Amanda Yoga.
Imagine finally feeling comfort, strength, and resilience as you move through life with grace and ease — relaxing into a state of embodied bliss. Such is the power of the teachings of Amanda McMaine, E-RYT 500, YACEP, and she was in major need of a website overhaul, tech support, and a rebrand…we just didn’t know it yet.
creating a visual brand.
Amanda and her partner, Michael, had spent years cobbling together various pieces as projects arose — a website, brochures, CD covers, etc.
As with many long-term, do-it-yourself business owners, she had managed to find her aesthetic while also being budget-minded, although it lacked cohesive type, brand colors, and design elements, including a logo.
Amanda was a dream to work with — granting me full creative license to use my skills to visually represent her magic. Because I’d been studying with her for over four years when we started working together, I had experiential knowledge of her style and practice, which made selecting colors, creating a logo, and choosing fonts simple.
Ordinarily, I’d provide a few different options for each item with rationale for my decisions. She’d then select her favorites. However, our process flowed easily, and we landed on the pink, burgundy, and purple color scheme, lotus logo, and serif + sans-serif font combination seen in the “AFTER” photo below without any back and forth.
BEFORE
AFTER
logo design process.
Amanda’s logo is a lotus flower with seven petals that is reminiscent of a sunrise or sunset in the negative space.
My usual process involves phases for brainstorming, mood boards, sketches, type, and color selection, including additional rounds for revisions, polishing, and the final product. However, I visualized Amanda’s logo while she was leading a Yoga Nidra meditation. It just popped into my mind, so I drew it, added some type, and showed it to her. She LOVED it!
While this is unusual, I always articulate, attempt to find pictures, or sketch any visions received during the discovery phase.
website design process.
Gather Content — Gathering all the content for Amanda's website was no small task, given the vast amount of website content, workshop and retreat details, and several CDs of audio files. I systematically collected all the web content into a Google doc and organized the photos, audio files, and content into their appropriate folders in the Google Drive to ensure everything was accounted for and easily accessible. This thorough approach ensured the copy was reviewed and well-structured to paste into the website template. This method ensured we had a complete and well-organized content library, ready for the website. Amanda's valuable resources were now easy to access and well-ordered.
Review & Approve Template, Images, & Copy — Reviewing and approving the template, images, and copy required careful attention to detail to meet everyone’s standards. While there wasn’t a lot of back and forth, we did have several conversations to make sure we were on the same page regarding these items. I coordinated the review process, making sure every image and piece of text met Amanda’s approval.
Test Links, Class Registration, & Store Checkout — esting the functionality of links, class registrations, and the store checkout was crucial to ensure a smooth user experience. I thoroughly tested every aspect, clicking through links, registering for classes, and completing store checkouts to ensure everything worked flawlessly. Even so, her students still found a few kinks in the user experience and broken links that we quickly remedied. Overall, this meticulous testing and ongoing technical support made it easier for students to navigate, engage, and purchase.
Manage & Refine — Managing and refining the site required ongoing attention to keep it updated and functional. As time progressed, fewer new issues and updates needed addressing. I continuously monitored and improved the site, making necessary tweaks to ensure it ran smoothly. The site remained fresh and user-friendly, providing a positive experience for visitors.
Passing the Baton — By the time I transitioned the website fully to Amanda, we had worked through any technical issues and user experience snags. All she was required to update was her class schedule. Of course, if she had any issues she couldn’t figure out, I was happy to answer questions, troubleshoot, or offer direct assistance.
unique challenges.
Technical Difficulties — While this website was originally launched pre-pandemic, the switch to Zoom yoga classes, online class registration and payment, and digital purchases caused major technical difficulties for the senior clientele, as users struggled to download and view the videos. I provided extensive customer service, guiding technically challenged users through unfamiliar digital landscapes. Picture me as a digital sherpa, leading them through the wilds of the internet. This experience improved my customer service skills and ensured that even the least tech-savvy users could access the content. We were all “Living our Yoga” as we navigated multiple new terrains simultaneously.
Breaking the Internet — Amanda's extensive library of instructional yoga videos, many over two hours long, exceeded Squarespace's 300 MB limit, making uploads difficult. I found a workaround by uploading the videos to YouTube, downloading the compressed files, and then adding them to the Squarespace store. Though this process remained time-consuming and cumbersome, we utilized analytics to discover student preferences and shift focus to video over audio files. We even developed a new product of mini yoga classes with the help of students, focusing on specific areas of the body, which boosted her sales.
Never Finished — As Amanda's library grew, the website could only showcase 30 videos for sale at a time, hiding the rest with no retrieval option. We reorganized the digital library into multiple categories and added a search capability to help students find specific class recordings. This reorganization improved the website’s functionality, making it easier for students to access and navigate the extensive video library without needing to contact the customer service team, comprised of Amanda and me. Once in-person classes resumed and fewer people were purchasing digital products, we switched to only updating her retreat and class schedule.
outcome.
Amanda and I created a beautiful website to promote her yoga classes, digital products, workshops, and retreats using the content from her existing website, CDs, recordings, and photo archives. The website ended up matching Amanda’s aesthetic, reading smoothly, and impressing visitors. The redesign was a major glow-up, which allowed existing and new students to experience her offerings on the same level both online and in-person. She was thrilled!
in loving memory.
My beloved yoga teacher, Amanda McMaine, transitioned in July 2022. Her transformative teachings fundamentally changed my life, allowing me to develop a profound sense of safety and confidence in my mind, body, and spirit. Her memory and legacy continue to inspire through the work of students and at The Essence of Yoga Center.
