The year is 2020, and business websites are more important than EVER. Especially for a business that works remotely with couples all over the country and world.
The website is a business’ face out in the world. And it’s worth putting some serious time and energy into it to make it right.
Translating the Brand to Web
My first priority when planning out a website is figuring out how to translate the brand to an online, living platform.
That goes beyond logos, fonts, and colors. The brand also includes your message, your mission, your voice, and what you want your audience to think, feel, and do when they interact with you.
For Caitlin O’Bryant Design, that meant my tip-top priority was creating a clean, warm, and welcoming environment for couples—a place that felt intuitive and easy, and that made them feel understood.
Layout
Visually, I felt I could best communicate that with large photos alongside small, easy to read, pathos-focused text. As the user delved further into the website, text could become a bit more detailed and technical.
I chose to do a 50/50 screen split on the majority of pages, allowing a full-bleed parallax image to capture their attention and show visual style and design expertise, then use the other half to relate to them with copywriting.
This split screen is also practical, because it lends itself to readable text! Studies show that audiences will read and absorb more information with shorter line lengths, which the 50/50 split naturally builds in.
Because I wanted images in the split to reach to the edges of the page and include a parallax effect, the layout required some custom coding, but thankfully I was able to dust off the skills I learned from a coding class in college and put them to good use.
Photography
As a creative, communicating your work through photos is crucial to lead generation and booking clients. You have to be able to show the quality and style of your work well (and communicate what you stand for and value, too).
While I do feature some photos from past projects with professional photographers, I found that in order to get the look and feel I really want, I had to take some of my own photos, too.
The photography I feature on my website can be divided into four categories: 1) real weddings and events with photos from professional photographers, 2) portfolio photos of invitation suites I take myself, 3) brand flat lay photography I take myself, and 4) brand headshots taken by a professional photographer.
Each category has its own purpose: to make couples feel understood and inspired, to show the quality and style of my work, and to tell the audience a bit about my personality and values.
Real Weddings and Events
Photo by Katie Ann Hernandez
Photo by Emily Kirsten Photography
Photo by Lolo Orji Photography
Portfolio Photos
Brand Flat Lay Photography
Brand Headshots
Photo by Emily Kirsten Photography
Photo by Emily Kirsten Photography
Photo by Emily Kirsten Photography
Copywriting
One of my big projects of 2020 was revamping all the copy on my website. I invested in a copywriting course and got to work, digging into my business’ values, the client journey, and voice. Then, I redesigned each webpage, guiding the reader through from introduction to lead generation.
The result was reader-centric and conversion-focused copy that attracts my ideal clients and gets them in the door.
The Full Website
Below is a preview of the custom stationery page in action. You can view the full, live website at www.caitlinobryantdesign.com.
Other Work for Caitlin O’Bryant Design
The website is just a small sliver of the design work that goes into a creative small business. I’ve included some of the pieces I’ve designed for Caitlin O’Bryant Design on the other portfolio pages below.
