“Nestled in the heart of the Chesapeake Bay, where the salt marshes hum with the songs of wildlife, The Osprey Wing captures the essence of coastal birds and marine life on the rugged coastline of Virginia.”

When Jessica contacted me about revamping her website for her linocut print studio, I was thrilled to get started on her dreamy brand. I couldn’t wait to build her a new website because the world needs the beauty she creates from her home on the Chesapeake Bay.

If you’re like me and were unfamiliar with linocut printmaking, here's a quick overview: Linocut is a type of relief printmaking using a linoleum block made of linseed oil, wood flour, and held together with a jute backing. The image is carved by hand with carving tools and then prepared for a layer of relief ink to be transferred onto paper. It’s such a cool, old-world art process!

Partially carved lincut block next to carving tools

Photos by The Osprey Wing

Here’s a peek into the process.

Step 1: Branding & Mood Board

Jessica filled out my website questionnaire, giving me insight into her vision for her branding and website. From there, I mocked up a few different branding options with font pairings and color palettes. We also collaborated on creating her new logo. She wanted a coastal, oceanic/salty style with an inky focus on realism and contemporary printmaking. Her goal was for customers to feel right at home when they visited her website. Scroll to see the final result!

Side note: The inspiration behind the business name is from an Osprey named Opal. You can read the sweet story here.

The Osprey Wing Mood board and color palette

Step 2: Copywriting

Jessica is a skilled writer and had a clear vision for her website’s verbiage. I provided the framework for the copy and, Stelly Marketing helped provide guidance, filling in the gaps, and editing where necessary.

Step 3: Building The Website

Creating a great website is more than just making something pretty. My goal is to ensure the website communicates clearly to the business’s ideal customer, is easy to navigate and update, optimized for SEO, and reflects the brand’s aesthetics and values. We achieved the aesthetics with moody photos (taken by Jessica), soothing colors, clean fonts, and soft curves that mimic a bird’s wing. After a couple of Zoom calls to review the website and incorporate Jessica’s feedback, the site was almost ready for launch.

Step 4: Launch

After finalizing the website with the last touches (coding, SEO, mobile optimization, etc.), it was ready to launch to the world!

Home Page Preview:

Home page screen capture of The Osprey Wing Print Studio website

I hope you take a moment to check out The Osprey Wing’s website. You might even fall in love with a hand-carved and hand-printed linocut print inspired by the wild flora and fauna of Coastal Virginia and ‘add to cart’.

“Where do I even begin? Emily has been wonderful! From the initial phone call, gathering as much information as possible, to the final email — she means business! Her knowledge and expertise shines with each thing she does. I was in need of a new website and unsure of those big and small details (it’s very intimidating!). Emily was able to bring this little dream of mine to life. I had no idea on where to start, what to do or what colors/logo/etc was needed. Emily handled it all! If you are in need of professional services for your business, look no further! My only wish is that I had Emily with me everyday! I feel more confident moving forward with my printmaking business now that I have a wonderful, professional and cohesive website to represent what I do. All thanks to Emily Benson consulting.”

— Jessica

Looking to take your website off your to-list? You can learn more about my services and reach out to me here.

Cheers,

EBC