Patu Photography

Shopify theme customisation for an artist’s own store, so the photography leads and buying a print is never a hunt.

Custom Shopify theme sections
Design system
Buying-path friction map
Discovery and buyer research
Sitemap and wireframes
Structured data

The business

Isaac Te Reina is a visual artist in Aotearoa. Through Patu Photography he sells prints of his Māori photography — work from around Aotearoa, Turtle Island and Polynesia — to whānau who want to own it or give it. His buyers include people who already follow his work and others choosing a print as a gift or as a connection to a place. He had set up his Shopify store himself, and he asked for improvements to it, not a fresh start.

The challenge

The goal was simple to say: a visitor should be able to find and buy a print without friction. Before changing anything, I mapped the path from first look to checkout and recorded every snag — navigation that said one thing while the page said another, no clear size or material for a print, a framing option that wasn’t really on offer, and nothing to reassure someone at the cart.

The goal was simple to say: a visitor should be able to find and buy a print without friction.

The approach

Lead with place and story, then make buying plain. Collections became exhibitions, each with its count of prints, so browsing feels like walking a show. A collection can be viewed one work at a time or as a wall. Print options are spelled out, the cart became a Kete that travels with you, and te reo Māori runs through the interface. The chrome stays neutral with one red accent, so the colour lives in the photographs.

Lead with place and story, then make buying plain. Collections became exhibitions, each with its count of prints, so browsing feels like walking a show.

What I built

Discovery calls, a buyer profile and a competitive review came first, then a map of the buying path, a sitemap, wireframes and a design system. I built custom sections inside his Shopify theme — the hero, the exhibitions carousel and wheel, viewing modes, the Kete, trust lines and an image guard — and added structured data for search. Shopify’s own checkout stayed exactly as it was.

Discovery calls, a buyer profile and a competitive review came first, then a map of the buying path, a sitemap, wireframes and a design system.

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Laptop · Tablet · Phone

The laptop is the easy part.

Each print option, from a digital download to an A0 print, becomes a button the width of the phone. The cart, called the Kete, stays in the corner of every page.

His exhibitions on a turning ring, recorded on the live site. Drag it and it follows your hand; let go and it settles on the nearest exhibition.

The badge comes together first

A first visit opens with Isaac’s badge assembling over a flicker of his prints: the aperture turns, the crossed patu land and the type arrives. A breath of black, then the home page dissolves in.

Product page for Cosmoz: print-option pills from digital download to A0, framing note, Add to Kete and secure-checkout line

Print options in plain words

Clear choices from a digital file to an A0 print, an honest note about framing in place of an option that didn’t exist, and a secure-checkout line where the decision is made.

Typography & colour

A red held in reserve.

Three typefaces and six colours, named from a Resene chart Isaac chose. Red marks the one action on each screen.

Font

Fraunces

Every word of the story. Never in capitals, never bold.

Symbols

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū

Colour palette

Six colours. Blackjack and Alabaster carry the page; Red Pepper is kept for the action.

Blackjack#1D2020
Cigar#7D4E38
Cinnamon#7B482B
Red Pepper#BB112A
Del Toro#771012
Alabaster#F6F6F3

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