web design, design system

MADesign websites

Melanie Abrantes is a woodworker, designer, business owner, and creator of Mel’s Carving Club. Her business is growing and her sites are out of date.

THE BRIEF

Website Strategy for a growing brand

Melanie Abrantes wants a website that reflects the maturity and growth of her business.

Melanie needed a new website and branding strategy as her business outgrew the scope of her existing site. She came to me seeking clarity on how to better address her target audience with a more focused, effective website.

I worked closely with her to understand her audience’s needs, values, and expectations, ensuring the new website strategy aligns with what her customers truly want.

Through exercises and analysis, we discovered that her brand lines catered to two very distinct audiences, each with different expectations and needs, while her personal brand had a separate audience altogether.

Based on this, I designed three distinct yet connected websites, each with its own purpose and target audience.

WHERE IT STARTED- THE AUDIT

It takes too much effort for visitors to find what they are looking for

Lack of hierarchy, accessibility, and abundant redundancies.

The existing site showed everyone everything Melanie had worked on in the last 11 years in business. It acted more as a portfolio showcasing her work, rather than what it was, a thriving business with multiple brand lines.

Melanie’s business had grown and changed in 11 years, her website strategy needed to as well.

DEFINING THE USERS, THE BRAND, THE OBJECTIVES

Serving the Right Audiences and Separating Services

Separating her business into three focused brand lines clarifies its purpose and improves the experience for each audience.

Melanie’s original website was trying to do too much, combining her personal brand, product sales, and subscription community in one place.

The Objective - To deliver a simplified & branded web experience for Melanie Abrante’s customers, that allows them to reach their goals - to join Mel’s carving club, join in on an event, buy Mel’s products, buy wholesale, collaborate, and more.

SITE IMPROVEMENTS

Cleaner Layouts, Clearer Paths

Introducing Bottom Navigation and Simplifying the Information Architecture for Better Usability

Melanie’s existing site lacked bottom navigation, causing cluttered top navigation options that overwhelmed visitors and hindered effective navigation. By adding bottom navigation and streamlining the information architecture, the site now offers a cleaner layout and more intuitive user experience

New Layouts, Similar Feeling

Creating a Cohesive Visual Language System for 2 Distinct Brand Lines Across 3 Sites

MelanieAbrantes.com

MelanieAbrantes.shop

Carvingclub.com