Alexis Richoux
A website redesign for a small author
A small author based in Louisiana requested a redesign for her personal website.
Summary
Problem
Alexis reached out to me to redesign her current website for her business as an author. It was a simple, one-page design that she made herself, and wanted something with a more defined aesthetic and additional features.
Solution
I worked one-on-one with Alexis to help her by creating a mood board, style guide, and enhancing the current site layout to something she and her readers would enjoy.
Tools
Figma
Canva
Google Drive
My Role
UX Design Lead
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Team
1 UI/UX Designer
Timeline
3 weeks
Design Process
Introduction
Meet Alexis
Alexis Richoux is an author and developmental editor of horror and dark fiction.
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As a small business owner, she doesn't have many resources to create a website. She used Canva as a no-code solution to create a landing page for herself, so Alexis reached out to me to help her create a professional-looking website so that she could be taken more seriously in the industry.
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I was more than happy to help out. Before I could even think about designing, I wanted to understand who she was as an author and the aesthetic she wanted to present to her audience.
Since this was a more personal website and project, there was no research performed, but a lot of contact with my stakeholder, Alexis.
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Even though I was the designer and had liberty to do whatever I want, I know that I am always in the interest of the business. Every design decision and change were run and approved by her, and in the end, we created something that we were both excited about.
Research
Heuristic Evaluation
Before I could just start designing a new website, I wanted to heuristically evaluate what Alexis currently had for her landing page. As mentioned, it was a one-page design, so there wasn't much to evaluate, but there were some elements that I noticed.
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I wanted to make the "navigation" into a menu bar instead of a hero image. It appears above the fold and when visiting the site, it looks as though the buttons are the only thing available on the entire site. The look of it was very confusing. Alexis also mentioned that she wanted to add an "Events" page that tells where she is doing upcoming book signings and events, as well as display past events.
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The only other note was that she wanted to have a "Coming Soon" sign for her upcoming book.
Prototypes
I started with a lo-fi prototype and set out my initial idea before I ran them by Alexis.
I wanted to use a sidebar menu in this design. It reminded me of opening the pages of a book, and felt like it could give the site a modern feel. It has buttons for the Home, About, Bookshelf, Events, and a Contact button.
I also added a newsletter sign-up in the footer, something that Alexis mentioned she wanted since she has a monthly newsletter.
The bookshelf would be used to display the current titles that Alexis has. Similar to her original design, it has a book description and hyperlinks where to buy.
The about page gives a bio of Alexis and provides a contact CTA.
The events page shows upcoming events that Alexis will be attending.
Stakeholder Notes
I showed the design to Alexis and overall she liked them! There were some things, however, that she wanted to change. The main issue was with the sidebar, she wasn't a fan. And though I was disappointed, I didn't take it personally. If the stakeholder doesn't like the design, then you've got to make changes.
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She provided examples from other artist websites that she liked, and I made notes and implemented them in the design as best I could.
She wasn't exactly in love with this navigation having so many items, but she liked the style more than the sidebar.
Alexis also liked this style for dispalying books in her bookshelf
Alexis liked having a button that linked to reviews of her book in the future.
Iterations
Since the navigation was the main change to the site, this is the main element i reconsidered in the mid-fi prototype. I changed it to a top bar navigation, and got rid of the iconography. I kept the same page system, and added the Contact CTA to the right, next to some social media icons. This style was highly favored by Alexis, and gave me the green light to continue in the design process.
Style Guide
Mood Board
I sat down with Alexis and together we created a mood board to serve as inspiration for the website. Heavily inspired by dark academia and the dark fiction that she writes, she gravitates to dark tones that she wanted to translate into the design.
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Style Guide
From the mood board, we decided on a color palette for the site.
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Deep reds and the color of candle wax and bones are prominent throughout the sight, and provide a great contrast against each other.
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Alexis wanted to incorporate the dark blue green tones as well, so I suggested using it in the buttons and CTA hovers. Though it seems to be out of place, I felt that it contrasts well and calls attention when needed, without taking attention away from the overall design.
Then, we began to discuss typography.
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The display font gives an old academia feel that is still easy to read and ties into the style of the design.
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The body text contrasts well and meet accessibility standards.
Final Prototype
Home
About
Bookshelf
Events
Conclusion
This is the first real-world project, and I definitely gained experience from it. I would constantly check in with my stakeholder and make sure that I ran every design decision by her. Even if I could justify a decision, I made sure that I did was my stakeholder wanted, no matter what. No decision against mine was never personal, and working hand-and-hand with Alexis really kept me in line with her vision.
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In conclusion, this experience really prepared me for other projects, and I can't wait for another opportunity.
"Jacoby was such a joy to work with while designing my website! They took the time to really get to know me and make sure they understand my vision for my business and kept me informed every step of the way. I couldn’t have asked for a better web designer! They’ve got a client for life."
- Alexis Richoux