Old City Santa
A photography-led website redesign captures the magic of Old City Santa, showcasing its immersive holiday experience while making it easier for families to browse packages and book their visit.
Old City Santa Website Redesign
The Project
Old City Santa offers an immersive holiday photography experience for families in Philadelphia. The website needed to communicate that this is much more than a traditional photo with Santa. It is a personalized, story-driven experience hosted inside The Logan Hotel.
The Challenge
The previous website did not fully reflect the quality, warmth, or immersive nature of the Old City Santa experience. While it provided basic information, the visual presentation felt more functional than magical and did not immediately distinguish the business from a standard seasonal photography service.
The redesign needed to:
- Create a more polished and memorable first impression
- Better showcase the professional photography
- Communicate the full Santa experience, not just the final pictures
- Make pricing, frequently asked questions, and booking information easier to find
- Give the brand a stronger visual identity
- Work smoothly across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices
Before and After
This should be the main visual portion of the case study.
Use either:
- Full-page screenshots of both homepages placed side by side
- A slider that visitors can drag between the old and new designs
- Individual comparisons of specific sections
For example:
| Before | After |
| Basic homepage presentation | Cinematic, image-led introduction |
| Limited brand storytelling | Clear explanation of the immersive experience |
| Photography used primarily as supporting content | Photography becomes the centerpiece of the design |
| Information presented more generally | Dedicated paths for exploring, pricing, FAQs, the gallery, and booking |
| More traditional seasonal website styling | Refined visual direction that matches The Logan setting |
You can retrieve the previous version through the Wayback Machine’s Old City Santa archive. Pick a complete capture from shortly before the redesign, then take screenshots at the same desktop width as the new site.
The Visual Direction
The new design combines the warmth and nostalgia of Christmas with a more polished, editorial presentation. Rich photography, generous spacing, layered imagery, refined typography, and subtle holiday details create a site that feels festive without becoming overly busy or childish.
The design also reflects the upscale setting of The Logan Hotel while keeping the experience approachable for families.
What Changed
A More Impactful Introduction
The homepage now immediately introduces visitors to the atmosphere of Old City Santa through immersive photography and direct booking opportunities.
Instead of making families piece together what the business offers, the opening sections establish that this is a personal Santa experience built around meaningful interaction and professional family photography.
Photography-Led Storytelling
The photography is no longer treated as decoration. Images are used throughout the site to show the expressions, interactions, environment, and small moments that make the sessions different.
This lets visitors understand the experience visually before they read every detail.
Stronger Brand Presentation
The redesigned color palette, typography, imagery, spacing, and decorative elements now feel like parts of one cohesive brand. The site has its own recognizable personality rather than looking like a general event or photography website.
Clearer Content Organization
The navigation separates the most important information into clear areas, including the experience, gallery, pricing, FAQs, company background, and booking details.
Visitors can browse the story behind Old City Santa or move directly toward making a reservation without getting lost.
More Purposeful Calls to Action
Booking opportunities appear throughout the site at natural decision points. Visitors do not have to return to the top of the page or search through the navigation once they are ready to take the next step.
A Better Mobile Presentation
The redesigned layouts are built to preserve the imagery, hierarchy, and calls to action on smaller screens. The mobile version still feels intentionally designed rather than simply being a compressed desktop page.
The Result
The redesigned Old City Santa website now presents the business as a complete holiday experience rather than a standard seasonal photo session. The new visual direction better reflects the quality of the photography, the personal nature of each visit, and the upscale setting at The Logan Hotel.
Most importantly, the website now gives families a clearer sense of what they are booking and why the experience is different before they ever arrive.
Every number here came out of the client’s own analytics.
No modeled projections, no blended averages. If you want to see the account behind this one, ask — we will walk you through it.
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