Pixieset Web Builder2018-2019
Pixieset is an all-in-one platform for modern photographers, offering photo client galleries, websites, online stores and studio management software tools.
- My Role
- UX/UI Designer
- Duration
- 8 months
- Project Type
- Web Builder
- UX/UI
- Design Systems
- Theme Design
Background
Many photographers struggle to create a professional online presence due to a lack of technical expertise or access to high-quality web design tools. While they need a platform to showcase their work beautifully, existing solutions are often either too rigid or too complex. Without an intuitive yet powerful website builder and a cohesive array of themes, photographers may end up with sites that feel generic, difficult to customize, or not reflective of their unique style. The challenge was to bridge this gap by designing a system that balances creative flexibility with ease of use, empowering photographers to build stunning, personalized websites without frustration.
Problem Statement
Photographers often lack the resources to create professional-grade websites that effectively showcase their portfolios. The challenge was to design a versatile and visually cohesive system of website themes while maintaining user-friendliness and customization capabilities.
Goals
The goal of this project was to design an intuitive and flexible website builder that empowers photographers to create portfolio sites with ease that provide professional aesthetics, and functional flexibility to cater to photographers with varying technical proficiencies and creative needs.This involved addressing common usability challenges, ensuring a balance between customization and simplicity, and applying core UX principles to enhance both the design and user experience.
Competitive Benchmarking
During our competitor analysis, we identified that many website builders either lacked the necessary tools for photographers or provided too much customization without guidance, leading to inconsistent and overwhelming design choices. Our goal was to create a website builder that balanced creative flexibility with structure, ensuring that photographers could easily create professional, visually stunning websites without needing extensive design or technical expertise.
- Website builders can be complicated and involve learning how to use a completely new tool.
- Since Pixieset is specifically designed for photographers, it has a more niche focus and ideal design options compared to general website builders.
- Photographers need a platform with easy-to-use customization tools, mobile responsiveness, and design themes that allow them to showcase their unique creative work.
Sketches & Wireframes
A lot of web builders are crowded with confusing systems that need to be learned from scratch. We wanted to Pixieset web builder to be easy for anyone to pick up and use straight out of the gate.
The ability to choose a theme as well as the system to add new blocks and ability to adjust and personalize the designs (everything from typography styles, colour palettes and animations) were very important to the overall user experience of the Pixieset web builder.
Interaction Design
In terms of choosing a theme, as well as being able to adjust the blocks within the content builder, I knew that instead of presenting the user with a blank slate, it would make more sense to show them how to use the builder by having them start out with an already polished and beautiful website. They could simply edit and change the copy and images to their own, or they could dive in and really get granular in adjusting the different kinds of content blocks.
The Add Block system needed to be very clear as well, the user needed to be able to see and understand what each block’s appearance and functionality was at a small size.
And the ability to choose an existing design as well as being able to adjust the design to suit each individual’s preferences was also up in terms of importance. The web builder comes with many preset options but also has several opportunities for the user to personalize the presets.
Themes & Content Builder
Every photographer’s style is unique, and their website should reflect that. The Pixieset website builder was built to offer a collection of beautifully designed themes, each crafted with distinct colour palettes, typography, button styles, and layout structures to suit different creative visions. Whether a photographer preferred a clean and minimal grid, a bold split-screen layout, or a classic single-column showcase, the themes provided a polished foundation that would be both visually stunning and easy to customize.
Rather than starting with a blank slate, users can begin with a fully designed, professional-looking site that they would be able to personalize easily. the idea was that with the content builder, photographers would be able to swap images, update text, and fine-tune layouts to match their brand - or dive deeper into customization with the Add Block system, which would allow them to insert, rearrange, and tweak different content elements with ease. Each block was designed to be intuitive, making it simple to understand how a section would function even at a small scale.
The combination of preset themes and flexible content blocks ensured that photographers would have both creative guidance and the freedom to tailor their sites to their needs. Whether they wanted a highly structured, editorial-style portfolio or a more organic, free-flowing design, Pixieset’s web builder was built to adapt to their vision - allowing them to create a professional and personalized website without frustration.
Consistency & Flexibility
We ensured that while users had the freedom to customize layouts, there was a cohesive design language across themes, maintaining uniform typography, button styles, and colour schemes.
Responsive Design
We developed themes that seamlessly adapt to various screen sizes, ensuring a consistent and engaging user experience on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.
Themes & Layouts
We designed multiple unique layouts to cater to a broad spectrum of user preferences, enabling photographers to select styles that best represent their brand and aesthetic.
Final Solution
The culmination of our efforts is a robust website builder that empowers photographers to create personalized, professional websites with ease. The platform offers a variety of customization options, including SEO optimization, analytics, and an online store/gallery, allowing users to tailor their sites to their specific needs.
Photographers utilizing the Pixieset website builder have experienced streamlined workflows, integrating various aspects of their business—from website creation to client management—into a single platform. This consolidation has led to increased efficiency and a more cohesive online presence.
Reflection
This project reinforced the importance of responsive design and the need for balancing customization with consistency. Given more time and resources, I would have advocated for direct involvement in usability testing and iterative design processes to gather firsthand user feedback and refine the product accordingly.
