livebooks blog

Photographer Mimi Haddon has one of the most eclectic, colorful, and eye-popping sites we’ve ever seen. We absolutely love the simplicity and intrigue that comes with every new page – which is why we chose her as our featured website this week.

Check out what she had to say about her site and make sure to head to www.mimihaddon.com to see more beautiful photos!

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

MH: Color, Costume, Life.

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

MH: My cover image on my homepage is a notebook, which I really love. My work is a sort of diary of my life, my thoughts, my fantasies – the notebook is my attempt to convey that.

Q: How often do you update your website?

MH: I go through waves. Sometimes I go months without updating it. When I have a solid project to upload then I will add it. I try to keep the site as edited and simple as possible so it is easy to navigate. I have many artistic interests, so it’s easy for me to want to throw everything up on the site, but I had an excellent professor in college who said, “you’re only as good as your worst piece.” This was in terms of putting your portfolio together. It’s a way to force an artist into editing their work, which is perhaps the most difficult but important process in presentation.

Q: What is your favorite feature that liveBooks offers?

MH: I love the ease with which I can upload my work. It’s a clean and beautifully designed platform. I  also love how easy it is to create a quality web gallery. I use this often to shoot quick portfolios of a specific work to clients.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

MH: Less is more. I started off as a graphic designer and studied the art of visual communication for many years. When a client looks at your site, you want to show a confident, solid body of work. This of course ties back to the art of editing. If you have someone you trust, ask for help in the culling process.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com!

Award-winning photographer Andre Baranowski’s work has been featured on the covers of national and international publications such as Saveur, Departures, Garden Design, Better Homes & Gardens, Shape, Men’s Health, and many more. We were so impressed with his clean and easy-to-navigate website design that we just had to feature his website this week!

Check out what he had to say below and then head on over to www.andrebaranowskiphoto.com to see more of his amazing pictures!

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

AB: Simplicity, Beauty, Authenticity.

Andre Baranowski for Tiffany, New York.

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

AB: I think a photographer is as good as his last job. I try to publish on my website the best work I have done and at the same time try to get more work just like that.

Q: How often do you update your website?

AB: As soon as I create something I am very pleased with, and have a good response from my clients, I update my website.

Andre Baranowski for Standard Hotel Miami.

Q: What is your favorite feature that liveBooks offers?

AB: Simplicity and speed of interaction with liveBooks as well as the choice of aesthetics.

Andre Baranowski for Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

AB: We live in a busy and complicated world saturated with irrelevant information. Make it beautiful, simple, and fast.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com!

liveBooks8 – our new responsive, HTML5 platform – is here and it has all the bells and whistles. Information about migration to the new platform will be coming to your email in the next few weeks, but for now, we thought we’d give an overview of some of our favorite new features of liveBooks8!

Varied Content Modules

You’ll have the ability to add as many content modules as you’d like. You can pick from our pre-configured modules or create your own by combining our image galleries, videos, or text blocks.

SEO Everything™

liveBooks8 has incredibly advanced SEO tools – yet they are so easy and simple to use. You’ll quickly be able to add title tags, descriptions, keywords, image alt text, and more to your website so that your site is easily searchable and indexed properly. Click here for more in-depth info on liveBooks8 new SEO tools.

Unlimited Images and Galleries

Photos are the stars of your website – and we want you to have all the tools possible to make them shine. You will be able to add unlimited images to your galleries, then quickly design and customize their layout so that every single one looks great on the page. All images that are added to your website are auto-categorized and saved in the image library. Plus, you can easily add titles, descriptions, and tags to every image on your website to boost your SEO.

Drag and Drop Design

Easily move your content sections, items, and images to create the exact website and layout you want. No need for file attachments; you’ll simply drag and drop images directly from your desktop to your browser!

Easy Responsive Preview

One of the coolest features is the ability to preview your site in desktop, tablet, and mobile views before you publish it – this gives you the chance to make sure your site looks perfect on every device before it’s live!

If you haven’t been contacted about migrating your current liveBooks site to liveBooks8 – hold tight! We appreciate your patience and will be reaching out very soon to get you started with your migration options.

Sue Barr’s goal is to “capture the ordinary to create the extraordinary” – and we definitely think her beautiful images speak for themselves in that regard. We also think her website is absolutely extraordinary – which is why we just had to feature it on the blog this week.

Take a look at what she had to say about her website’s design below – and head on over to www.suebarrphoto.com to see the rest of the stunning site!

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

SB: Candid, Authentic and Focused – I am a Story Teller but don’t confuse me as a documentarian. I am an intricate part of each shoot, whether it’s a head shot, portrait, or event. I compose as I am working and help my subjects with ideas and poses and then lighten the atmosphere with humor. Patience and perseverance are my mottos!

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

SB: I choose my favorite from the most current shoot.

Q: How often do you update your website?

SB: I try to do it about twice a year. Instagram and my blogs show new work weekly.

Q: What is your favorite feature that liveBooks offers?

SB: The ease of re-organizing.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

SB: Have a clear voice and don’t confuse the viewer. Target your audience and don’t stray.

Check out more of Sue’s work on Facebook and Twitter!

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com!