WEB DESIGN
Ileana Schinder / Website Redesign
End-to-end website redesign for a Washington DC architect — from Figma to WordPress
YEAR
2023
ROLE
Web Designer / FrontEnd Dev
DURATION
5 Months
TOOLS
Figma, Visual Studio Code, Wordpress
OVERVIEW
The Challenge
Ileana Schinder, a residential architect based in Washington DC, had an outdated website that failed to communicate the quality and sophistication of her work. The site didn't reflect her brand, made it hard for potential clients to evaluate her portfolio, and wasn't generating the leads her reputation deserved. The project required a complete redesign — from visual identity and user experience through to custom code implementation in WordPress — to create a site that matched the precision and elegance of her architecture.
My Approach
I handled the project end-to-end as both designer and developer. Starting with a discovery phase to understand her clients, competitive landscape, and brand values, I designed a clean, photography-first UI in Figma — prioritizing whitespace, refined typography, and a minimal color palette that let her project images speak. I then built the site in WordPress using custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in Visual Studio Code, ensuring a pixel-perfect translation from design to code. The result is a fast, responsive site that elevates her portfolio and positions her practice for high-end residential clients.
5 months
project duration
1
designer and developer, end-to-end
WordPress
CMS platform
Figma + VS Code
design and dev tools
PROCESS
How I got there
Discovery
Analyzed Ileana's existing portfolio, researched her competition, and identified her target client profile. Defined a photography-first design direction with clean, architectural typography to mirror the precision of her work.
UI Design
Created wireframes and full high-fidelity mockups in Figma. Built a refined design system with a minimal color palette, considered spacing, and typographic hierarchy that guides visitors through the portfolio naturally.
Development
Built a custom WordPress theme from scratch using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in Visual Studio Code. Prioritized performance, responsiveness across all devices, and a clean code structure to make future content updates easy.
Launch & QA
Ran cross-browser and cross-device testing. Collaborated with Ileana on final content, imagery selection, and copy — then launched the live site at ileanaschinder.com.
DESIGN
The Design
Let's work together.
Have a project in mind? I'd love to hear about it.