This year I finally got to meet Kubrick designer Michael Heilemann. Kubrick is the theme that became the default theme for WordPress forever to be known as Default. Dork that I am I got my picture taken with him. My first WordPress celebrity fanboy moment. I’m a theme designer, it happens.
While in San Francisco for An Event Apart I decided to get my picture taken with friend and colleague Matías Ventura. He and I designed the Duster theme that wound up becoming Twenty Eleven, the WordPress theme for 2011. This is us.

At that moment I realized I need to have my photo taken with all the WordPress default theme designers. Like a collection. I get to travel the world for work. I love WordPress. And themes. I’m a dork. It fits.
Time to make a list!
- Matt Mullenweg, WordPress co-founder, founder of Automattic, where I work — this one shouldn’t be too hard. 🙂 He did the “Default WordPress” that was “just a basic layout, with only the bare minimum defined” for WordPress 0.71.
- Dave Shea, designer of the Classic theme. This one will probably be the hardest. I don’t know Dave at all. He will likely think I’m crazy if/when I ever approach him about this.
Michael Heilemann, designer of the Kubrick theme. Done.- Me and Matt Thomas. Back in 2010 I got excited about the idea of a new default theme and came up with Kirby. Matt took it and made it look beautiful as Twenty Ten. This one should also be easy. I have the pleasure of working with him at Automattic. There’s probably a picture somewhere of both of us in the frame but I want to get one with he and I posing.
Matías and I. Boom. Done.- Drew Strojny, designer of Twenty Twelve. This one shouldn’t be too hard either. I’m sure to run into Drew sooner or later at a WordCamp or event. The only hard part will be getting the two of us into a frame. He’s super-tall.
And then next year, Twenty Thirteen. And so on for as long as I can keep it up. Should be fun. Dorky WordPress theme nerd fun. 🙂
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