SQUARESPACE WEBSITE DESIGN AND BUILD — SAMARA STUDIO WITH DAVID HATTON

David came to this project with strong creative direction already in place. He needed a Squarespace website that was minimal, considered and flexible enough to grow as the studio took on new work and new people. It had to feel premium without being cold, and it had to work as a practical tool for the team, not just a showcase.

Because David works in the creative industry, the site also had to hold up under scrutiny from a professional audience. There was no room for anything that felt generic or off the shelf.

• Discovery calls and briefing

• Full site design in Figma across all pages before any build began

• Squarespace build: all pages, navigation, hierarchy and mobile optimisation

• Domain connection

• Custom CSS plugin for the homepage carousel with motion effects

• Lateral scrolling galleries for the Work and Team pages

• Expanding panel interactions for the Work page case studies

• Looped video sections for the Punk Ideation page

• Interactive team biographies with rollover states

• Hidden style guide page with typography, colours and reusable section templates

• SEO setup: copy optimisation, image naming and metadata

• Privacy policy and terms pages

• Squarespace Circle discount applied to the subscription

• Handover with CMS orientation and ongoing resource list

Before any building started, every page was mapped and designed in Figma. For a client who is visually literate and used to working with designers, this was the right environment. It meant David could see the whole site taking shape, leave comments on specific areas and understand exactly what content was needed where. The feedback loop was fast and collaborative throughout.

A Google Drive folder structure kept all the content moving: copy, images, logo files, biography photos and case study assets all had a home. I used Markup.io to share the live site for feedback as the build progressed, so David could comment directly on real pages rather than trying to describe what he meant in an email.

The project ran over several months, with natural pauses when David was on freelance contracts. That pace suited the work. Content-heavy sites need time to gather the material properly, and I kept things moving from my end wherever I could.

David had a strong visual direction coming in: dark, minimal and editorial, with a premium feel that reflected the calibre of work the studio produces. My role was to honour that direction and build it into something that functioned as a website, not just a concept.

The homepage carousel used a custom CSS plugin I sourced, tested and installed, giving the landing page a quality of motion that Squarespace's default options couldn't deliver. The Work page used expanding panels, another custom solution, allowing visitors to explore case studies in a way that felt considered rather than cluttered.

A hidden style guide page documents all the design decisions: typography, colour values, section templates and spacing rules. Anyone on the Samara team can add new content without accidentally breaking the look of the site.

Samara Studio launched to strong feedback. David shared the site on LinkedIn and received an immediate positive response from his professional network. The site reflects the quality of the studio's work and gives the collective a platform that holds its own in their industry.

The hidden style guide and reusable templates mean the team can add new projects, people and content independently. The site was built to grow, and it has the infrastructure to do that.

David continues to manage the site himself and has come back for occasional technical support as the studio evolves, which is exactly how a good handover should work.