VentureBrosBlog.com

In November of 2009, I started developing a fansite about Adult Swim’s late night animated series, The Venture Bros. at VentureBrosBlog.com. I started my blog because the official website is hardly ever updated and I felt that there were only a few good sites covering the show. After a inspiring meeting with Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick at Comic-Con, I aimed to produce my own site to help promote and generate interest online.

THE VENTURE BROS.
The Venture Bros. is an American animated television series which premiered on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim on February 16, 2003. The series chronicles the adventures of two dopey yet well-meaning teenage boys, Hank and Dean Venture; their emotionally insecure, ethically challenged super-scientist father, Dr. Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture; the family’s bodyguard, secret agent Brock Samson; and the family’s arch-nemesis, The Monarch.

BRANDING
Originally, I wanted to create a mast head logo based on The Venture Bros. Season One typeface. This idea proved to be difficult because this Goonies style typeface did not exist and there were certain height restrictions with the theme. Under a personal deadline, I decided to ditch this concept and run with with Virgo 01, a futuristic typeface similar to that seen on the season three DVD sleeve. Virgo 01 alone might have been too simple, I felt it needed a bit of Venture penanche. Mimicking previous logos, I added a half skull in a shade of blue to accent the logo. I believe this small addition helps fans make the connection between website and show.

I later revisited my original concept and concluded that the original logo concept would not make a very good mast head. Simply, because the logo contained letters of various sizes, heights, and widths. Placing all three words on one line did not work well and looked rather goofy. The concept was not without hope. I still felt that this was the most recognizable logo from the series. And after producing sketch mocks and creating the vector artwork, the logo was used on a set of calling cards, letterheads and stationary items.

THEME
For the site, I used a modified version of Cutline by Chris Pearson on Wordpress. This theme was simple yet elegant and ran in three columns. I knew that this was gonna be an animation site and I didn’t want too many colors competing with each other. So, I opted to leave the site in white. Options within the theme allowed for a rotating image header which I used to showcase a series of background images from the show to further strengthen the identity of the site.

CONTENT
When I first got really excited about this show, I searched the web for news and media about the show and the writers. At the time there was not a whole lot of info out there. Two good sites and bits and pieces from the blogs of Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer. A true believer of the show, I wanted to pull together all available content, produce new articles and my give own commentary. Today, readers can get the latest news and info on the show, view cast details, read episode reviews and chat with other fans online.

SOCIAL MEDIA
From the start I wanted the site to be properly networked on the web. Prominently displayed in the top right of every template is an RSS button so that readers can syndicate my feed. There are ‘Follow Us’ buttons on right side and right column of each page; At the bottom of every entry are social network buttons that allow readers to share what they are reading. Through the site’s Twitter page, I am able to connect with the fans and aggregate related content through a set of saved searches. On Twitter I am able to generate interest in the show, even in the off season.

STATUS QUO
I am pleased to announce that the site continues to receive a strong following. The site’s microblog on Twitter has over a thousand followers. In January, @VentureBrosBlog was nominated Shorty Award for Best Fansite on Twitter. VentureBrosBlog.com, has over 300 entries and logs over 7,500 page views each month.

FUTURE PLANS
For the site, I plan on creating a new template to accommodate more web banner ads on the homepage. I also want to develop a template shell, clear of the two right columns for the forum section and other special pages. In July, I will be covering The Venture Bros. panel at the San Diego Comic-Con, I’m looking to build a gallery for the event. In August, I aim to do a live video chat via Ustream during the season premiere.