Author Branding & Website Design
By: Anwar Abdou
Published on: 30-09-2025
In today’s publishing landscape, even internationally recognised authors face the same challenge: how to make your voice heard beyond the page? Books are no longer enough to create lasting connections or attract new readers. Nowadays, maintaining a profession in the arts requires having a strong online presence that is built on a professional identity and a well-designed website.
Susan Abulhawa, a Palestinian-American novelist, poet, and activist, provides an illustrative example. Her debut novel, Mornings in Jenin, became an international bestseller, translated into more than 30 languages.
Through her work, Susan has amplified voices and stories that resonate worldwide. While her writing speaks volumes on its own, Susan recognised the value of translating that presence into a strong online platform to connect directly with her audience.
Tags: author branding, brand storytelling, strategic communications, website redesign, digital strategy
Struggling to transform your story into impact? Ready to amplify your voice and build a platform that truly resonates?
From Storytelling to Digital Presence
Revamping Online Presence:
Rebranding & Website Redesign
The objective was obvious when author Susan Abulhawa partnered with Olives & Heather: to establish an online presence that would be worthy of her work and be as powerful as her message.
We began by simplifying her visual brand, designing a cohesive brand that represented her writing, activism, and philanthropy.
Next, we went on to a full site redesign. Our approach was to continue with simplicity and beauty, an online home that was all about her writing.
Every aspect was chosen to pay tribute to Susan's storytelling: muted colors, simple navigation, and a layout that made it easy to travel between her books, events, and causes.
Technical upgrades were also important. We moved her site to a more robust server for security and performance, and we added a webshop so her readers can purchase her books directly from her. This move is a game changer for authors; it brings freedom away from mass distributors and creates a closer connection with readers.
Susan shared her appreciation for the process, highlighting in particular the strength of our Ul/UX design, which made the site responsive, elegant, and reader-friendly.
Impact: From Presence to First Sales
The impact was immediate. Within 24 hours of the webshop going live, direct book sales took place. Most significantly, the website offered a polished, centralised space for readers, media, and event planners to engage with her work directly.
This is a tiny illustration of a greater reality: publishing is just the beginning for writers and artists today. In addition to increasing a story's audience and cultivating devoted customer communities, a strong website and effective branding open up opportunities far beyond the
page.
Your Work Deserves to Be
Found
In this landscape, every author and creative benefits from having a home online. A well-crafted website is more than a digital business card; it's a living archive, a point of discovery, and a platform that grows alongside your work. It centralises your presence across projects, helps you build trust with readers and industry partners, and ensures that when opportunity knocks, there's a door to open. In a world where visibility is currency, your website is both foundation and beacon.
For us at Olives & Heather, this exercise was a reminder of what we believe to be true: when a story has substance, the work of branding is not to wrap it up but to allow it to ring out without apology.
Work With Us
Great stories deserve to be seen!
At Olives & Heather, we assist organisations, creatives, and changemakers in making their impact more powerful with strategies based on authenticity. If you're prepared to tell your story and influence perceptions, we'd be delighted to assist.
Let us make something meaningful together.