Over the past few months I’ve been working with a web developer, Amy at Juxxe Development, to create a new website for my art and illustration. The original website was something I attempted to design on my own – but it was not satisfactory! I didn’t feel like it was really reflecting my work or my personal mission.
The Old Website
Even though I’m a designer and illustrator at an ad agency by day, I’m not a web developer. The old site was basically just a Blogspot blog with lots of posts and pages (it’s still up if anyone wants to see it! www.nicoletadgell.blogspot.com). I used it to post my work, thoughts, and photos from my adventures.
I even used it myself when I needed to send someone my biography or something about a particular book – it was simple to link to or copy from there. But it just didn’t have that wow factor that I wanted. I didn’t feel great sharing it.
Specifically, I wanted to have the site to be more accessible to my fans: easy to navigate, easy to find my books, easy to find my portfolio – just easy for an individual to find whatever it was they were looking for. I also wanted my website to be a mirror of my own work.
The WIX WEBSITE
I worked with a coworker at the ad agency to come up with the Wix site (seen here) and the designer did a nice job, and it was what I asked for – something like an easy template that I could fill the remaining items in myself.
Unfortunately, that proved to be far too much as well! I fell further behind, and remained frustrated. What I needed was a developer who could go beyond what I asked for and anticipate and interpret what I truly needed.
I needed someone who wore more hats than a designer or developer. Someone who was also a marketer, promoter, and who could see the big picture.
The NEW WEBSITE
It turned out that Amy was that someone! The new website does all of that! It’s easier to navigate and find information. You can see inner artwork from the books I worked on in an organized way.
And all of the design elements on the new website were made by me! Amy created a concept using stock assets, but she assigned me deadlines to get her a series of washes and splatters she could use in place of the stock images.
The freedom of having someone else create a website on my behalf was incredible!
It’s my hope that with this new website and partnership with Amy and Juxxe I can consistently reach an audience, engage, and share books, coloring pages, fun events, and projects with kids. I really want to promote reading, learning, and all kinds of good growth!
I hope it can be a platform for my fellow colleagues and children’s book creators as well! I strongly feel that it is important that we support one another. It is important that we expand our horizons. I firmly believe that it is an unending exploration and widening of our experiences.
I also love my new domain name: www.nicoletadgell.art!
