Dorothy DeLong Portfolio Showcase Website
Date
December 2023
Project Type
Website Redesign
Contribution
UX Research, UX Design, UI Design
Dorothy Delong's Portfolio Website is a professionally designed platform that showcases her work as a feminist photographer. The website highlights her unique visual storytelling and provides a branded online presence to connect her with museums, publications, and potential clients.
A one-page scrollable photography portfolio website
Dorothy Delong is a contemporary intersectional feminist photographer who travels the U.S. documenting the female experience, the fight for women’s rights, and the variety of challenges that women face.As she and her work have become more visible, she has recognized the need for a professionally branded online presence to market herself to publications and arts venues.
Problem
Dorothy DeLong is a talented photographer that travels around the globe documenting powerful and courageous women and capturing the most amazing shots in the process. She shares her photos across social media but wants to be featured in more museums and magazines. At the end of the project, Dorothy will have a web design to showcase her work and all future projects as she builds her portfolio. The site must be appealing enough for the clients she is interested in; museums and magazines.So I developed this problem statement “How might we get museums and magazines to reach out to Dorothy?” as the focus of this project.
Solution
To achieve the goal of attracting museums and magazines, the website will be designed to elevate Dorothy’s work and communicate her unique storytelling through photography. The design will focus on showcasing her most powerful images in a clean, gallery-style layout, highlighting her expertise and artistic vision. To further appeal to curators and editors, the site will include curated portfolios, testimonials, and press coverage to build credibility. Additionally, seamless navigation, interactive features, and compelling calls-to-action will encourage direct inquiries, making it easy for industry professionals to reach out for collaborations.
Research and Client-Centered Strategy Development
When beginning research for this website, I looked at multiple other photographers in an effort to do some competitive research. I identified other photographers working in the same specialty of feminist activism and studied strategic placement and design methodologies that represented similar artists.To establish and prioritize Dorothy’s goals for her portfolio website, I used a questionnaire to identify her target audience and their needs. I wanted to identify not only the essence of her personal brand but also the needs of the clients she wanted to target.
Key Takeaways
Based on competitive analysis, over 50% of Dorothy’s competitors use minimal color schemes, primarily black and white. By incorporating a distinct color palette, Dorothy’s portfolio can stand out visually while maintaining a professional tone.
Research shows that Dorothy’s target clients, including museums and magazines, prefer websites with simple navigation, where 70% prioritize easy access to contact information. The design must ensure contact details are prominently displayed for quick access.
The website will focus on showcasing Dorothy’s artist statement, a personal photo, and her best work. These key elements will help communicate her unique brand, with 80% of potential clients favoring portfolios that present both professional work and personal identity.
Since Dorothy has an established social media presence, integrating her platforms into the website will increase her personal brand visibility. Studies show 65% of users are more likely to engage with portfolios linked to active social media accounts.
Research indicates that over 60% of target clients appreciate a streamlined user experience, where key information is easily accessible without excessive scrolling. The design will ensure quick access to Dorothy’s portfolio, contact, and artist details, minimizing user frustration and enhancing engagement.
With over 55% of users accessing websites through mobile devices, optimizing Dorothy’s website for mobile viewing is critical. The site will be fully responsive, ensuring a seamless experience across all devices, helping her reach a broader audience and improve accessibility.
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Site Layout and Navigation
The website is structured as a single-page, scrollable design to provide a seamless user experience. The navigation bar remains fixed at the top, allowing users to quickly access key sections: Portfolio, Designs, About, and Contact. Each section is designed to flow naturally, guiding visitors through Dorothy's work and background.
Portfolio – This section showcases Dorothy’s best work, with high-quality images displayed in a clean, gallery-style layout. Users can scroll through featured projects, each highlighted to reflect her unique storytelling style.
Designs – This section highlights additional design elements and projects beyond photography. It features a curated selection of works that reflect her versatility.
About – Here, a personal statement from Dorothy is paired with a photograph of her, offering a glimpse into her creative vision. This section also outlines her experience, emphasizing her global travels and dedication to capturing powerful female figures.
Contact – A contact form and prominent call-to-action buttons make it easy for museums and magazines to reach out. The footer also includes social media links to reinforce her established online presence.
The Mobile First mindset is a responsive design approach that starts with prioritizing content and then maximizing the space on the screen. To maximize space, one option would be to use a collapsed menu icon for the navigation menu. Design work starts out low fidelity, meaning the initial hand-drawn sketches contain very little detail, and are simply to organize the order of content into a basic skeleton of what the site might look like. With consideration of the goals and parameters, I could determine what information should be most prominent and what would be less emphasized.
The digital wireframes began as low fidelity structures from the sketch. Using a method to help neatly align the content and elements for a visually appealing layout, I applied a twelve-column grid system to my design for positioning and alignment of content within that framework. After examining some common design layouts, I decided to go with the Featured Image style of layout. This way, Dorothy’s work would be front and center right from the start for a compelling introduction, emphasizing her photography. I would include her logo and full name at the top for instant branding and identity, as well as her Artist’s Statement in the top header section as prioritized content about her.
After analyzing Dorothy’s competitors, I found that over half use minimal color, with most opting for a black-and-white website design. Additionally, museums and magazines—Dorothy’s target audience—prefer a straightforward way to get in contact, without navigating through complex pages.
To make Dorothy’s work stand out, I incorporated key elements such as her artist’s statement, a professional photo, her best work, and easily accessible contact information. Given her strong social media presence, we can further leverage that to showcase and strengthen her personal brand.
My Solution
Dorothy’s biggest advantage over her competitors is the accessibility of her contact information. To highlight this, I included a direct link to her contact details in both the navigation bar and footer, ensuring it's easy for users to find. I also placed social media icons prominently in the footer to leverage her strong online presence.
To differentiate her from competitors who primarily use black-and-white designs, I incorporated colors that complement her artwork. Additionally, I designed a flexible portfolio layout that showcases her strongest work, allowing her to easily update or modify projects as needed in the future.
Feedback & Iteration
So far I’ve performed research to determine site goals, brainstormed ideas, created wireframes, and built a design comp. At this stage in the iteration cycle it’s best to get feedback from others invested in the design, like the client, customer, a project stakeholder, or potential site users before launching. Then interpret the feedback for understanding, and implement any relevant changes or necessary revisions based on the feedback that aligns with the project goals.To make sure the original objectives were met and to ensure the success of the site, I presented the project to gather information for feedback to help determine whether more iteration was needed.
Final Design
