Patti Kim, Author Brand Transformation
UX Design | Content Strategy | Identity Systems
The Challenge
Award-winning author Patti Kim required a digital presence that balanced her "dark humor" brand with the commercial requirements of her publishers and middle-grade audience. With a new book launching, her existing WordPress site proved difficult to maintain and lacked a cohesive user journey for high-traffic book launches.
While the original WordPress site successfully established the author's digital brand, the platform's technical overhead became a barrier to the client's agility as her series expanded. The project required a transition from a developer-managed environment to a client-led platform to prioritize ease of use and rapid content deployment.
The Solution
I transitioned the brand from a static site to a dynamic, accessible Squarespace ecosystem. The focus was on "editorial architecture"—creating a visual and verbal narrative that felt authentic to the author while streamlining the path to purchase for parents and educators.
UX & Strategy Highlights
1. Visual identity as navigation
The Problem: The author’s personal collage art was beautiful but lacked digital structure.
The UX Fix: I digitized her physical artwork to create a consistent iconography system. A silhouette of the author on a motorcycle became a recurring anchor—serving as the logo, favicon and a "path-to-home" visual cue.
2. Content hierarchy & storytelling
The Strategy: Traditional bios are often dry. I restructured the "About" experience to mirror the author's narrative voice.
The Implementation: I wrote and edited all copy to ensure a "whimsical yet grit-filled" tone. I utilized a high-contrast palette (teal, red and black) to ensure the book covers remained the primary focal point of the UI.
3. Intentional friction reduction
The Problem: The original WordPress backend created a barrier to entry for the client to update her own event schedule.
The Solution: I migrated the site to Squarespace to prioritize client autonomy. I delivered a custom user guide and conducted training sessions to ensure the site remained a "living" marketing tool rather than a static archive.
4. Technical SEO & accessibility
Ensured all image alt-text and page metadata followed a strict SEO strategy to improve discoverability among librarians and literary agents.
Designed the mobile view to prioritize "one-tap" purchasing and contact buttons, recognizing that a significant portion of the audience accesses the site via social media referrals on mobile devices.
The Results
Brand Cohesion: A unified digital identity that successfully bridges the gap between artistic "dark humor" and commercial appeal.
Increased Autonomy: The client now manages book updates and event listings independently, reducing long-term maintenance costs.
Seamless Handoff: Provided a full design system (colors, typography and functional specs) that allows the brand to scale across newsletters and social platforms.
I actually had to ask, "Did I write that or did you?"
“Julie has a gift for creating websites that are customized to your voice and vision. She offers a brilliant standard of aesthetic, customized copy, tech and marketing savvy, and a collaborative spirit that truly showcases her clients.”
- Award-Winning Author Patti Kim