Context
Blake Maguire Art started as a creative outlet during COVID-19 and grew into a functioning small business. Making work quickly led to bigger questions — how to position a brand, who the audience was, and how to grow without losing its distinct identity.
Scroll through some of my most recent works below.
My Role
As the founder, I oversee everything including brand strategy, design, marketing, and operations. That full ownership has required real decisions with real consequences, and it's where much of my strategic thinking has developed.
Approach
From the start I treated the brand as a living system rather than a static portfolio — one with a clear identity, consistent structure, and room to evolve as I learned more about my audience.
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Established a clear visual and narrative direction
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Observed social engagement to inform positioning and product decisions
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Built systems to support growth across digital and operational touchpoints
Digital Experience
The website serves as the brand's central hub. I designed and built it independently, taking into account both user experience and aesthetics. It needed to be easy for visitors to understand the brand, explore the work, and move through the site intuitively.
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A distinct logo to anchor brand recognition
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Simple structure that encourages exploration
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Responsive layouts optimized for desktop and mobile
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Clear differentiation between commissions, original works, and charitable projects
Blake Maguire Art logo inspired by the artist's signature shown to the right.
Mobile and desktop views of the Blake Maguire Art website are shown below. Or, see for yourself at blakemaguireart.com.
Key Decisions
Several intentional decisions shaped the growth of the brand:
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Organized work into three clear categories — commissions, original works, and charitable projects — to clarify offerings and support different strategic goals.
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Adopted a time-based, cost-plus pricing model for commissions, based on hourly labor and material costs.
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Applied UX principles to the website, treating layout and navigation as decisions that guide users from awareness to purchase.
Outcomes & Impact
Blake Maguire Art has led to measurable growth across sales, digital engagement, and community impact.
$4,300
in sales from original pieces and commissions
6
years creating and selling artwork
$1,100+
raised for charitable organizations
625
social followers across platform (@blakemaguireart)
36
original works created
3+
charities supported
Reflection
Six years of building this brand has been a sustained lesson in iteration. Across pricing, positioning, and digital presence, each decision has reinforced that the willingness to refine is as important as the original creative vision.