Very nice. I immediately noticed how much cleaner it was than the average blog. Everything neatly in its place.

I'm actually a website designer by profession, so since you asked... may I throw a few words of advice your way?

The only thing that bothers me is the use of the statue of David. Once you explained it, everything did register with me. It makes perfect sense, with him being a symbol of male beauty.

But more often than not, he's also used for a lot of art related things. So when I first saw him, it messed with my head a little because I thought I'd stumbled upon an art blog, rather than a blog that specializes in "hunks".

I'd say you should replace him with your standard hot, hunky guy. I know that goes against the artistic integrity, but truth be told, this is a site for hotties. Why pretend it isn't?

The only other thing I'd recommend is a little more contrast. Using contrast is a hidden tool of designers. If you use fonts and colors that pop just a little, you get a much better impact.

For example, blue's good. In fact, it's the most popular color in the world. But I'd use something a little richer and deeper for the background. Find something that is just a little outside your comfort zone, and try it on for size. It's just CSS, you can always take it away if it fails.

Ditto for the headlines on the posts. The bold font on the sidebar actually looks more prominent that the headlines of the posts. You most important thing is content. So the headline of the post should stand out more than anything else.

I hope that helps. God that was wordy. Sorry about that. When people ask for opinions on design, I feel compelled to answer.

Please let me know if that helps. And if you completely agree, feel free to slap me around. haha!

Oops, I meant if you completely disagree, slap me around! :D

Oh well, slap me around either way. It might be fun.

Horrible.... it looks like that there are even more ads..

[ Hey Kody, I tried to reply via e-mail but you've supplied a bogus address. Please contact me if you'd like to discuss it further! ]

I love the addition of the David. He really "classes up the joint". If ya know what I mean. However, the banner at the top of the page is a huge distraction. If I weren't already a fan of this site I would probably see that and keep on clicking to the next site. I would think, "gee, just another site for making money off of all the ads they can stick on a page. Keep the focus on the hot guys, not the ads.

Thanks for the input thus far, folks! I'm a little surprised at how much more "noticeable" folks are saying the ads are, but it's those kind of things that you learn when you get feedback!

There hasn't been a change as to how much advertising appears, of course, but my goal was to re-arrange the pieces so they seemed more cohesive as a whole -- and so that "Hunk du Jour" reached you a little more than the ad space.

We do strive for an acceptable balance of ads vs. content -- and we are currently at capacity as far as our fill rate for ads, so I guess this is the worst it'll get.

That being said, I'm sure there are some small changes I can make to ensure that the content has center stage. =)

THANK-YOU for your feedback, I truly appreciate it.

You change the look of your site more often than Britney changes her underwear.

This is better than the last one, but I actually liked the version prior to before (follow that?)

My question: for hunk of the day voting, why can't people vote for someone OTHER than the shirtless guy with great pecs? Does anyone other than me look at faces? I can guess the winner almost every day: whichever pic shows the most skin (generally). Come on people, grow a pair!

Thanks, Rocky... though we probably change more than Britney wears 'em. Okay, that was mean. I apologize.

I'm glad to hear you think we're moving in the right direction. =)

As far as who wins the HOTD -- there's not a whole lot that I can do about how people vote! :) I'm with you as far as "the one with the most skin is not necessarily the best choice," but that's one of the fun thing about elections -- the right choice may not be the most popular choice.

[That's deep.]

Thanks for sharing!

The justaposition of Michelangelo's David with the name "Hunk du Jour" is more than a tad hokey, not to mention in very bad taste. As for the template tryout, it's still too crowded with "stuff."