Web Design Internship — Portfolio, E-Commerce, & UX
Role: Web Design Intern
Mentor: Brian Allen
Company: Flyland Designs
Platform: WordPress (Avada), WooCommerce
Focus: UX, responsive design, portfolio structure, e-commerce usability
Project Overview
During my internship at Flyland Designs, I worked closely with illustrator Brian Allen to improve and expand the Flyland website. The site functions simultaneously as:
- A high-impact illustration portfolio
- An e-commerce storefront
- A client acquisition tool
My role focused on designing and building user-centered, responsive pages that clearly showcase artwork while making it easy for users to explore, understand, and purchase available products.
Portfolio Page Design & Visual Hierarchy
A major challenge was presenting large volumes of highly detailed artwork without overwhelming users.
My contributions included:
- Designing long-scroll portfolio pages with strong visual hierarchy
- Structuring content so each piece remains distinct and scannable
- Ensuring artwork is always the focal point, with minimal UI distraction
Layouts were designed responsively to maintain clarity across desktop and mobile devices.
Connecting Portfolio Artwork to Products
I helped design the relationship between portfolio pages and WooCommerce products, allowing users to clearly see when a piece of art was available across multiple products (e.g. t-shirts, prints, posters).
Key UX decisions:
- Portfolio pages act as discovery surfaces for related products
- Users can easily identify available formats without leaving the artwork page
- Product options are grouped logically to reduce friction
This helped bridge the gap between art showcase and purchase intent.
WooCommerce Product Management
I worked extensively with WooCommerce to edit and maintain product listings, including:
- Updating availability and inventory status
- Writing and refining product descriptions
- Managing product variations (size, style, apparel type)
- Ensuring consistent structure across listings
These updates ensured customers had clear expectations while preserving Flyland’s visual and brand standards.
Career Highlights Page
I designed and built a “Best Of” / Career Highlights page to showcase Brian’s work for major brands and collaborators.
This page:
- Curates high-profile projects into a single narrative
- Helps new visitors quickly understand the scope of Brian’s career
- Acts as a credibility anchor for clients and collaborators
From a UX perspective, this page reduces cognitive load for first-time visitors by surfacing the most impactful work upfront.
Client Inquiry & Engagement Forms
To support client engagement, I created and maintained inquiry forms using WordPress and Avada tools.
Responsibilities included:
- Designing clear, accessible form layouts
- Structuring questions to encourage detailed project briefs
- Ensuring visual consistency with the rest of the site
These forms act as a key conversion point from portfolio browsing to client contact.
UI Refinement & Accessibility Improvements
Across the site, I refined:
- Spacing and alignment for improved readability
- Typography hierarchy for scannability
- Layout consistency across pages and templates
- Added alternative text to images for low or no vision users
These changes improved overall usability, especially on content-dense pages, while preserving Flyland’s bold visual identity.
SEO & Content Structure
I supported site visibility improvements by:
- Optimizing content structure for readability and indexing
- Updating metadata and page hierarchy
- Supporting targeted keyword use without compromising tone
The goal was to increase discoverability while keeping the focus on artwork.
Reflection
This internship strengthened my ability to design for real-world creative businesses, where usability, branding, and commerce must coexist.
Key takeaways:
- Strong UX helps art speak for itself
- Clear structure improves both browsing and buying experiences
- Portfolio and e-commerce design are deeply interconnected
Working with Flyland Designs allowed me to apply UX thinking in a production environment while supporting a high-profile creative brand.
Skills Demonstrated
- Responsive web design
- WordPress & Avada page building
- WooCommerce product management
- Portfolio UX strategy
- UI refinement and accessibility
- SEO-aware content structuring
Michaela Sallese 