I am thrilled today to be able to share you my new online home: justinablakeney.com and my process in the designing of the new site. I have long since wanted to create a ‘portal’ site–a place to access everything about my work under one roof–but I wanted it to be jungalicious, to stand out from the gazillion of portfolio and portal sites out there–and (perhaps most importantly) I wanted it to feel like home. I spent many months soul searching and many days looking through blogs, books and Pinterest for inspiration.
I was very inspired by Saul Steinberg. I love how his work is always playful–but also really stylish. There is also a timelessness to his drawings that I wanted for my site as well. I knew from the beginning that I wanted the site to have a more muted color palette, and a line-drawing feel so that the illustrations wouldn’t visually overpower the content–I spent a whole weekend sketching. You can see the progression in these sketches:
Until I got to the final sketch:
And from here, I pretty much designed the interior pages keeping things as simple as possible and handed it over to my amazing developers, who built this thing for me — and for you geeks out there–the best part is that they built this for me with a CMS so I can swap things out without having to code anything at all. Sweet relief. It feels great to finally have everything under one roof.
I leave for Portland and the Bay Area at the crack of tomorrow with Dabito. We will be shooting four homes in the next four days for the new book. (Follow along behind the scenes here). It’s the first time I’m leaving Ida for more than a day and I’m a bit nervous…Wish me luck– and I hope you enjoy hanging out in my new house.
Christin Ciaccio Briggs says
Love, love, LOVE! This is so creative and such a perfect reflection of your style, which I feel is often so challenging as an artist when designing a website. I loved “peeking” in all of your windows! Which, btw, is a brilliant way to showcase the many different sections of your site in a fun & organized way- it’s such a clever way to present your content without overwhelming the viewer. Surely you’re gonna win some kind of website design award for this! :)
Carole Poirot says
This is so fun, creative and very much you – well, from what I know. I love the final sketch and how you arrived at it, it’s an interesting process.
Good luck with the job and leaving Ida for the first time. I know from experience that it’s not easy when it’s the first time, but it does become less scary over time :-)
Monique Daniels says
Congratulations babe. The site looks great. Love your style. Hate leaving my babies too (tear). Much respect and love. You’re awesome.
Maureen says
Wow, so nice! I love the new theme. I also like how you put the rooftop on the blog to tie it in.
jaime @laviejaime says
this is adorable and so you! congrats
Canitha Raynor says
Hey Justina,
I wanted to reach out to you for maybe a little advise. i follow you on Pinterest and love your adventure of life. I graduated from the Interior Design program at FSU years ago and have a five year plan to open my own business here in Jacksonville,FL. One of my first steps is to start a website/ blog with freelance work etc..however with my creative mind loving all the different options out there how did you decide your approach?
Justina Blakeney says
I didn’t over think it. I had an idea I liked and I just went for it. Sometimes you’ve just gotta dive in!
Dana says
Beautiful! It is very, very you! I’m working on redesigning my own website as well, and I loved the peek at your process. :)
head in the sun says
It looks freakin’ awesome!
Emily Kisa says
Wonderful design! Leaving the babies makes me nervous too! Harder on you than her probably. Safe travel
Gwendolyn says
Congrats! It looks amazing xo
Jen Harr says
the most RAD website ever! excited for you and your travels for your new book…. and Ida will be fine. you can do it momma!
Justina Blakeney says
Thanks lady. taking in the good vibes :)
Leslie-Anne says
I like it a lot. It is like a sophisticated children’s book illustration. Very stylish and fun.
Kevin | Thou Swell says
I love the design! It’s super fun and unique :)
Melinda's Musings says
It looks SO great! Honestly, it is such a unique website compared to everything else that’s out there. I love that you are always so true to your vision. Love the illustration too!