PORTFOLIO DESIGN
BRAND IDENTITY
FRAMER DESIGN
My role
Duration
June1-June 8, 2026
Tools
Framer
Platform
Web(Responsive Design)
One person, three disciplines, no unified home
Shaina has 20 years of serious creative work across three disciplines, but no single place that held it all together. Her fashion production credits, her paintings, and her writing lived in scattered places with no unified destination. The challenge was building one site that could represent all of it without any discipline feeling like an afterthought.
3
Disciplines needing one unified home
5
Work pages restructured
1 WK
From kickoff to launch
A creative career that refused to fit one box
Shaina CIN is a creative strategist, writer, and visual artist based in New York. Her murals have been published in The Verge and featured in Juneteenth arts coverage. Her writing lives on Substack. Her production credits span Carolina Herrera, MTV VMAs, and Flea/Stüssy × Dries Van Noten. She needed a site that matched the caliber of the work, and brought all three worlds under one roof.
"A portfolio built for a creative force where sharp strategy meets bold storytelling and striking visuals."
— PROJECT BRIEF DIRECTIVE
Collaborative execution, not a blank canvas
Rather than starting from scratch, I selected a Framer template that matched the editorial tone Shaina's work called for. I customized it at the CMS and component level to fit her specific content needs and visual identity. The process was collaborative throughout, with multiple revision rounds shaping everything from palette to page structure. The full project was delivered within one week of kickoff.
Four areas of meaningful change
Every change was intentional. From expanding the site's content architecture to reshaping how individual work pages communicate. Each decision was made to better serve Shaina's practice and the people visiting her site.
01
New writing page
The original template had no writing section. I designed and built one from scratch expanding the site's content architecture to reflect Shaina's writing practice. Each entry was connected to a specific piece on her Substack, pairing an image with its corresponding article so visitors move seamlessly from portfolio to published work.
02
Work page restructure
Restructured all 7 main work pages at both the CMS and component level. Reworked the image layout from 5 images down to 3 plus a video, giving each project more breathing room and visual focus. Added subheading sections beneath each work title to improve content hierarchy and give context at a glance.
03
Navigation & Scroll Behaviour
Expanded the mobile dropdown navigation to include the full set of options matching the desktop so users get a consistent experience regardless of device. Beyond mobile, I also adjusted the scroll navigation behavior across the entire site, refining how the nav responds as users move through each page.
04
Seo & Brand Assets
Updated the favicon, page title, meta description, and social preview image to align with Shaina's visual identity. Every touchpoint from Google search to a shared link should look and feel intentional while remaining on-brand.
05
Writing Page Interactions
Built hover and press effects on each image in the writing page. When a user clicks on a writing image they're taken directly to that specific piece on Shaina's Substack. A bold "click here to read more" prompt was also embedded in the text of each entry, making the call to action clear and consistent throughout.
06
Navigation Bar Component Fix
Identified and resolved a layout bug in the navigation bar component at tablet breakpoint. The nav items were expanding to fill the full width of the top bar when manually resizing from desktop to tablet which was crowding the Shaina CIN logo. Fixed at the component level to ensure the nav maintains correct spacing and proportions across all screen sizes.
07
Scroll Behavior Fix
Identified and resolved a scroll glitch on the homepage caused by the Lenis smooth scroll component built into the template. The snap setting was forcing the page to auto-jump to the nearest section whenever a user paused mid-scroll making it difficult to access the top navigation. Disabled the snap behavior at the component level, allowing the page to scroll freely while keeping the smooth scroll effect intact.
The finished site
The palette came together naturally through the collaboration; warm parchment, deep burgundy, and white. It feels editorial without trying too hard. It works equally well behind a fashion shoot, a mural, and a piece of writing.
What was delivered
The site launched within one week of kickoff. Shaina now has a portfolio that brings all sides of her practice together. One destination for her fashion production work, her paintings, and her writing. The result is a site that's distinctly hers.
7
Work pages redesigned end-to-end
1
New page built from scratch
1 WK
Full delivery timline
7 work pages redesigned
Image layouts, subheadings, and video integration across all project pages
1 new page built from scratch
Writing page designed and built outside the template
Full mobile optimization
Dropdown nav redesigned with scroll-away interaction for the entire site
SEO and brand metadata
Search engine assets updated to match Shaina's visual identity across all channels
The portfolio is live
Shaina CIN's full portfolio — work, write, archive, and infoVisit Site
What I'd do differently
With more time, I'd push deeper into typography. A custom type pairing would have made the site feel more specific to Shaina's voice. I'd also start with a full component audit of the template. Several issues emerged mid-build; the Lenis scroll snap needed to be disabled, the nav bar expanded incorrectly at tablet breakpoint, and the mobile dropdown required component-level interaction fixes. Catching these earlier would have kept the delivery timeline even tighter.
Key takeaway
Template customization is its own design discipline. Knowing when to work within the system, and when to break out of it is where the real decisions happen. Building the writing page from scratch, resolving the Lenis scroll bug, and fixing the nav bar at the component level all required a different kind of thinking. Not just visual. Structural.