Make & Mind

Make & Mind was a pilot project offering art classes infused with nature and mindfulness to people looking to find some calm in their lives. Its founder Vicky came to me with a loyal following and glowing reviews, but their existing website didn't seem to reflect any of that. It felt small in the wrong way, more "yeah, nice idea" than something you'd pay for or tell your friends about.

But how do you make a purposely small, creative and intentional business feel like a million bucks without losing the thing that makes it special? How do you set it apart from the dozens of "wine and paint" nights nearby?

Finding a sweet spot

The project started with an intensive research phase. I looked at how other workshop businesses around the country present themselves online, from community art groups, to pottery studios, and even wellness or fitness spaces, more broadly. Website-wise, most of them blend together, they go for cookie-cutter templates, loads of stock imagery, and vague promises about "unleashing your creativity."

Make & Mind needed to feel different because it is different. What's on offer aren't drop-in painting nights with free prosecco, but structured short courses and events built around wellbeing, being in conversation with nature, and connection. Crafting is the vehicle rather than the destination, and the website had to communicate that pretty early on.

Designing within constraints

There was very little existing copy to work with, let alone any brand guidelines. So I spent time in conversation with the founder to understand what her workshops involve and how they're received by those who attend them. From there the brand voice became clearer and easier to define: warm and honest but not precious.

The design had to solve another practical problem. There wasn't a library of professional photography to pull from, and the business runs on one person's time and energy—so every decision was shaped by those constraints. I used a dithering technique on the available imagery, reducing photos to a stylised pixel palette that ties directly into the brand colours. What could have felt like a limitation became a deliberate aesthetic choice.

Built in Framer, the CMS was kept simple enough for the founder to update on her own. That meant no blog to maintain or complex content structures but a clear system for adding and managing events and courses.

The result is a website and the foundations of a brand identity that strike just the right balance between being inspiring and credible. Combined, these elements give Make & Mind the online presence of a brand with ten times the budget and reach, and allow its attendees to finally witness the same level of craftsmanship in person that they see online.

Although this project never saw the light of day, you can see the final result in action here.

Deliverables

• Refreshed brand identity
• Strategic consultations
• Positioning analysis
• Copywriting
• Homepage, Index of workshops, and CMS event template
• Local SEO-specific page
• Framer CMS setup
• Ready to ship website