Black Marks on Wood Pulp 4.0

When I started this blog, I did so with no anticipation of making it a long term commitment. I wrote when I felt the need, about what was on my mind. I threw together a design and called it good. I never imagined I would actually keep up with it. Hell, I had a hard time reading a short novel at that point in time.

BMOWP LogoYet, within a year, I was writing two book columns and roughly 35 blog posts a month. So I guess it stuck. And with the content, it was only natural that books became an integral part of the site – up to 30% of the content was literature related, in some way. With little time available to adapt a theme, I often resorted to some simple font changes and a new header picture.

Nearly three years later, Black Marks on Wood Pulp has become something I take great pride in. And with that pride came a creeping embarrassment at the design I had simply thrown together. It was time for a new look – something elegant, something simple, something that illustrated my desire to grow as a writer and be taken seriously as a member of the blogosphere.

And this is it. You’re looking at the newest version of Black Marks on Wood Pulp.

The tree? Well, to tell you the truth, I think it looks cool. But if you asked me the symbolism behind it, I’m sure I’d tell you something about my connection with the world around me, about how I write about whatever I see, about how I long to keep growing, and a bunch of other hippie crap. But really, all of my passions have come, in some weird way, from trees – from my days as a prospective biology teacher to my love of books and other paper bound words.

Don’t get me wrong – I just love the simplicity of it. And, again, I think it looks cool.

I’ve even come up with two logos: the tree itself and the acronym treatment. Because, for once, I think this has the legs to stick around for a while. And though it’s not a marvel in Web technique or design, it’s a million times better than the maroon boxy mess I had stuck with for two years.

Wow. It’s amazing what a little simple design can do to a person’s pride.

This was lovingly handwritten on February 29th, 2008