Theme Inspiration

I thought it might be a good idea to try and see what themes are out there. I want to try and find some inspiration and get an idea of what I could possibly use as a platform to jump from. it is quite a specific type of site that isn't really that popular I wouldn't of thought. There aren't many events or conferences that start up and need a site through Wordpress. They are in quite a niche in the market. So I wasn't really expecting much from my searches. And as I predicted the default Wordpress theme search returned some pretty pitiful results:

They're all fairly amateurish and uninspiring. I wouldn't choose to use one of these themes. I think I would rather adapt a nicer designed theme to work as an event site. The overall colours used, composition and feeling comes off a little tacky and cheap (which is to be excepted really).

So, let's move onto themeforest. This is a premium service with thousands of themes in it's database and so I was expecting something better from them. And I must say they have quite a good selection:

Source: http://themeforest.net/category/wordpress?term=event&utf8=✓

The more eagle eyed amongst you might have noticed that there are 246 results within the Wordpress search criteria. That is impressive. Furthermore, all the designs I have looked at have been pretty well designed. They all looked visually engaging and have potential. These are some of the ones that caught my eye.

Event Me:

Source: http://demo.ovatheme.com/eventme/

This theme is really modern and sharp. I like the bright colours and the layout of all the elements. It is a sleek, simple, professional layout that retains interest and vibrancy. 

Events:

Source: http://www.gavick.com/demo/wordpress/events/

This design works for many of the same reasons the first one works. I think that it has a little less about it than the first which lets it down a small amount. It is a bit more corporate and bland. There are bright colours but they remind me of a tie pin or a pocket square in a OK fitting suit. It's all a little controlled and subdued I think although, still it presents a lot of potential for my project and overall it is a good template.

There are more like this in a similar vein but these ones stood out to me. Doing this research has actually made me consider purchasing a theme from theme forest. The extras you can get can actually be worthwhile.