Keep all your font choices limited. Two at the most and your styles the same. Basic desktop publishing rules should apply to your computer screen just as they do to printed matter.


Tsk Tsk blog
Tsk Tsk website with links to Big Cartel and Etsy
Tsk Tsk Facebook