Concept Artist Portfolio Redesign
My Role | Duration | Software Used |
|---|---|---|
UX Design | 4 Months | Miro |
UI Design | Figma/
Creative Suite | |
AI Integration | Pen and Paper |
Overview
Turlo Griffin is a London-based concept artist and matte painter working in the film industry. Despite strong credentials, his website wasn’t attracting clients or engagement. No inquiries were coming through, and his work wasn’t being seen.
Through UX research, benchmarking, and collaboration with Turlo, I identified key usability and content issues and designed a new portfolio site that effectively showcases his work and communicates his expertise.
The Challenge
Turlo had the experience and the portfolio — but his online presence was failing him.
Users who visited his site didn’t immediately understand what he did, found it difficult to view his artwork, and struggled to contact him.
The content management system (CMS) was overly complex, blocking him from doing updates or content refreshes.
The challenge: Redesign the portfolio to clearly communicate Turlo’s role, display his work effectively, make contact effortless and enable him to maintain his website.
Research & Findings
Methods used:
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Competitive benchmarking of concept artist portfolios
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Client interviews
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Heuristic evaluation
Pain points identified:
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Unclear messaging: It wasn’t obvious what Turlo did or what services he offered.
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Poor visual hierarchy: Artwork was displayed too small and inconsistently.
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Navigation issues: Cluttered layout made it hard to explore his work.
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Hidden contact information: Potential clients couldn’t easily get in touch.
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Unusable CMS: The old site was difficult for Turlo to update independently.
Design Solution
A completely new site was designed and built in 3 weeks, focused on simplicity, clarity, and visual impact.
Key improvements:
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Immediate clarity of the site’s purpose: Added a bold header — “Turlo Griffin, Concept Artist / Matte Painter” — visible on first load.
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Optimised gallery experience: Artwork can be viewed in three modes — thumbnail, gallery, and full-screen — to highlight detail.
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Information architecture: Divided work into three manageable categories, each showing up to 8 thumbnails with a “Load More” option to prevent visual overwhelm.
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Streamlined navigation: A simple, scroll-based entry path introduces the artist and transitions smoothly into the gallery.
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Improved B-2-B customer journey through main navigation: Contact details are now visible and available, and type of contact information is aligned to industry user preferences
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Empowered client: A new, intuitive CMS lets Turlo add or update work easily using Photoshop for image optimisation.
The redesign focused on showing the art — not the interface. Every decision aimed to remove friction between the viewer and the work.
Outcome
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The new site immediately generated positive feedback from recruiters and clients.
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Turlo received multiple new commissions and ongoing collaborations, including with film director Wes Anderson(The Grand Budapest Hotel).
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His online visibility improved dramatically, and the site became an effective professional tool.
Client testimonial
“I’m finally getting noticed — my site actually works for me now.”
Next Steps
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Add alt text and accessibility tags for all gallery images.
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Conduct mobile usability testing to validate image interaction patterns.
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Explore adding lightweight motion or hover feedback to enhance interactivity.
Link to site: www.turlogriffin.com