Dances with Dragons
Branding • Illustration • Web Design & Architecture
A unique blend of Art Direction, illustration and web management
Areas of focus:
Brand re-style
Website re-architect and re-structure
Refinement of aesthetic
Typography refinements to match the new brand
Selection of stock imagery and iconography to match the new brand aesthetic
Custom illustrations for core areas of the business
Content clean up for design consistencies and user experience
Brand unification & Website overhaul
Through speaking with Aodaoin about her business and her goals for various projects we had our eyes on, it became clear that the websites she had in play had become a bit cumbersome and confusing to the viewer. She was also struggling to get a handle on what the next best steps were for representing her growing business online.
We opted to take a step back and Aodaoin graciously allowed me to spend some time looking at how the website was serving its users and how it could be streamlined and simplified to resolve the issues she was having.
Understanding that she was now bringing two websites under one umbrella we also decided to present a new brand aesthetic for her own personal brand and focus on bringing all the elements of her business under that core area of focus.
A simple new wordmark was presented and dictated the overall cleaner aesthetic of the website.
From here a new colour scheme was implemented and imagery was selected to help support this new design.
Allowing illustration to dictate design
Having worked with Aodaoin already on an intuitive illustration of her vision for what lay ahead for her, I was then able to draw elements from this unique artwork into the overall aesthetic choices for the website. This artwork helped set a colour theme for the website, as well as imagery choices throughout the site.
Iconography & Imagery selection
Imagery can play a big part in the look and feel of a website and how a user responds to it. Knowing that we wouldn’t be able to make custom imagery in the time that the site needed to be made live, we opted for a selection of imagery and stock iconography to suit the overall aesthetic of the website.
These images were chosen to suit and support the website and the client’s needs with the intention of the set of icons being useful both now and in the future.
The icons were then thoughtfully adapted and selected for the relevant areas of content to help bring visual balance to the pages as well as areas of intrigue for the viewer.
The overall effect was one of cohesion, simplicity and quality.
COntinuing the illustrative adventure
Shortly thereafter we were able to proceed with the next custom illustration that Aodaoin felt would be most useful for her business.
Previously she had explored attempting to convey the unique feeling of Dragon Energy through using AI generated artwork but it was proving restrictive and inaccurate for what she wished to represent. I was delighted to therefore be asked to create another intuitive illustration to help connect this energy into her website. She was overjoyed with the end result!
Development of sub-branding elements
After the overarching brand was set, it was then straight-forward to develop the next level of the branding for various elements and facets of Aodaoin’s business. A beautiful logo was created for an important part of her business, with variations crafted to suit her ongoing needs. Colours and fonts were chosen to align with the overarching brand aesthetic and the creative process proceeded smoothly as a result.
Want to see it all in action?
Aodaoin Hathaway
“Working with Jen was an absolute delight from start to finish!
When it’s something as precious as a heart-centred business, you want to work with someone who sees not only the practical aspects but who also honours the energy – Jennifer blended the practical and the mystical with professional skill and beautiful energetic insights throughout the project, and I’m incredibly grateful to have had the chance to experience her support in this way.
She took an unwieldy mess and gave it a new and graceful shape as well as a place to thrive. Her intuitive and practical knowledge on how to weave all the elements together in such a lovely way not only makes for a much more user-friendly experience for site visitors, but also creates an ease for me for any updates or new additions going forward.
It was truly quite magical to see it all come together, especially once the original artwork came into play. I am looking forward to coming back for more commissioned artwork in the coming months.
If you’re thinking about giving your website a glow-up, don’t hesitate, let Jennifer support you – you absolutely will be taking your business to a whole new level.”
If you would like to work with me in this way, blending branding, website design and illustration, please reach out to me for more information.*
*Website designs are offered primarily using the Squarespace platform which I’m most accustomed to and adept at using.