Danae Ashley
BRAND STRATEGY, VISUAL DIRECTION, SQUARESPACE WEBSITE DESIGN FOR WRITER & STORYTELLER
Danae wanted a website that felt unmistakably like her.
Beauty is one of Danae’s core values. She is drawn to vintage aesthetics, flowers, and the contemplative world of Hildegard von Bingen — whose life and work inspire her upcoming book. She also knew, very strongly, that she did not want her website to look like anyone else’s.
What began as a website project became a deep brand exploration and a collaborative unfolding of Danae’s visual language.
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We began by taking a deep dive into Danae’s work, her values, and what matters most to her.
Beauty emerged early as a guiding thread. So did her love of vintage aesthetics, flowers, and the contemplative world of Hildegard von Bingen.
Alongside conversations about purpose, website goals, and user experience, we explored imagery, color, texture, and typography — allowing Danae’s visual language to surface naturally as part of the strategy process.
This early exploration gave us a grounded foundation for everything that followed.
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From our early conversations and explorations, a clear visual direction began to take shape.
The aesthetic words that guided the design were:
Organic
Textured
Rich
Feminine
Botanical
Deep olive and warm parchment tones evoke ancient manuscripts and timeless storytelling, while dusty rose accents add softness and warmth.
The overall feeling is contemplative, nurturing, expressive, and vital — grounded wisdom meeting beauty.
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The final website feels organic, rich, and quietly expressive.
It holds space for Danae’s writing, her book, and her voice work in a way that feels contemplative and inviting — allowing visitors to move slowly, linger, and take in her world.
The site offers visitors a sense of being welcomed into Danae’s world — and reflects her desire for a website that feels like her.
Our Collaborative Process
Client-Centred
This was a highly personal and collaborative design process, shaped around Danae’s work, values, and creative life.
Guided by Beauty
Beauty became a guiding thread, shaping the visual direction and informing our choices around color, imagery, and typography.
Built to Support Her Work
The site is thoughtfully structured and functional — with space for events, newsletter sign-ups, and audio samples for Danae’s voice work.
When Shelagh first revealed the website she created for me, I was stunned. Tears sprang to my eyes because I felt so seen and understood. My website reflected not only the information I had given Shelagh, but also little details and what I consider ‘treats’ throughout.
-DANAE ASHLEY
The Final Design
The process helped me get clear about what I needed from the site and Shelagh’s encouragement and magic made it easy to do together. My heart is full whenever I look at my website. I look forward to our next dreamy collaboration!
-DANAE ASHLEY