Ibra — Tattoo Artist

Ibrahim is a tattoo artist specialised in blackwork, black & grey and realism, but he had no website of his own to bring together his work and his identity as an artist — his presence lived on social media, and his work, process and contact channels were scattered. The challenge was to build an experience that didn't feel like a typical tattoo website, but like an artist's personal portfolio.

1. Build a digital identity of his own, beyond social media.
2. Show his work visually, giving his tattoos the spotlight.
3. Convey trust and professionalism before the first contact.
4. Make bookings and quote requests easy, connecting the site to WhatsApp, email and a contact form.

Secondary goal: lay a solid base that can later rank in search engines and act as an entry point for new clients.

I started by gathering visual references from portfolios, editorial pages and artists' websites, to explore different ways of presenting large images, galleries and navigation. A key reference was a landing page with a full-screen hero, floating navigation and a secondary content card; from there I developed my own solution adapted to Ibra's identity. I also worked directly with Ibrahim to identify his clients' most frequent questions and turn them into useful content on the site.

I chose a dark editorial aesthetic so the tattoo could take centre stage: black is a natural extension of Ibra's visual world and gives the photography more presence. The Hero uses one of his pieces at full scale — the user's first contact isn't a headline, it's his work.

For Projects I chose a mosaic of images in different sizes instead of a conventional grid: it shows more work, creates visual rhythm and makes browsing more engaging. Each image opens in a lightbox with zoom to appreciate the detail — essential when precision is part of the offer. I added smooth scroll, hover states and touches like the 'Zeus Sleeve' card that links the Hero to its project. Contact was treated as a core part: WhatsApp, Instagram, email and a quote form turn the portfolio into a client-acquisition tool.

I didn't just design the site — I built it. I went from Figma to a real interface in HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript — responsive, with section navigation, hover states, the lightbox, the form and real image handling — and shipped it live. It was my first project taken end to end, from design to development.

It was my first real client taken end to end, and it taught me that design and development aren't separate processes: the decisions I make in Figma have direct consequences when I turn them into code. I learned to handle what doesn't show up in the design — real images, responsive behaviour, interactions, forms, loading errors — and above all, to design from a real client's needs.