Crafting a Digital Home for Luxury Interiors
A complete brand identity and website redesign for a boutique interior architecture studio— increasing consultation requests by 340% and establishing premium market positioning.
Hero Preview — intimate-design-hero.jpg
The Challenge
Intimate Design is a boutique interior architecture studio with over a decade of experience transforming residential and commercial spaces. Despite their exceptional portfolio, their outdated website failed to reflect the premium quality of their work.
Potential clients couldn't visualize the transformation Intimate Design could bring to their spaces. The brand needed a digital presence as refined as the interiors they create.
average session duration on old site
of visitors viewed the portfolio
consultation requests per month
Goals & Success Metrics
Before diving into design, I worked with the client to define clear, measurable goals that would guide every decision and allow us to objectively evaluate success.
User Goals
- Quickly understand the studio's expertise and design philosophy
- Visualize transformation potential through before/after portfolios
- Effortlessly book a consultation without friction
Business Goals
- Increase qualified consultation requests by 150%+
- Position brand as premium to attract higher-value projects
- Reduce bounce rate and increase time-on-site significantly
How We Measured Success
Metric
Portfolio View Rate
Metric
Session Duration
Metric
Consultation Bookings
Metric
Lighthouse Score
Role & Responsibilities
As the sole designer on this project, I owned the entire design process from initial research through final implementation, collaborating directly with the client and a developer.
User Research
40%Conducted stakeholder interviews, competitive analysis, user surveys, and usability testing to inform all design decisions.
Brand Strategy
15%Developed brand positioning, visual identity system, and tone of voice guidelines for consistent communication.
UI/Visual Design
25%Created high-fidelity designs in Figma, built component library, and designed responsive layouts for all screens.
Front-end Development
20%Implemented animations, interactions, and responsive behaviors in collaboration with the development team.
Research & Discovery
I conducted stakeholder interviews, competitive analysis, and surveyed potential clients to understand what makes people choose a luxury interior design studio.
Key Insight #1
Clients don't just buy interior design—they buy a vision of their future lifestyle. The website needed to sell dreams, not just services.
Key Insight #2
Trust is built through transformation stories. Before/after portfolios with context are 3x more engaging than simple photo galleries.
Key Insight #3
The consultation booking process was the biggest friction point. Users wanted a simple way to schedule without back-and-forth emails.
What surprised me most
Premium clients care more about the designer's process than the portfolio itself
During interviews, I discovered that 73% of high-value clients specifically looked for information about how designers work—their approach, communication style, and methodology. This insight led me to create a dedicated "Our Process" section that became one of the most visited pages on the new site.
Brand Identity
The visual identity draws from nature and craftsmanship—earthy tones that evoke organic materials, paired with refined typography that speaks to luxury without pretension.
Color Palette
Sage Green
#7D9470
Light Sage
#9BAF8A
Terracotta
#B5855A
Gold Accent
#C9A962
Warm Ivory
#F9F6F1
Typography
Display
Cormorant Garamond
Elegant serifs for headlines and statements
Body
DM Sans
Clean, readable sans-serif for body text
Logo Variations
logo-light.svg
logo-dark.svg
logo-icon.svg
Design Process
The project followed a structured yet flexible design process, allowing for iteration based on client feedback and user testing insights.
Discovery & Research
Week 1-2
Wireframes & IA
Week 3-4
Visual Design
Week 5-6
Development & Launch
Week 7-8
Key Screens
The final designs prioritize visual storytelling, making it easy for visitors to imagine their own spaces transformed by Intimate Design's expertise.
screen-hero.jpg
screen-services.jpg
screen-portfolio.jpg
screen-about.jpg
mobile-home.jpg
mobile-portfolio.jpg
mobile-contact.jpg
Testing & Iteration
I conducted 3 rounds of usability testing with 12 participants to validate design decisions and uncover opportunities for improvement before launch.
12 Participants
Remote moderated sessions via Zoom
Task-Based Testing
5 key user flows validated
Heatmap Analysis
Hotjar tracking post-launch
What Users Said
"I love how I can immediately see their work. The old site made me hunt for the portfolio."
"The booking form felt overwhelming. I just want to pick a date and describe my project briefly."
"I wasn't sure about the pricing range. It would help to know if they're within my budget before I reach out."
Heatmap Insights
heatmap-analysis.jpg
Click heatmap showing user attention focused on portfolio grid and consultation CTA
Key Iterations
Consultation Flow Redesign
Portfolio Navigation
Mobile CTA Placement
Learnings & Reflection
Every project teaches something new. Here's what I took away from this engagement that I'll carry into future work.
✨ Key Takeaways
Sell the transformation
For service businesses, showing the journey from before to after is more powerful than just showcasing the final result. Context builds trust.
Simplify ruthlessly
The consultation form went from 8 fields to 4. The result? 47% more completions. Every field you remove is friction eliminated.
Test early, test often
The investment range section came directly from user feedback. I would have never thought to include it, but it addressed a real anxiety.
🔄 Next Time I Would...
Involve developers earlier
Some animation concepts needed simplification due to performance. Earlier collaboration would have saved rework.
Create a content strategy first
We designed before all content was ready, leading to some layout adjustments mid-build.
Set up analytics baseline
The old site's analytics were incomplete. Better baseline data would make impact measurement clearer.
Skills I Developed
Results & Impact
Measured 3 months post-launch, comparing to the same period the previous year.
Consultation Requests
340%Session Duration
6xPortfolio View Rate
550%New project pipeline value in first quarter post-launch
Client satisfaction rating on post-project surveys
Increase in average project value from new clients
The new website has completely transformed how clients perceive us. We're now attracting the caliber of projects we've always wanted. Bhavana understood our vision and elevated it beyond what we imagined possible.
Rajesh Kumar
Founder, Intimate Design Studio