This summer, K.D. Rausin, former teacher, avid blogger and emerging young adult author, reached out to Wheelhouse Collective to help her rebrand her website. Immediately we knew Rausin was someone we would be excited to work with. Her passion for writing—2 books down and a new novel in the works—her commitment to the education and empowerment of young people, along with the heart and soul that shines through her words and communications so clearly, we couldn’t help but jump right in.

The goal was to transform her blog-only-world into an author site that includes a blog—a site that would engage and connect with the professional writing community as well as her loyal fans for a great user experience. We decided on a responsive wordpress platform that would allow Rausin to make updates and smaller changes herself.

The first task was to develop a new content strategy focusing on Rausin as an author with an emphasis on content that would appeal to the publishing world and book fans. With this in mind, we offered direction as she wrote the new copy for the site. We then structured the new site to highlight her books, her process and her life as an author, while still utilizing her successful blog as a platform for connection with her audience.

With her book pages, we wanted to give the reader a few different ways to interact. We started with a quick synopsis on what the book is about, a quote of praise, then a more detailed description, followed by additional accolades. And, of course, we made it really easy to purchase her books with just one click.

Inspired by her vibrant, compassionate and down-to-earth, writing style, we created a playful color palette and designed a series of organic shapes and patterns that would help set the tone of the site.

On the homepage, we added a main area of interest for announcements and news, created a more structured grid for her blog posts utilizing stronger images to draw her audience in and added a section to celebrate her current and future books. Now her home page is an all-inclusive location for most inquiries about Rausin and her work.

The new site better represents the author side of K.D. Rausin. It gives a sense of her personality and goals and creates a solid platform for engaging experiences now and into the future. Oh yes, and did we mention? You can buy her books there too.

A huge thanks to K.D. Rausin for giving us the opportunity to work with her. Check out her site and read more about her and the great work she is doing to make a positive impact at kdrausin.com.

Strategy, Creative Direction and Design: Cathy Solarana
Web Development: Wendy

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