Susan Belles - Website Redesign

Website Redesign for Dr. Santiago Camara

When Dr. Camara, a professor of economics, approached me about redesigning his academic website, the goal was clear: invest in a fresh, modern design that would yield high returns in usability and engagement. His existing website was in a recession—visually outdated and in need of restructuring to better reflect his current research projects. Additionally, he wanted to highlight his teaching in a more prominent way. The goal of this project was to create a modern, user-friendly website that balanced aesthetics with academic professionalism while ensuring easy access to his work.

Establishing a Visual Identity for Dr. Camara’s Website

A strong visual identity is more than just aesthetics—it communicates credibility, professionalism, and the essence of an individual’s work. When redesigning Dr. Camara’s academic website, I aimed to create a cohesive visual identity that reflected his expertise as an economist while maintaining a modern and approachable design. This process involved selecting a color palette with economic significance, choosing a sophisticated yet contemporary typeface, and designing a custom graphic inspired by his research models and mathematical equations.

Color

To establish a color scheme that aligned with economic themes, I selected a palette that subtly referenced finance, knowledge, and growth. The ivory background is timeless, inviting, and sophisticated. The primary color gold, reflects success, prestige, and financial growth- aims of economic study. Supporting colors included a deep purple, a nod to his Alma Mater Northwestern University, to evoke the legacy of economic scholarship. Finally, a striking emerald green to convey stability, balance and logic. These hues worked together to create a balanced, professional aesthetic while reflecting Dr. Camara’s field of study.

Typography

For the website’s typography, I sought a font that mirrored the analytical precision of economics while maintaining a modern, readable style. I chose a refined serif typeface for headings, lending the site a sense of academic authority and timeless sophistication. To complement this, I used a sleek, sans-serif font for body text, ensuring clarity and readability in research summaries and teaching materials.

Personalization

To further personalize the website and tie it directly to Dr. Camara’s research, I designed a custom graphic element derived from his mathematical equations and economic models. By abstracting key formulas and graph structures from his work, I created a subtle yet distinctive visual motif that appears in the site’s branding elements. This design choice serves as both a visual signature and a nod to the rigorous analytical foundations of economics, reinforcing the depth and credibility of Dr. Camara’s scholarship.

The Marginal Gains of Good Design

The previous design was functional but visually outdated, with disorganized content blocks and no visual hierarchy. In contrast, the updated version features a cleaner layout, intuitive navigation, and a more structured presentation of research publications. By making small changes in the organization of the content, optimizing readability with text hierarchy, and incorporating a professional yet inviting color scheme, I ensured that Dr. Camara’s website became an impactful asset in his academic portfolio.