The before and after transformation that took this photographer from discouraged to landing her dream clients
“Every time I look at my website, I just get discouraged!” Jolie explained during our initial consultation. Her dilemma is not uncommon. I’ve talked with many photographers and creatives like Jolie who feel like their website doesn’t accurately reflect the value of their work. In this case study, we’ll explore the brand and website redesign for Jolie Jo, an ambitious young photographer from Texas, and the impact it has had on her business.
Jolie’s struggles and biggest challenges
Like many creative business owners, Jolie struggled with confidence. While she was confident in her abilities as a seniors and wedding photographer, the insecurities crept in when it came to the look and feel of her branding and website. In her own words…
“I feel like my website just doesn’t truly show my work and what I’m capable of. It feels all over the place.” – Jolie
This disconnect was holding her back from attracting and landing her dream clients because her value and unique style wasn’t coming across in her former website. Ultimately, Jolie was struggling with:
- a brand design that didn’t align with her business or position her strategically
- a website that didn’t reflect the value of her work
- no defined journey for prospective clients in her niche
- a lack of growth and confidence to take her business to the next level
The Brand and Website Redesign Process
While the website itself was the biggest thorn in her side, Jolie’s real problem wasn’t actually her website. Rather, it was a lack of clarity, which led to a pieced-together brand identity that no longer resonated with who she was or where she wanted to take her business. As with any rebrand, it’s essential to lay a solid strategic foundation before diving into design. It was time to get a clear vision!
Jolie opted for a Showit website template and matching semi-custom brand kit from my Template Shop. We started our collaboration with a 1:1 strategy call to explore the ins and outs of her brand, website goals, target audience and how best to position her business in a saturated industry. This research helped us define an intentional visual direction that aligned with her strategy.
With this newfound clarity, we designed all the necessary brand assets to keep her business looking cohesive across all touch points. This included her main logo, monogram, color palette, typography style, and more. Only when these essentials were ready and approved did we turn to her website redesign.
A few of the key goals we kept in mind for Jolie’s new website:
- more emphasis on seniors photography, which was missing on her old website
- telling her brand story with more elaborate, connection-focused copy
- designing strong, individual sales pages for her two niches: weddings and seniors
- adding subtle playful elements, like gifs on her About page
- incorporating her new brand style, particularly a warmer color palette that matched the energy of her brand
You can watch an in-depth look at this entire process in the video below.
The transformation
Within one week, Jolie was ready to launch her new brand and website to the world! Now she has a brand identity that truly aligns with what Jolie Jo Photography stands for: an authentic, elevated experience with a touch of fun!
Establishing the right color palette was particularly important for Jolie’s brand. Her previous colors were rather cool and didn’t communicate the light-hearted experience of working with Jolie. By weaving the new, warmer color palette throughout the site, her brand suddenly became more approachable, confident, and consistent.
“Carrie was nothing short of exceptional. She somehow took everything I was envisioning and made it 10x better! My booking rate is up and new clients are telling me how they kept coming back to my website!” -Jolie
Curious if a brand or website redesign will give you the boost your business needs?
The first sign that your brand needs a redesign is typically the cringe factor. If you’ve experienced it, you know exactly what I mean – that reluctance to send prospects to your website or constantly changing fonts and colors because it doesn’t quite feel right yet. This all comes down to a lack of clarity.
So if you are ready for a strategic plan and a renewed confidence about your brand, head over to the Template Shop or fill out the contact form to book a discovery call.
