Project
About
Cosmetic vs. Structural:
Color Refresh to a Usability Overhaul
I restructured a photography site's navigation and flow before touching the brand refresh the client asked for.
A local photographer hired me for a color refresh. A heuristic review found something color couldn't fix: inconsistent labeling, missing CTAs, a navigation flow users couldn't follow. I made the case for a different scope, and the client agreed. In testing, users rated the new navigation easier. One told me exactly what changed for her.
key decisions
New colors alone can't fix a broken flow
A local photographer hired me to redesign his site with new colors and new pages. Before touching either, I ran a heuristic review. It surfaced real usability problems: inconsistent labeling, unclear next steps, visual overload. New colors wouldn't fix any of them. I brought the findings back to the client and proposed a different scope.
Original Ask
Apply updated brand colors to the existing site. Add new pages and sections.
What I proposed instead
Rebuild the site's structure and flows to fix the usability issues. Redesign the interface for consistency across pages.
I recommended a new scope
A heuristic review surfaced usability problems serious enough that a redesign without fixing them first would have shipped the same broken experience in nicer colors.
Problem
Navigation issues found based on heuristic review.
Users have trouble navigating to the information they need due to:
Inconsistent labeling
Titles, labels, and formatting varied from page to page, making it hard for users to build a mental model of the site.
CTA Problems
Some buttons misled users to the wrong destination; others were missing entirely, leaving no clear next step.
Visual Overwhelm
Dense layouts and excessive scrolling buried the information users came for.
solution
I built every UI decision below off a specific finding from the heuristic review.
Each page carried its own piece of the problem, so each fix had to be specific to what that page actually needed.
homepage
Resolved: Visual overload & Inconsistent labeling.
The homepage now leads with the photographer's work, a curated grid sits directly below the hero, instead of requiring extra clicks to see any photography at all.
Sections now have clear breaks between them, with titles that carry that clarity forward, so users have a sense of what's inside each section before clicking in.
Album flow
Resolved: CTA problems & Visual overload
The original album pages had no clear CTA, and both "View Album" buttons led to the same confusing page regardless of category.
Each album now routes to its own destination, and a slideshow with thumbnails replaced the long scroll, so users jump straight to what they want.
PACKAGE PAGE
Resolved: CTA problems, Inconsistent labeling & Visual overload
Wedding and Portrait pricing lived on two separate pages, each labeled differently, one led into its next section, the other didn't. They're now one page with a type selector.
Package tiers used to blur together in a wall of text. Color-coding now separates what's shared from what's tier-specific, and four 'Select' buttons became one: "Schedule a Consultation."
outcome
Usability testing confirmed it: the new navigation felt easier to use.
I tested the redesigned prototype with users. Navigation felt simpler and more within their control, image display was more effective without sacrificing white space, and clear categories with consistent CTAs meant users always knew what to do next.
"I felt like I was in control of what I was exposed to a little bit more."
— Rachel, usability test participant · Supports: clear navigation
The redesign solved the usability issues found in the heuristic review.
Here's what's still open.
reflection
Testing surfaced a problem I didn't fix.
Users expected to book a date directly, not request a consultation first. Direct booking was outside the revised scope, so instead of half-building it, I named it as a next step. It's the first thing I'd tackle in round two.
I named the gap instead of expanding scope to fix it.
Direct booking wasn't part of what the heuristic review flagged. Fixing it would have meant solving a different problem than the one I was hired to solve.
jch3 design
cj.chang06@gmail.com