Why I built this project

As part of the Standout Squarespace course, I created the Atelier Colombe website to stretch my craft even further - blending elevated visual storytelling with strategic structure and intentional custom coding. The goal was to design a site that feels luxurious and editorial, yet remains warm, welcoming, and easy to navigate.

This project allowed me to refine my process, tackle more complex layouts, and deepen my understanding of accessibility-first design and advanced Squarespace styling.

The aesthetic direction

Atelier Colombe embodies:

• timeless, Parisian-inspired elegance

• soft editorial typography

• rich, earthy colour tones

• curated negative space

• a high-end visual rhythm across every page

I wanted the site to feel like stepping into a beautifully styled studio: grounded, artistic, and quietly confident.

Who it serves

The concept was built around a fictional boutique photography studio - giving me space to design for a brand that prioritises craft, emotion, and storytelling. This helped me demonstrate how my design style adapts seamlessly to creative, luxury, and experience-led businesses.

A thoughtfully structured experience

I approached the site with a clarity-first mindset, shaping each page around a natural narrative flow. Visitors are guided from introduction to portfolio, services, testimonials, and finally to the contact areas - mirroring the way a high-end client journey unfolds in real life.

Page-by-page strategy included:

• Hero sections with layered imagery and expressive type to set an editorial tone

• Portfolio layouts designed to feel immersive while staying lightweight and user-first

• Blog categories styled elegantly to showcase longer-form storytelling

• Service pages with clean accordions for easy scanning and accessibility

• Shop layouts created to be visually rich while maintaining simplicity for the user

A deliberately modern typography system

This project challenged me to combine sophisticated serif fonts with fluid script details - achieving a balance that feels artistic but never chaotic. Consistent hierarchy ensured accessibility across all devices.

Design as emotion

Everything, from image placement to colour overlays, was chosen to convey nostalgia, warmth, and understated luxury. The aim was to create a site that doesn’t just display images, but evokes a feeling.

Showcasing my technical skills

This project allowed me to demonstrate the kinds of intentional, standards-aligned enhancements I bring to every build. Throughout the site, I implemented custom code to refine the aesthetic while keeping the experience accessible and lightweight.

Key technical elements included:

• custom CSS to elevate typography, buttons, and layouts

• creative section dividers and horizontal scrolling marquees

• image treatments that remain fully responsive

• accessibility-forward adjustments to headings, contrast, and navigation

• intentional interactions that enhance usability, not distract from it

• a carefully optimised mobile experience, respecting touch and readability

Built with performance in mind

I designed the site using:

• compression-friendly imagery

• optimised fonts

• minimal scripts

• aligned metadata and SEO-ready structure

The result is a high-end aesthetic built on clean foundations - one that loads quickly, performs well, and feels effortless to use.

Reflecting my ongoing commitment to growth

The Standout Squarespace course encouraged me to work at a deeper creative and technical level. This project is a proud marker of my continued growth: blending creativity, strategy, and accessibility to deliver a polished, editorial-grade site experience.