Project Spotlight: lesleykara.com
It was such a joy to work on Lesley Kara’s website - not least because I’m a big fan (loved her mega-seller The Rumour!), we write in the same genre AND she’s a Faber Academy graduate like me. We were also on a crime writers’ panel together last year and she was just so lovely to me, so I knew I was going to enjoy working on her website!
Find out more about the project…
The Brief
Lesley Kara is the author of The Rumour, the biggest selling crime fiction debut of 2019 (I KNOW!) and also Who Did You Tell? which has been a Sunday Times Bestseller too. Her third book is out next year.
Lesley already had a website up and running but she wanted to upgrade it to something a bit more eye-catching, that offered her more opportunity to share information with her readers. She was looking for something fresh and distinctive to draw readers in and pique their curiosity.
It was also important to her that the website was easy site to navigate and that there is something visually appealing on each page.
Rather than the conventional dark, moody background and free-floating 3D images, or a plain white ‘business-like’ background, Lesley wanted something a little crisper, with a slightly arty feel.
It was Lesley who suggested the idea of the diagonal lines between sections and this was a really fun, unusual effect to implement (and required quite a bit of fiddling with CSS!).
Fonts-wise we went with the smart and contemporary Poppins (fast becoming a favourite of mine!) for headings and Aktiv-Grotesk, which has a similar feel, for the body font.
For colours, we took inspiration from her many covers to find tones that had a clean, professional feel but that hinted at the darkness in her stories too.
The Details
Web design package: The Magnum Opus
Template: Maple, Squarespace 7.0
Fonts used: Poppins, Aktiv-Grotesk
View the site here: lesleykara.com
Lesley’s Verdict
“I absolutely love my new website. It has exceeded my expectations and I’ve had lots of very positive feedback on it. Charlotte is well worth the investment. She is extremely responsive to your individual requirements and gives expert advice. She is skilled at interpreting your needs and creating the website you always wanted.”
The Post-launch Q&A
Before working with Charlotte Duckworth Studio, when it came to my website I felt …
…overwhelmed with the technological side of things. I needed a website revamp and wasn't sure how to go about it.
What fears or hesitations did you have before deciding to work with Charlotte Duckworth Studio?
I didn't have any fears or hesitations because I had seen previous websites Charlotte had created and was very impressed with her work.
How do you expect your new site to change things for you?
I think my readers and site visitors will be able to navigate the different pages much more easily now. Plus it looks so professional and enticing. I'm hoping that more people will visit and discover my books.
For someone on the fence about working with Charlotte Duckworth Studio, what would you say to them?
It is well worth the investment. Charlotte is extremely responsive to your individual requirements and gives expert advice. She is skilled at interpreting your needs and creating the website you always wanted.
How do you feel about your completed website?
I absolutely love my new website. It has exceeded my expectations and I've had lots of very positive feedback on it.
Is there anything you were really hoping would be included in your website design package?
No, I think the package I chose included everything I needed.
Is there anything you feel could have been done to improve your experience?
No. I was entirely satisfied!
Would you recommend Charlotte Duckworth Studio to a friend who also needed to build a site for their creative business?
Absolutely!
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