Dearly Mary Photography
A Brand Built Behind the Lens
Dearly Mary Photography is a lifestyle photography studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia, specializing in capturing authentic and heartfelt moments for families, newborns, and individuals. Led by Mary Ann, a passionate portrait photographer, her brand is built on warmth, connection, and storytelling through timeless images.
Coelacanth Studio partnered with Mary Ann to develop a cohesive brand identity and an intuitive website that reflects the heart of her work. The goal was to craft an experience that feels as personal and welcoming as the photography she offers — while providing a seamless user journey for potential clients to explore her services and connect with her easily.
Layers of the Creative Process
From brand identity to web experience, every detail was crafted to reflect Dearly Mary Photography’s warmth and connect her with the people who matter most — her customers.
Brand Concept & Identity Design
Created a full visual identity system, including a custom logo, colour palette, and typography. The brand blends a soft, approachable aesthetic with timeless elegance, appealing to Mary’s target audience of families and individuals looking for authentic photography.
Website Design & Low-Code Development
Designed and developed a responsive website on Webflow, focusing on a clean layout and intuitive navigation. The site highlights Mary’s storytelling photography and makes it easy for visitors to explore her portfolio, learn about her services, and get in touch.
Membership on Website
Developed a secure, easy-to-use client membership portal. Clients can log in to view their watermarked photo proofs and select their favourite images for final delivery. The portal streamlines the client experience and simplifies the selection process.
Design & Business Consultation
Provided strategic guidance to align Mary’s marketing initiatives with her new brand identity. We also explored ways to make the most of the membership portal—turning it into a tool for deeper client engagement, streamlined operations, and long-term business growth.
Turning Vision into a Seamless Experience
Discovery & Strategy
Coelacanth Studio partnered with Mary Ann to gain a deep understanding of her story, ideal clients, and artistic vision. Together, we developed a strategy focused on warmth, trust, and simplicity—qualities that are woven throughout her brand identity and thoughtfully integrated into the website’s design and user experience.
Brand Development
Developed a versatile logo featuring the Stargazer Lily, a meaningful symbol for Mary. Paired with an earthy color palette (DMP Dark Sage, Sage, Light Sage, and DMP Pink), the identity conveys both elegance and emotional connection. A full style guide was created to ensure consistency across future applications.
Website Information Architecture
The sitemap and wireframes were developed to strategically organize pages and content in a way that reflects the studio’s offerings and client journey. Key pages such as Gallery, Investments (Pricing), Stories (Blogs), and Contact were mapped to support intuitive navigation and a frictionless user experience. This structure laid the groundwork for consistent design and effective content delivery.
Website Design
High-fidelity layouts were created in Figma, focusing on visual clarity, warmth, and alignment with the brand’s tone. The design system emphasized hierarchy, accessibility, and responsive behaviour, ensuring consistency across desktop and mobile experiences while guiding visitors toward key actions.
Low-Code Website Development
The final build was executed in Webflow, translating the approved design into a fully responsive, interactive website. The structure was optimized not only for user experience but also to establish a strong technical foundation for search visibility. Semantic markup, clean navigation, and performance best practices were implemented to support long-term scalability and SEO.
Membership Portal & Client Dashboard
Impletemented a secure client dashboard using Memberstack, where clients can log in to preview watermarked images and select their favorite photos. This aims to simplify Mary’s client management workflow and enhance the overall user experience.
Ongoing Design & Business Support
Coelacanth Studio continue to support Mary with strategic design advice and business insights to help her grow with confidence. From refining brand visuals to exploring new ways to leverage the membership portal, our ongoing collaboration ensures her studio stays aligned with evolving goals and client needs.
Empowering a Business Built on Heartfelt Connections
The project began with crafting a thoughtful brand concept and identity system, which established the foundation for the entire design direction. This cohesive visual identity informed every aspect of the website’s design and user experience. The result is a polished, approachable brand paired with an elegant, easy-to-navigate website that highlights Mary Ann’s photography and builds trust with potential clients. The website is fully responsive, SEO-friendly, and designed with future scalability in mind.
By combining brand storytelling with thoughtful design and development, Coelacanth Studio helped Dearly Mary Photography launch an online presence that reflects the warmth, authenticity, and personal connection at the heart of Mary’s work.
Behind the Build
From early sketches to launch day, this project was made possible by a curated set of tools that supported everything from design thinking to development. Here’s a peek into the toolkit that brought Dearly Mary Photography to life.
