The Illustrated

Role: UX Designer, Researcher, and Front-End Developer

Tools: Adobe XD, HTML, CSS, JavaScript

Duration: August 2023 - Present

Background

The Illustrated, a local band, needed a clean, user-friendly website to promote their music and engage with fans. I led the project from concept to launch, handling the design, research, development, and testing.

We began with a kickoff meeting to align on visual inspiration, required features, and timelines. The band wanted a site that reflected their artistic identity while providing key functionalities such as:

• An About page to introduce the band
• A Music page that showcases recent releases with links to Spotify
• A dynamic Show Schedule page
• A Media Gallery with photos and embedded YouTube videos
• A Blog to share updates and behind-the-scenes content

Design Decisions

Based on the initial meeting, I created several wireframes exploring various layout options and aesthetic directions. These were A/B tested with the band and a few target users to gather feedback on usability and appeal.

Key decisions included:

• A minimal layout to let album artwork and photography stand out
• A clean navigation bar for ease of access to music, tour dates, and image gallery
• Responsive design for mobile-friendly browsing

Once the final design was approved, I developed the site using semantic HTML and custom CSS to maintain performance and clean structure.

Results

• Fully custom, mobile responsive band website
• Increased the band's engagement by giving fans a centralized location to find all information about the band
• Positive feedback from the band and fans on the aesthetic and usability

This project showcased my ability to deliver a user-centered design while independently managing both the creative and technical aspects of a live website. View the live site below: