MSLK Launches Blog for Photographer, James Porto


A few years back we worked with high-profile photo illustrator, James Porto to revamp his brand identity. Since then, we’ve been working with him on occasional touch-ups to his marketing by helping to consult on new images to shoot for his promotional ads. Recently, we helped him solve a vexing problem: getting his work found on social media outlets. This was essential, as the new generation of art directors and art buyers are more likely to find about new work through blogs and image curating sites than the more traditional print channels. We determined that a personal blog would be the best way for James to achieve this goals. Read more to go behind the scenes of our process. Be sure to also check out the James Porto blog, as well.

Our strategy phase included a comprehensive search engine optimization investigation. Using statistical tools, we established a list of key phrases James Porto should use on his blog to get more easily found by search engines. We then created a content plan around these key phrases that could be used as a guide when writing articles. Additionally, we carefully chose category names that would not only read naturally on the blog, but were mostly helpful in getting James found by the right people searching for these terms.

Expanding upon the brand identity and website that we had previously established, the blog’s design is bold and minimal, keeping James’s work as the star of the show. Its three-column layout clearly separates information, with filtering options on the left, content in the middle, and important external links on the right that drive users towards the website, Facebook Page, RSS feed and mailing list capture. The right column allows users to have easy access to these links no matter how far down the page is scrolled. Each post gives users the ability to “like” and tweet with one easy click. We were even able to embed his brand identity’s distinctive slab-serif font in the body of the text, avoiding the typically vanilla typography seen around the world wide web.

With his blog now automatically connected to his Facebook Page, James is beginning to see how people react to his images in a more personal way than print ads could ever acheive.