Kim Dubois Photographe
Takeover and redesign of the site of an internationally awarded pet photographer (TIPPA 2024-2025, Bronze) whose Wix site had been left unfinished. A complete first-paying-client process: a 60-question Word discovery form, a 9-slide PowerPoint deck to frame the call, a structured Claude Design brief, then a generated mockup implemented in code. Across iterations the prototype grew from a single home page into a full, interactive mockup: multi-page (home, portfolio gallery, distinctions page), around fifteen modular sections (hero, counters, process, packages, testimonials, shop, client area, newsletter, FAQ, rainbow bridge…), real awarded photos organised by category, a smart carousel with lightbox and a signature thread "sewn" along the scroll. All bilingual FR/EN, light/dark, with an audience switcher (consumer/commercial), an editorial gold identity (Cormorant Garamond + Mulish), light image protection and a concierge assistant leading to real contact. A built-in admin mode — "bounded freedom" — lets you edit content and appearance, hide/reorder sections and manage promo codes, to absorb the client's feedback without ever breaking the mockup.
The first client
Kim Dubois, a photographer, needed a credible showcase. First paid mandate: from brief to launch, solo.
- ▸Warm visual identity, photo-centred
- ▸Simple structure: gallery, packages, contact
- ▸Bilingual FR/EN, responsive
- ▸No framework: speed and minimal hosting cost
What it taught me
The code was not the hard part — it was translating a fuzzy need into clear decisions, and explaining them.
- ▸Framing before coding avoids two redesigns
- ▸A non-technical client needs the why, not the how
- ▸Shipping small and live beats shipping perfect and late
Result
Site delivered, live, and a client testimonial that opened the following mandates.