Biljana Milovanović — an artist portfolio for icon painting
An artist-led portfolio that presents hand-painted icons as individual works of art rather than products in a conventional online shop. It brings together the artist's identity, a large gallery of work and a simple path from meeting the artist to an initial commission enquiry.
The site is in preview status and kept out of search indexes (noindex) until it is agreed to publish it on its own domain.
About the project
For Biljana Milovanović, an icon painter and academically trained artist, we developed an artist-led portfolio that presents her icons as works of art rather than products in a conventional online shop.
The opening scene uses Biljana's portrait and a calm dark background, so that visitors first meet the artist behind the work. After the introduction, the site moves into a lighter gallery space in which the gilding, colours and details of the icons become the main visual elements.
- Client
- Biljana Milovanović
- Field
- Icon painting · academic artist
- Type of work
- Artist portfolio, art direction, website build
- Status
- Preview — ready for a publishing decision
- Audience
- Private commissioners, admirers of icon painting, churches and institutions
Business and creative goal
The goal was not simply to build a gallery of photographs, but to create a digital space that builds the value of Biljana's name, shows the quality of her work, earns the trust of private commissioners and clearly explains what commissioning an icon involves.
The challenge
An icon is not an ordinary product — it carries spiritual and artistic weight. The look of a standard online shop would diminish that value. Two things had to be reconciled: a dignified, gallery-like experience of the work, and practical clarity about formats, process and contact, so that the site is understandable to a private commissioner and to a specialist audience alike.
Visual direction
A dark, calm opening scene puts the artist first; the gallery section is lighter and quiet, so the gilding and colours of the icons can come through. The typography is editorial and composed (a serif for headings), the rhythm of the sections is slow and dignified, and the photographs of the work carry most of the visual impression.
How the site looks
Views from the preview version of the site — the opening scene, the gallery of work, and an enlarged view of a single icon.
Work from the gallery
Part of the gallery of hand-painted icons. Click to enlarge.
What was done
An artist portfolio, from research to preview
website and art direction- Research into the market and artist portfolios.
- Positioning, tone and visual direction.
- Preparation and editing of the icon photographs.
- A professional cover photograph of the artist.
- A hero section with the portrait and introduction.
- An editorial gallery of the work.
- A lightbox for the enlarged view of a single icon.
- A section about the artist.
- A clearly explained commissioning process.
- Formats and indicative pricing.
- Responsive development (desktop, tablet, phone).
- Keyboard navigation and accessible controls.
- Reduced-motion support.
- Image and performance optimisation.
- Technical SEO preparation (meta, canonical, structure).
- A noindex preview until publishing is agreed.
Note: technical SEO preparation was carried out. Local SEO as a separate service is not part of this preview.
The same experience on a phone
The portrait, the gallery and the path to contact are adapted to small screens — with no horizontal scrolling.
- The portrait and introduction stay dignified on a small screen.
- The gallery collapses to a single column without losing detail.
- The call and contact are within thumb's reach.
- No horizontal scrolling on narrow screens.
Result
An artist-led portfolio that puts the artist first and lets visitors get to know the work, understand the process and easily begin a conversation about commissioning an icon.
Note: the site is in preview status and kept out of search indexes. This presentation makes no claims about visits, rankings or the number of enquiries.
Services used
Would you like a portfolio like this?
Send a few sentences about your work. We will suggest how your portfolio could look and where it makes sense to start — with no obligation.