Kimberly Sigafus

New Website, Author & Speaker

Kimberly Sigafus is an amazingly talented woman, an internationally-published award-winning Ojibwa author of more than a dozen books, and a highly sought-after speaker. Her previous website was on an older platform that was difficult to update and did not offer many design options. With a new book about to be published, and recently chosen to be on the 2023-24 roster for the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau, Kim needed a new site to post her many upcoming events and to display her many books.

I had created the website for Kim’s Native American Shop, Quiet Souls, so she came to me for her personal site. The challenge was organizing her many offerings: books, speaking and related media. First, she need a new logo, and I created a simple design using a dreamcatcher line drawing with matching type for her name. Then I organized her books into 3 main categories, and I created a template for her events for easy updating. I used Squarespace’s summary blocks to display books and events on the home page without manually recreating this content from their main topic pages. A minimal but lively style fit Kim’s personality, and allowed her many offerings to take center stage.

Key strengths of the new site

• New logo and color palette

• Easy and clear navigation to main topics

• Display of current events and news on the home page to engage visitors

• Lively minimal design with a blend of photos and text

• Complex content is organized for better navigation

• Easy to update