This page tracks the history of WordPress theme designs in the Halsey Themes library. Detailed information regarding the inspiration, design, and technical implementation of these themes is available in the linked resources within the date matrix. Potential future theme concepts are also documented at the bottom of this page.
Work on other themes for clients or other sites is generally excluded from this page. Work on bundled WordPress themes (Twenty Thirteen through Twenty Seventeen) is also worth mentioning, but excluded from detailed record-keeping. The focus is on themes that are (or were) (intended to be) original designs published for general use on WordPress sites.
Current & Past Themes
| Theme Name & Type | Design Concept | Initial Development | First Published | Latest Major Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Showcase Archive | August, 2013 | August, 2013 | N/A | Summer, 2018 (removed from service) |
| Figure/Ground Blog | September, 2013 | September, 2013 | June, 2014 | February, 2019 (2.0 redesign) |
| Arbutus Photography | July, 2014 | August, 2015 | January, 2017 | July, 2020 (1.1.4) |
| Linework Creative Business | June, 2016 | August, 2016 | January, 2017 | February, 2020 (1.1.3) |
| Dynamic Seventeen Business | September, 2016 (technical concept) | December, 2016 (reusable implementation) | December, 2016 | April, 2017 (1.1.3) |
| Classic Artisan Creative Business | September, 2016 (“Cooper”) | December, 2016 | January, 2017 | August, 2020 (1.2.1) |
| Visualize Photography & Mixed-media | January, 2017 | January, 2017 | February, 2017 | September, 2019 (1.1.4) |
| Fraxinus Portfolio | August, 2017 | October, 2018 | N/A | N/A |
Screenshot Progression
These are the original (and major-update) screenshots published with each theme, offering a visual representation of the evolving theme design aesthetic.
Simple Showcase in its original iteration on the USC ASCE Concrete Canoe team showcase. Later updates unified the design while maintaining the layered-image aesthetic and the general colors and layout. This theme was never published for general use and is no longer in use. 
Figure/Ground version 1.0 shipped with this screenshot on WordPress.org. It was the first theme in this library to be published, and also the first to undergo a major redesign. 
The Lucidus (later renamed Arbutus) theme screenshot features the home page custom header view, offering an introduction to its immersive image-forward design. 
The Linework theme screenshot depicts the theme’s usage on the Halsey.co index site. 
Dynamic Seventeen closely resembles its parent theme, Twenty Seventeen. This screenshot hints at the incredible functionality offered by the dynamic child theme, with a taxonomy, term description, and recent posts in the term displayed under the branch of a dynamic oak tree. 
Classic Artisan is used here on Halsey Themes, shown at double-depth here in its screenshot. 
The original screenshot for Visualize featured an architectural rendering accompanied by a brief narrative that is available on the Visualize website. 
The Fraxinus portfolio theme reflects an increasingly-minimal interpretation of the “minimal” theme aesthetic in the context of an image-oriented portfolio theme. 
Version 2.0 of the Figure/Ground theme brought a new default interpretation of the figure/ground graphic, warranting a new screenshot. After five years of changing trends, this new image offers a modernized and refined interpretation of what is fundamentally the same design. An architectural design post takes the place of a short-form image post format, with minor content adjustments in the header contributing to the refreshed look.
(Potential) Future Themes
| Design Concept | Concept Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Theme & Variations Blog | July, 2018 | Highly-minimal blog theme with “dot-dash-dot” theme and variations full-screen canvases before each post. |
| Biography Personal / Portfolio | TBD | One or more themes tailored to personal sites with semi-professional portfolios. |
| Datum Analysis Blog | November, 2016 | Horizontal datum for header and footer with vertically-offset “meta” boxes. Vertical datum with horizontally-offset post “boxes” in archive views (offset blocks by heading group in single views). |
| Listen Audio Publishing | TBD | An audio-oriented (audio-first?) theme for musicians, podcasters, and other audio publishers. May depend on future technology. |