Express Yourself With BuddyPress Themes

WordCamp New York talk 2012

Transcript

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   Tammie Lister
   logicalbinary.com
   Express yourself
   with BuddyPress
   Themes
   

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2. Who am I?
   Tammie Lister
   logicalbinary.com
   I’m a designer, passionate about communities
   

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3. Individuality
   f
   Look around... we’re all different
   

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4. Fight club got it wrong
   because we make ourselves unique
   We are unique snowflakes
   

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5. Real world customisation
   - stickers on laptops
   - school folders / notebooks
   - hair dye
   - tattoos
   - fashion
   - anything that makes you, you
   

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6. i
   Branding is more powerful than ninjas
   

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7. A product is something made in a factory; a brand is
   something that is bought by the customer.
   A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is
   unique.
   A product can be quickly outdated; a successful brand is
   timeless
   Stephen King
   - WPP GROUP LONDON
   

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8. h
   The logo game - spot the company
   

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17. A word of caution...
    A brand is not just a logo.
    Consider everything part of your brand.
    Your site is a brand
    

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18. I’m kind of a design snob
    I’ve got a confession...
    7
    

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19. Leave the snob at home
    Let people express themselves
    BUT give boundaries
    When it comes to community...
    

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20. In the beginning there was the default theme...
    

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21. Pity the fool that doesn’t use child themes
    

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22. So... how do you avoiding turning up wearing the same
    dress to the party?
    

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23. Five steps
    1. Customise it
    2. Brand it
    3. Pimp your pages
    4. Create a voice
    5. Get widgey with it
    Express yourself with the default theme...
    

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24. Customise it
    - Custom headers
    - Custom backgrounds
    E
    

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25. Custom Headers
    Instant, use for logos or just to decorate
    

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26. Custom Backgrounds
    Photos, repeat images - easy fast expression
    

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27. Personalise it
    - Logo
    - Colour Schemes
    - Fonts
    c
    dive into the child theme
    

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28. Logo
    How do you add a logo?
    - Easy = upload as custom header
    - Otherwise to the child theme!
    h1#logo{
    text-indent: 100%;
    white-space: nowrap;
    overflow: hidden;
    background:url('whateverthepathistoyourimage')no-repeat;
    height:heightofyourimagepx;
    width:widthofyourimagepx;
    }
    

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29. Colour Schemes
    The power of colour
    - Use one main and one sub colour to maximise impact
    - Create a colour scheme
    - Unite your site with the colour scheme
    - Colour similar meanings the same
    Useful links:
    - http://www.colourlovers.com/
    - http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html
    - http://www.colorschemer.com/
    

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30. Fonts
    Free option = easily change the look of your site using Google fonts
    http://www.google.com/webfonts
    But... Google is not the only font resource
    

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31. Pimp your pages
    - Full frontal hubs
    - Profiles
    u
    

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32. Full frontal hubs
    - Make your front page truly a home page
    - Create your contents page with your design
    - Show off your community
    - Give incentives through displaying on front just like parents do
    with fridges
    

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33. Profiles
    The most overlooked part of a BuddyPress site
    - Give your users a home of their own
    - Make it good enough to share
    - Let your imagination run wild - think beyond social network profiles
    

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34. Create a voice
    - Customise your text
    - Carry throughout site
    K
    

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35. Language files for all
    Carrying your voice
    - Customise email messages and lots more :
    Welcome pack for BuddyPress
    - Create custom language files and go beyond the default
    http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/welcome-pack/
    

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36. Get widgey with it
    - Built in
    - Custom widgets
    - Roll your own
    q
    

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37. Get widgey with it
    The default theme has
    5 widget areas
    

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38. Beyond the default
    - Free BuddyPress themes
    - Paid BuddyPress themes
    - Custom BuddyPress themes
    

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39. Free BuddyPress Themes
    

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40. Free BuddyPress Themes
    http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/frisco-for-buddypress
    http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/citizen-kane
    http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/custom-community
    http://317.milo317.com/?wptheme=Secondary
    https://github.com/karmatosed/Status
    and lots more...
    Frisco
    Citizen Kane
    Custom community
    Secondary
    Status - a community theme contributions welcome
    

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41. Paid BuddyPress Themes
    

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42. Paid BuddyPress Themes
    http://ghostpool.com/wordpress/?theme=bounce-bp
    http://huddle.themedemo.net/
    http://para.llel.us/themes/mingle-wp/
    http://themeloom.com/themes/pure-theme/
    http://themes.swishthemes.com/feature/
    Huddle
    Mingle
    Pure
    Feature
    Bounce
    and lots more...
    

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43. Custom BuddyPress Themes
    

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44. Custom BuddyPress Themes
    http://eeif.co.uk/
    http://my.telegraph.co.uk/
    http://startupweekend.org/
    http://jasonmraz.com/
    http://bitsythis.com/
    and lots more...
    Bitsy
    Energy & Environmental industries forum
    My Telegraph
    Start up weekend
    Jason Mraz
    

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45. Get inspired
    http://www.bpinspire.com/
    http://buddypress.org/showcase/
    

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46. D
    Thank you for listening, any questions?
    Tammie Lister @karmatosed www.logicalbinary.com
    

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