Case Study: Website Redesign for a Local Artist
My younger sister, Julia Solazzo, is an incredibly talented impressionist painter. While we both took art classes growing up, Julia pursued her passion at another level, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in Fine Art and her Master of Fine Arts Degree from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Her work spans the globe, capturing scenes from her travels to Costa Rica, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, and all over California.
She has built her brand, Julia Solazzo Art, and as her brand and gallery grew, she faced a challenge: it was difficult to show her work online. While emailing images of her paintings to potential clients was possible, it was tedious and took time away from her painting. Her old website, built over a decade ago, lacked a gallery to showcase her work, was outdated, and didn’t provide the information she needed to connect with shows or clients.
We collaborated to create Julia Solazzo Art a modern website that beautifully showcases her talent and extensive portfolio.
(Read the full case study here.)
The Challenge
Her previous website, built in Shopify in the 2010s, was no longer meeting her needs. The gallery was outdated and difficult to update, the site wasn’t mobile-friendly, and navigation was confusing, making it difficult for visitors to explore her work.
Her top priorities included:
The ability to add new artwork as she completed it
A website that was easy to update on her own
A modern, visually appealing site that reflected her artwork
Pages to highlight upcoming and past art shows, as well as her commissions
Her biggest pain point was the inability to quickly add new pieces, something she wanted to fix immediately.
The Process
We began by understanding Julia’s goals and target audience. This informed the project’s design direction and ensured the final website aligned with her vision.
Before designing, we organized her gallery. After evaluating options, we chose Artwork Archive, a platform that helps artists manage their artwork or collections. Using Artwork Archive, we were able to upload all of her paintings with the necessary information like title, date created, medium, price, and location of the piece. We were also able to categorize her paintings into collections such as Landscape, Seascape, Portraits, Architectural, Floral, Marine Life, and more. The system allows clients to browse specific categories and lets the artist easily track where each piece is, whether on loan to a gallery or art show or sold and in a client’s home.
Artwork Archive integrated seamlessly with Squarespace, allowing us to build a clean, modern website with her artwork as the focus. Key features included:
Interactive Portfolio: High-resolution images that automatically update as Artwork Archive is updated.
Collections Pages: A dropdown of separate pages for each category to make browsing easier.
About Page: A page for visitors to learn about the artist.
Art Shows Page: Displaying upcoming and past art shows
Commissions Page: Informing potential clients about custom paintings
Contact Page: Helping visitors get in touch with contact information and a form
To ensure a seamless user experience, we optimized the page load speed, SEO, and responsive design to ensure a smooth experience on all devices. Throughout the process, Julia provided feedback at every stage, resulting in a final product that exceeded her expectations.
The Results
The redesigned website was a game-changer for Julia Solazzo Art. We achieved:
Increase in Website Traffic: Improved design and SEO optimization attracted more visitors.
Boost in Client Inquiries: Streamlined navigation and clear CTAs made it easier for potential clients to get in touch.
Enhanced User Experience: Visitors could now explore the portfolio effortlessly on any device.
More importantly, the new website provides a well-organized platform that reflects Julia’s artistry and professionalism.
Ready to Elevate Your Art Online?
If you are a local artist looking to build or update your website, we can help you create a platform that showcases your work, attracts more clients, and saves you time to focus on your art. Contact us today to get started.