Intro
Fine Art Project
A complete fine art photography website and print store that I designed and built. The project combines branding, image curation, user experience design, and ecommerce for my coastal and travel inspired work.
Overview
This project showcases the creation of my fine art photography brand and online gallery. The goal was to present coastal, sea glass, and travel inspired images in a clean, modern environment that supports both viewing and purchasing prints.
I have been building websites since my early days with Adobe Dreamweaver, later working with WordPress and Squarespace. For this project I chose Shopify to support a full print on demand workflow for fine art prints.
Project goals
I designed the site to serve two main audiences.
• Art buyers who want high quality wall art for their homes and studios
• Creative directors who want to understand my approach to visual storytelling and digital design
• Creative directors who want to understand my approach to visual storytelling and digital design
Key goals
• Create a gallery style experience that keeps the photography at the center
• Build a calm, trusted brand that reflects coastal and travel themes
• Support print on demand formats such as canvas, acrylic, metal, and framed work
• Use search friendly structure so organic traffic can grow over time
• Build a calm, trusted brand that reflects coastal and travel themes
• Support print on demand formats such as canvas, acrylic, metal, and framed work
• Use search friendly structure so organic traffic can grow over time
Brand and visual identity
The visual identity is inspired by the calm coastal environments of my province of Nova Scotia and the vivid colour found in sea glass from Bermuda. I selected a soft ocean influenced palette and simple typography so that the details in the photographs remain the main focus.
The brand runs through the logo, the tone of the copy, and the balance of white space on every page. The design supports a premium fine art feeling without unnecessary decoration.
Website design and structure
The site is built on Shopify and is published at brendandalziel.com. I planned the layout as a clear funnel that moves from a strong visual first impression into focused collections and finally into detailed product pages.
The structure includes
• A home page that highlights key collections with large image blocks and simple calls to action
• Collection pages for Sea Glass, Nova Scotia, Canada, and World Travel that group related work
• Product pages that explain each print format and present the artwork in a clean, focused way
• Supporting pages for shipping, returns, and artist information to build trust with buyers
• Collection pages for Sea Glass, Nova Scotia, Canada, and World Travel that group related work
• Product pages that explain each print format and present the artwork in a clean, focused way
• Supporting pages for shipping, returns, and artist information to build trust with buyers
Photography and global exploration
While working world wide for a major cruise line, I spent years exploring cities, towns, and coastal regions during my time away from ship duties. Photography became a daily practice that I used to document places that inspired me.
The fine art collection on this site brings together images from Bermuda, my province of Nova Scotia, Thailand, and other locations across Canada and abroad. The emphasis is on coastal beauty, sea glass scenes, and landscape work that pairs well with interior design. Every photograph is edited with consistent colour grading so the collection feels unified.
Technical workflow
I created a full workflow from capture to print. This includes high resolution export settings, colour calibration across devices, and preparation of files for large scale prints. The site connects to a professional North American print partner so that each order is produced with archival inks and gallery quality materials.
Product templates support multiple formats such as Giclee canvas, acrylic, metal, and framed prints. Copy on each page explains how the formats behave on the wall so buyers can choose the right option for their space.
User experience and copy
The user experience is designed to feel calm and confident. Calls to action are present but never aggressive. The language speaks to art lovers, interior designers, and homeowners who want artwork that brings a sense of place and atmosphere into their rooms.
Short sections of copy explain the story behind key images and highlight how each piece can work above a sofa, bed, or entry space. This links the photography directly to real decor decisions.
Search and performance
Each page is built with clear headings, readable addresses, and descriptive alt text for images. Collections and products use focused keywords for topics such as sea glass photography, Nova Scotia coastal prints, and large acrylic wall art. Over time this structure supports organic discovery by people who search for specific subjects or print formats.
Outcome
This project demonstrates my ability to design and run a complete digital product from brand concept and photography through to layout, ecommerce setup, and ongoing refinement. It gives clients and employers a real world example of how I approach visual storytelling, user experience, and technical execution in web projects.
Links
Live fine art gallery
BrendanDalziel.com
BrendanDalziel.com
