Welcome to shiny, new Angie Away!

Oh, hello there! You’re not lost, friends – you’ve just popped into the completely redesigned world of Angie Away. Take a look around, click on a few links and explore, won’t you? I’m so glad you’re here!

Let’s be honest — I never thought this little travel blog would last past my first year of full-time travel. When I first started this blog, I just needed a basic site where I could tell my tales. Angie Away was designed to be as simple as that.

When I quit my NYC public relations job in 2010, I expected to travel around the world. Check.

I expected to spend all my money. Check.

I expected to return to some PR agency somewhere after about 12 months and continue on, business as usual… um. Not a check.

Expectations are a funny thing. I certainly never expected to be where I am today, with a brand, a blog and a consistently growing readership, nearly four years after I spent hour upon frustrating hour in a Hell’s Kitchen Starbucks trying to learn WordPress & web design on my own. In the years since, I realized that I’d outgrown my out-of-the-box Arras theme, but I was a little nervous to commit to a total redesign. Sure, I can repurpose and redesign furniture, but my site… well, that’s not something I’m comfortable experimenting on.

A never-ending mountain of adventures and opportunities precipitated the need to develop a more useful, intuitive site for me and for you, regardless of my hesitations. My goal for the redesign was to keep travel at the center of everything I do — after all, it’s the foundation on which this whole endeavor rests — while creating space for all my other interests and projects and opportunities. (Like DIY, Beauty and The Jet Sisters.)

I began working with the fantastic Greg Gall in February. (He is my hero and I highly recommend him for all your web design needs!) If you’ve been around these parts for a while, you’ll notice immediately that new Angie Away is sleeker, more cohesive, more responsive and totallly streamlined, to make it easy to navigate and just downright pretty to look at. Greg totally *got* my vision from the very beginning and brought it to life, from the big picture concepts down to the tiniest details. 

I particularly love the Destinations & Lifestyle pages he created, so please check them out first in the nav bar at the top of the site – they’re the hotness! And how about that snazzy new logo? Sigh. I’m a little bit in love with new Angie Away and all the personal details and surprises we’ve included throughout the site. 

You’ll be happy to know that most of the content remains the same, particularly the blog posts – and everything is much easier to locate now. The only major content updates have been to the Work with Angie page, which now houses published articles, TV clips, my YouTube channel and details on what exactly it is that I do for a living. The majority of my professional capabilities – social media consulting, public speaking, travel writing, public relations, copywriting, etc. – can now be found under the Consulting header. 

A note from the designer:

I was super excited to work with Angie. I’ve followed her story throughout the years and have always been inspired by her. I wanted to give her a site that reflected her energy, passion and professionalism.

When I think of energy, I think of movement. The new site gives the reader a more interactive experience. You’ll see the new Destinations and Lifestyle pages highlight Angie’s photography while helping you quickly find the content you want.

To convey professionalism, I kept distractions to a minimum. I chose a subtle textured background that reflects Angie’s DIY nature. The clean design keeps the focus on Angie’s wonderful storytelling.

For many, the color red symbolizes passion. Angie just so happened to pick a palette with a beautiful bright fuchsia. When I saw it I knew it had to be the site’s primary ‘pop’ color. You’ll find it hiding throughout the redesign.

Above all, I wanted this site to be the hub of Angie’s brand, showing off her storytelling skills and all the communication services she can offer her clients.

I really hope you enjoy the new Angie Away! If you have any questions, feedback or want to work with me on a project of your own, contact me at [email protected]. 

A million thanks to Greg for helping me bring this new iteration of Angie Away to life. There are many more adventures to come and I’m thrilled I get to share them in this beautiful new space.

Now I’d love your feedback… what do you like? What needs tinkering?