Context
Most blogs are powered by prepackaged solutions. This leads to a sort of standardization of design or at least a standardization in structure if not the actual graphics.
In general blogs consist of one column of date sorted entries alongside a column listing of categories. There is generally a search box, list of archives somewhere on the page. Many blogs use a calendar grid showing when posts where made.
We decided to downplay the dates on our posts. We made a conscious decision to emphasize quality over quantity that meant we would occaisionally let days or even weeks go by with out a post and we felt strongly showing dates would make our blogs look "dead" if you check during one of those inactive times.
Other than that we adopted a fairly conservative set of design standards. The logo at the top links back to the index page. We prominently feature the search box. Categories are always on the right with archives under them. We tried to encourage commenting by prominently highlighting a link to comments directly after each article.