Hi everyone! This week, we’re back with another peer review. We’ll be looking at Lydie’s blog: Lydie’s Bakery. In her blog, Lydie shares recipes and photos of different desserts that she’s made. In this review, I’ll be focusing on marketability, but will discuss other aspects of the site as well.
First off, I want to give a big congratulations on your last semester at SFU, wishing you all the best!
Overall, Lydie’s blog has great marketability. It has a clear identity, great design, and makes an intimidating topic approachable to all! It is a perfect example of a digital garden: A space “that delights the senses, designed for delight rather than commodity” (Bernstein, 1998 as cited in Basu, 2020). As part of the audience, I can tell that Lydie has put a lot of effort and consideration into her own digital garden.
There is a clear aesthetic present. It has a welcoming pastel yellow theme. It emulates friendliness and comfort. If I were to compare it to something else, I would say that it is similar to sunlight. I would almost describe it as cottagecore-adjacent, with its bright and warm vibes! The specific aesthetic could be attractive to other people who have an interest in baking or people who like the home-y cottagecore vibes. The typography also adds to the aesthetic. The serif font almost makes it feel like a recipe book.
It is also a very put-together blog. The photos do a really great job of pulling everything together! I truly thought that they might have been stock images at first because of how clear the quality is and how well they match the overall blog aesthetic. They add a great balance to her website. The reader is not bombarded by too much text or blank space. To increase her reach of her blog, I think that the photos would fit perfectly on social media platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram, but especially Pinterest. My favourite photo is probably the second one in the Banana Walnut Bread post. I love the colours, the plate, the composition, just everything about it. This is definitely something that you’d find on one of my Pinterest boards!
I also think that her blogs make all the recipes approachable. Baking can be a very intimidating activity, especially if you’re trying something new. Lydie welcomes and encourages all readers to try the recipes. I like how in her post about cinnamon rolls, she includes tips, like how to help the dough proof better. This makes her site accessible to those who do not bake regularly.
The one critique I have for Lydie’s blog, is that it lacks her distinct voice. I think that adding more personal touches within the posts, like including her experiences with the recipe/food item, could attract a different demographic and help it stand out more.
But overall, it’s a great site that offers comfort through baking in a cozy little corner of the internet!
References:
Basu, T. (2020, September 3). Digital Gardens let you cultivate your own little bit of the internet. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/