Monica Kayne, Author
Branding & Multi-Page Author Website
Monica Kayne is a TV producer turned proud romance writer who creates dark and swoony romance novels with a liberal dose of sass and humor. Her favorite characters? Possessive bad boys and the feisty, smart-mouthed heroines that they can't resist. When she came to us, she was ready to build a brand and website that matched the drama and sophistication of her mafia-themed novels.
Building a Brand from Scratch
Monica had no existing brand when we started, which meant we got to create something completely custom for her. We knew we needed a look that felt dramatic and sophisticated, something that captured the dark, sexy world of her mafia romance novels.
We started with a custom wordmark logo in an elegant cursive style. There's something about seeing an author's name in a beautiful script that adds that personal, intimate touch.
For brand colors, we landed on gold and black. It's a combination that feels sexy, sleek, and timeless, exactly what Monica's mafia romance novels call for.
For typography, we chose a serif font for headings to give the site that traditional, elevated feel. Body copy is set in a clean sans-serif because it's much easier to read on screens. And for an accent font, we brought in a custom cursive that isn't available in Squarespace's standard options. It adds that handwritten, personal touch throughout the site.
Along with the wordmark, we created a submark for flexibility, designed a favicon, and created a custom social sharing image.
The result is a brand that feels bold, mysterious, and elegant.
Designing the Website
Monica's website actually started as a single page, but as her career grew, we expanded it into a full multi-page experience.
The homepage sets the tone immediately with a black background and a subtle smokey grey fog video that pulls you right into Monica's world. But we didn't stop there. We added custom video backgrounds to each section of the site, creating subtle movement throughout without overwhelming the content. Each video was chosen to enhance the mood while keeping the focus on her books and writing.
The result is a site that feels cinematic and immersive, exactly what her mafia romance novels call for. We also created dedicated pages for her books and reader bonuses, giving her plenty of room to connect with her audience and grow her platform.
The site is built to expand with her as she continues writing, and from start to finish, the whole project took just 4 weeks.
★★★★★
"Beyond organized with a streamlined process that is painless."
"Working with Nadine on my author website was a total pleasure. She helped me focus my website's content, and drill down on the look that best represents my brand. She is beyond organized with a streamlined process that is painless. I will 100% work with Nadine again in the future."
