Alex Peffer Photography is a successful photography business based in Brooklyn, NY. Originally specializing in landscape photography, the business is looking to expand to offer small event and corporate photo services. The business has outgrown it’s current instagram account that showcases current work and past projects.

Alex Peffer Photography is looking to revamp its website to boost print sales for home decor and invite new opportunities to work with clients.

The current online presence is lacking depth into essential information to attract more business. To address this, I was hired to create a user-friendly website that clearly communicates its various services across mobile and web based platforms.

Problem

Duration

6 weeks: April-June 2025

My Role

UX/UI Designer

Tools

Figma

Skills

User research and testing, synthesis, ideation, prototyping, iteration, and visual design

*Educational project as part of Designlab UX Academy. Any Feedback is appreciated!

I began with an in-depth competitive analysis to investigate what other freelance-based businesses were doing to market themselves. In a city like NYC, artists and specialized businesses are everywhere so it was important to look at how to stand out from the crowd and increase engagement. I researched several photographers in the area with a similar follower count on Instagram and identified opportunities both for Alex Peffer Photography’s new website and the business as a whole.

I also looked at Etsy as an indirect competitor. I wanted to see how people used the platform both as buyers and sellers to showcase or browse unique products. Etsy was also a good example of how Alex Peffer Photography could utilize the platform separately to have another access point to reach potential clients to sell to.

Two key opportunities that surfaced were:

Having a clear brand and transparent pricing goes a long way in establishing a business in a big market
The main product or service that is offered needs to be the focal point of all marketing streams

These improvements would help Alex Peffer Photography establish itself within the competitive market and help users find information they need to select prints or services they are looking for.

Research

Full analysis here

Observing other competitors made it easier to establish what was missing online for Alex Peffer Photography. To design a new website, I wanted to talk to potential users with experience in buying art online or hiring a photographer for a project. I spoke with three individuals about what initially sparks an interest in looking at photography work to when it turns into a bigger investment of working with that photographer.

During these interviews, I also had participants look at the existing instagram account and website for Alex Peffer Photography. This was helpful in dissecting the current platforms to see what real users would conclude upon interacting with the business.

Key Interview Insights

-Potential customers prioritize quality over cost, although cost is important too; they are willing to pay a higher price if the product or service justifies the expense especially for home decor or gifting

-Many users turn to Instagram or online platforms due to the overwhelm that can occur when searching for a specific type of photographer. They want a photographer that matches their taste or style that they cannot acquire on their own.

-People can be wary of buying products online especially if they are a new customer. Having prices and details carefully spelled out eases the tension of trying something new and increases the rate of returning business.

Pulling from these insights, I narrowed down what Alex Peffer Photography’s current system could improve upon. An update in a website that doesn’t hide essential information like what prints are in stock or shipping details as well as an overview of photography services that users may need. I developed a persona to guide the user journey I would be designing for. The conscientious consumer who values quality over price and seeks to establish a good relationship with photographers they wish to support through buying products or hiring for photo projects.

Synthesis

With my target user and central problem defined, I was able to start piecing together the goals of the project by weighing the user goals with my client’s goals for their business and technical considerations within the project timeline.

Before tackling the layout or designs of screens, I made clear how I needed to help Alex Peffer Photography with the question:

How might we present Alex Peffer Photography’s main services and products to incentivize users to support the business?

Keeping this question in mind, I needed to identify the flows users would need to interact with through Alex Peffer Photography to accomplish their goals. I mapped out two user flows for each service that the business wanted to prioritize on their website.

Ideation

User Flow - Buying a Print

User Flow - Contacting the photographer

The user flows enabled me to create a list of screens that would be necessary to have in my final solution. I developed these screens by sketching in low-fidelity first to flesh out what would be needed for users to work through their tasks effectively.

With a rough idea of what screens were necessary to support all that Alex Peffer Photography has to offer, I pivoted to working on it’s branding. From my research, it was proven that clear branding is imperative to establishing a business in a crowded market and my client was excited to position themselves as a trusted vendor for buying prints or photo services.

Design

Branding and Ui Kit

Alex Peffer Photography did not have an established brand beyond what was shown on Instagram. It was part of my client’s request to build brand guidelines for the business as it goes through an expansion. Based around what I saw in the breadth of landscape photography work, Alex Peffer Photography encapsulates striking moments within the mundane of Americana and cityscapes.

To enhance accessibility, I opted for a simple color palette that passed AA accessibility standards or higher. I outlined within a UI kit the typefaces, sizing, spacing, and icons to create guidelines that felt manageable for the client to keep up with as the business evolves. Below is the kit for mobile devices.

High Fidelity Testing

Before getting too comfortable with my initial layout decisions, I tested the two main user flows by developing a high-fidelity prototype in Figma. I had five participants who had experience in buying artwork online that were asked to:

1. Select a photo print and place an order

2. Contact the photographer to inquire about available photo services

Over Google Meets, I recorded each session with the participants to follow them through the mobile prototype to see where they clicked to complete each task. While all participants felt the flows were straightforward, there were some small adjustments to be made to enhance the flow.

Areas of Improvement

Adding in payment shortcuts could help with making this feel real, especially on mobile
Participants mentioned introducing the types of services sooner would be helpful in gauging what they could purchase or look for

High Fidelity Iterations

I learned from my first round of user testing, my mobile prototype needed a more defined call to action upon arriving at the website. While my desktop screens were tested only for main navigation, I ended up making changes on the homepage to coincide with changes made on the mobile screens. After making corrections, I tested again with three new users to make sure users felt any difference in their interaction with the website particularly with the check out flow.

With my second round of user testing complete, I found my participants had no problems completing the tasks asked of them but two had noted that when they add an item to a shopping cart they typically are taken to a cart page. Since I was structuring my designs around a website builder that my client would be using to host the website, this insight wasn’t something I could easily fix at this time. Since this was not a major hinderance to buying a print, I was able to pass off to my designs to my client that represented a responsive new website for Alex Peffer Photography.

Alex Peffer Photography is there for you when you want to capture a moment or add a personal touch to your home decor. A small business that is dedicated in offering quality landscape photography prints in many sizes and materials. Talk directly to the photographer for all your photo needs and to learn more about working together on professional or personal projects.

Using the arrow keys, click through the final prototype.

Solution

This project emphasized the importance of communication and how to document design deliverables. Working with a real professional client was eye-opening in how a lot of my skills can come together to help others. I think I was able to adapt my early designs quickly into ideas for both mobile and desktop platforms due to my background with coding. This skill of knowing how margins, type, and other details can be hard to transfer over a multitude of platforms led me to developing a UI kit that could be accessed easily. Although I was working with limited time for this project, I would love to continue working with this client by pushing more flows within the services offered or even offering to code the website myself.

Working within the constraints of the clients goals proved to be reflective of how projects end up being less about ego and more about how UX can transform ideas into tangible solutions. I really enjoyed working alongside other people to make sure what I was developing aligned with what my client and their users would actually end up using. If I were to approach this project again, I would leave more time to test more flows since I think those insights were pivotal in rationalizing certain decisions of the final designs and became useful in relaying back to my client to know going forward.

If you have read this far, thank you so much for looking through this case study and supporting my work!