UX Case Studies

Sha'Darrion Warfield-Cross, or Shai, is an actor, singer, model that has relocated to NYC to pursue a career in the entertainment industry in a larger market. Though she has years of experience, she doesn’t have any way to organize and showcase it. She wants a responsive website to organize her versatile skillset, achievements, and depth of experience in a clean, professional, and efficient way and appeals to casting agents, talent buyers, and fans alike.

This case study walks through my processes while building a brand and a responsive website that showcases her versatile set of skills and personality in an efficient way, in order to leave a memorable first impression as she begins her journey to stardom.

Problem Space

PREVIEW OF FINAL DESIGNS

An new industry standard for up-and-coming artists is a simple and to the point Link-tree with all necessary links in complete focus. We played off of this to create the initial landing page.

Linktree-like landing page

In order to help Shai showcase her experience, versatility, and passion we incorporated real testimonials from colleagues and quotes from Shai herself.

Testimonials + Quotes

Sha'Dare's landing page in a laptop computer frame

While the homepage will introduce each of Shai's showcased talents, we also built 3 additional pages personalized and catered to each respective targeted user.

Interactive pages personalized to each skill

We made it easy to reach Shai with a contact form that is accessible from anywhere on the site in the main navigation.

Contact form

Brief overview of the solution

In order to determine the most effective solution, I conducted Secondary Research, a Competitive Analysis, and interviewed industry professionals and fans about their perspectives in booking, connecting with artists, and visiting artist websites. The client had a clear vision for what they were interested in but I felt it was still important to get insights on how to best bring that vision to life.

I primarily looked into the digital experiences and expectations of 4 different users: Casting Agents, Talent Buyers, fans, and fellow artists. Overall, I concluded that people admire artists that are vulnerable, raw, authentic and have something to say. We need to helps users see that Shai is a multi-talented, approachable, and authentic professional. According to each user group:

Research insights

RESEARCH & DERIVING INSIGHTS

1. Versatility

2. Professionalism with style

3. Approachability & Authenticity

4. Easily reachable

Link-tree-like landing page

Pages for acting, singing, modeling experiences

Variety of high-quality content in gallery page

Organization + simplicity

Testimonials

Press page

High-quality performance images

About page with timeline showing her journey

Events calendar

Livestreams and direct messaging with fans

Expressive, high-quality images

Contact form

Events calendar

Social media links

Key Insights

"Love when they give it their all, but also are humble enough to know that they have room to learn."

- Artist

"[When you can't reach an artist directly, it's so frustrating.] I don't want to send a contact form into the void."

- Talent Buyer

"They want to see what the show would be like with you in it. 'We want to see you in your element.'"

- Artist, on their experience with Casting Agents

"It doesn't matter if you hit the notes...it matters if I can form a personal connection with you."

- Fan

After narrowing down and prioritizing the need-to-have features for this site iteration, I determined it was best to showcase the following:

Research-backed wireframes

IDEATION & WIREFRAMES

BRANDING & UI

Hero image on Sha'Dare's home page - featuring a large beauty shot of Sha'Dare.

Brand Adjectives

Approachable

Sexy, Hot, Pretty

Versatile

Seasoned, Experienced

Impressive

Desired brand personality

"She's so hip & cool, but approachable."

"She just seems like a real person."

"Dang she's hot! She got a nice face."

Icons

Poppins Medium

Body

Poppins Light

HEADER

Bellede Mai 4 0 Heavy

Header

Bellede Mai 4 0 Regular

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#60636C

#E9CE8A

#3D513C

We started defining the brand with a series of personal questions covering inspiration, connections, and memories that led to the potential stage name: Sha'Dare.

A very important piece of Shai's brand was finding the in-between of sexy and approachability. The brand was built to encompass her personality as Shai Cross and the alter-ego presence that she wanted to bring to the stage: Sha'Dare.