Showit Food Blog Design for Elyse Creates

When I was in middle school, my best friend exposed me to the world of baking from scratch. My mom is an excellent cook, but when it came to baked goods, we usually just threw some Pilsbury cookies in the oven or got box mix brownies. Once I realized that you can use simple ingredients to create something delicious, I was hooked! Baking is one of my favorite hobbies still. So when Elyse, an amazingly talented food blogger, contacted me about creating custom branding and a Showit food blog design, I was super excited.

The Goals for This Project

Elyse’s old site was on Squarespace. She was interested in switching to Showit for more creative freedom. We both agreed that creating an intentional experience that invited users to interact with her content was important. As far as branding goes, Elyse didn’t have a cohesive logo, color palette, etc. yet. So we wanted to start developing a recognizable brand for her.

Ooh I’m so excited to share what we came up with! I think this project is one of my favorites of all time. Elyse is excited too! When I asked if we’d accomplished her goals for the project, she shared:

“Absolutely! From start to finish, Maya made the process incredibly straightforward, so I felt comfortable throughout. Additionally, the initial homework forced me to think about my brand and it’s needs more concretely, which allowed me to map more specific goals.”

Elyse’s New Branding

Even though Elyse didn’t have existing branding, she was a natural at describing her brand style and vision during the prep work for this project! She described her brand as “classically styled with a hint of quirk.” While she prefers classic black and white with minimal color, she was okay with using rich tones like red wine, deep teal, forest green, and copper as accents. Fonts that are a blend of modern and classic editorial pair well with her aesthetic. I used this as inspiration for her mood board!

From the mood board, I went on to create Elyse’s logo suite. My goal was to keep her primary logo classic and universal, then add some quirky playfulness to the secondary logos. I am in love with how simple and her round stamp logo is!

Elyse’s New Showit Food Blog Design

While website strategy involves more than what meets the eye, it definitely helps that the visuals for Elyse’s site are stunning! Elyse’s gorgeous photos blend seamlessly with the color palette and fonts. Doesn’t her site make you want to go whip up a batch of something delicious?!

From a strategic perspective, it was important that we showcased all that Elyse had to offer, without overwhelming people. I came up with a sidebar menu design that covers all of her recipe categories comprehensively.

It was also fun to think of ways to showcase her posts in interactive ways on the homepage and main blog.

Custom Blog Layouts

When I’m working with a life coach, therapist, or nonprofit, it’s often the Services page that steals the show. But for Elyse, her blog pages are the core of what she does. So I spent extra time making sure that her blog shined. Two of my favorite features are a special navigation just for the blog (including a search bar pop-up) and custom pages for each of her recipe categories.

Ready for a Gorgeous, Strategic Showit Site Like Elyse’s?!

The best part of being a website designer is knowing that you’re supporting someone else’s dream. When I support my client’s goals, I get impact the world in a way that’s bigger than myself. I’ve loved working with Elyse, and here’s what she had to say about working with me:

“Maya has created a beautiful and functional site that will truly propel my business forward. Her care and expertise has made the process easier than I could have ever imagined. The website as well as the branding have both exceeded my expectations, and I feel so lucky to have found her!”

If you’re ready for a brand and site that supports your growth goals, check out my VIP Design Experience.

View Elyse’s new food blog live!