Dark Academia for a Voice Actor
Stephanie Hayslip has spent twenty years telling stories onstage and behind a microphone. A lifelong devotee of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, she was naturally pulled toward this work, giving voice to audiobooks, characters, animation, commercials, and walking tours.
The site needed to feel like the fantastical worlds she works in, sell a working professional in the space of a minute, and put her demos front and center. Two pieces made that happen: a logo and a website built as a digital calling card.
Identity
The logo came first, and the brief requested a puzzling combination: luxurious, elegant, witty, and… a Medusa. The original Medusa is the monster of myth, snakes and menace. The version delivered here was a beautiful, feminine face rendered in a single delicate line, crowned not with serpents but with flowers and butterflies in full bloom. It suits her exactly as a performer who gives warmth to the creatures of fantasy and horror. The elegance is the linework; the luxury is the ample space around it; the wit is in the reinterpretation.
Website
The website then built a memorable world around that mark. The aesthetic brief — dark academia, magic, wonder, fantasy, elegant — took shape as a candlelit library rendered in rich, moody detail: aged leather, gilded book spines, a vintage ribbon microphone, brass and globes and green velvet, and a Medusa bust tucked into the shelves that echoes the logo. The imagery is full-bleed and cinematic across every page so the spell never breaks as a visitor moves through the site.
Structure
The strategic frame was clear from the start: this is a digital business card, not a content library. Its job is to be quick, professional, and compelling, and to route the right people to the demos as fast as possible. The demos are the centerpiece, and the site is built to get to them without friction. Audio blocks let a casting director or author play work samples directly on the page, with no downloads and no detours, because hearing the voice is the whole transaction. The Services page lays out the full breadth of what she offers alongside audiobook purchase links.
"As a first time Squarespace user as well as this being the first time I worked with a designer, I can safely say Sara is the artist for you. With her versatile style and patience, I now have a wonderful corner of the Internet to send people to. Thank you!"
— Stephanie Hayslip
