Mara Vexley ran Framehaus from a small studio in the Bronx. She had the eye, the skills, the portfolio. Every layout was crisp. Every pitch deck was polished. Clients loved her work until it was time to pay. Leads went cold. Projects stayed small. The compliments rolled in, but the contracts didn’t.
She believed good design spoke for itself. But it wasn’t speaking loud enough.
What she had wasn’t broken design, it was broken communication. Her work looked like money but didn’t move like it. That’s when we stepped in. We didn’t tweak colors or layouts, we tore into the real problem, live, with her on the call.
And once she saw it, she couldn’t unsee it.
The Work Was Solid. The Wallet Wasn’t. The Problem – “Design Sales”
Mara wasn’t confused about design. She was confused about why it wasn’t selling.
She poured weeks into each project. Every pixel lined up. Every page looked like a gallery piece. But when leads landed on her site, they bounced. When she sent decks, they stalled. She got compliments, never commitment.
She thought the work spoke for itself. But it didn’t speak sales. Her site felt like a gallery, not a guide. It showed what she did, not why it mattered. Clients didn’t connect. They scrolled, they skimmed, they left.
It wasn’t bad design, it was misplaced focus. Great visuals with no clarity. Strong work hidden behind vague words, soft offers, and quiet CTAs. She didn’t know what was wrong because nothing looked broken.
And that’s the real gut punch: when everything looks right but sells nothing.
Mara didn’t need to design better. She needed to sell clearer.
The Lie That Keeps Designers Broke
Mara believed what most good designers believe, if the work is strong, it should sell itself. That belief didn’t just slow her down, it nearly sank her.
Every time a client said, “We love your style,” it felt good. But that sentence always came before they ghosted. She clung to the idea that visuals were enough. That showing was selling. That clean grids and bold color palettes would do the talking.
But clients don’t buy style. They buy outcomes.
And when the outcomes aren’t obvious, they walk.
That’s the crack nobody talks about. Most designers aren’t lazy. They’re invisible. Not because their work is weak but because their message is.
And until you see it, you keep blaming everything but the real cause.
Design Doesn’t Sell. Clarity Does.
The shift didn’t come from a new tool or a trend. It came when Mara stopped asking, “Does this look good?” and started asking, “Does this make sense?”
Good design grabs attention. Clear design moves people.
Once she saw that, everything changed.
She realized her work wasn’t the problem. It was the delivery. The pitch was hiding in the pixels. Her homepage was beautiful but silent. Her offer was solid, but buried. Her copy was clever but confusing.
Design doesn’t sell itself. It needs to explain itself. And when it doesn’t, someone else’s uglier, louder message wins.
Mara didn’t need better visuals. She needed better visibility.
We Didn’t Polish. We Cut Deep. First Step: Kill the Pretty. Find the Clarity
The first thing we did? Screen share. No fluff. No pitch deck. Just Mara, her site, and Microsoft Clarity heatmaps lighting up all the wrong spots.
Users were lost. Clicks died on vague headlines. CTAs were ignored. Scrolls dropped halfway. Her homepage looked like a gallery, but it read like a puzzle.
We walked her through it live. Every confusion point. Every missed opportunity. We showed her where the design looked good but failed to speak.
Then we rebuilt it. Not visually structurally.
- We rewrote her headlines to talk value, not vision.
- We stripped her copy of fluff and added purpose.
- We turned her project packages into outcome-based offers.
- We simplified the navigation to create one clear story.
- We added CTA buttons that didn’t just invite clicks, they earned them.
Mara didn’t need new design. She needed translation. And once she had it, she started seeing what she’d been missing all along.
We’ve Cleaned This Kind of Chaos Before
Pixiilab doesn’t do “just design.” We do clarity. We’ve seen too many brilliant creatives lose leads because their message was soft, their layout was vague, and their offer got lost in the scroll.
We don’t theorize we show the mess, live, and fix it at the root.
Why we’re trusted:
- We’ve turned ghosted portfolios into deal closers
- We kill jargon and surface-level polish
- Our clarity-first teardown shows what’s confusing and why
- We build with outcomes, not assumptions
- Every fix we make maps back to sales, not just style
We Don’t Just Spot the Problem. We Prove It with Clarity
Pixiilab doesn’t do “just design.” We do clarity. We’ve seen too many brilliant creatives lose leads because their message was soft, their layout was vague, and their offer got lost in the scroll.
We don’t theorize we show the mess, live, and fix it at the root.
Why we’re trusted:
- We’ve turned ghosted portfolios into deal closers
- We kill jargon and surface-level polish
- Our clarity-first teardown shows what’s confusing and why
- We build with outcomes, not assumptions
- Every fix we make maps back to sales, not just style
Because seeing the problem isn’t enough, you need proof. And proof lives in clarity.
What We Did to Flip Framehaus
Mara’s site was beautiful but it was a maze. Visitors got lost before they even saw the value. We cut through the clutter and put her message front and center.
We started by ripping through the noise. No extra colors or bells, just pure focus on clarity and connection. Here’s how:
- Headlines that speak business, not design jargon.
- Copy stripped to essentials, cutting fluff and guessing.
- Offers reframed as clear, outcome-driven packages.
- Navigation simplified to guide, not confuse.
- CTAs made impossible to ignore direct and action-ready.
Every tweak built to make Mara’s message unmissable. This wasn’t about looking better, it was about being understood and closing deals.
Results That Speak Louder Than Design
Within 45 days of our clarity overhaul, Framehaus flipped the script. Leads didn’t just trickle in they poured. Inbound inquiries surged by 212%, and cold emails saw a 72% reply rate. Mara went from chasing projects to choosing which ones to take.
Her website conversion rate jumped from 1.4% to 5.1%, a 3.6x improvement. Average project sizes grew 3.4 times bigger, turning small gigs into full-blown brand partnerships. Bounce rates dropped significantly, keeping visitors engaged longer. Sales calls transformed from awkward design explainers to focused business conversations.
Here’s the breakdown in numbers:
| Metric | Before Pixiilab Fix | After Pixiilab Fix (45 Days) | Change |
| Inbound Leads | Baseline | +212% | Massive lead surge |
| Email Reply Rate | Low | 72% | Huge increase |
| Website Conversion Rate | 1.4% | 5.1% | 3.6x improvement |
| Average Project Size | Small | 3.4x larger | Bigger deals |
| Bounce Rate | High | Significantly lower | Visitors stayed longer |
| Client Engagement (Calls) | Awkward design talk | Focused business conversation | Clear sales focus |
But beyond the numbers, Mara gained something priceless: confidence. No more second-guessing her style or worrying if her work was “too artsy.” She finally understood her clients’ journey and learned to guide them with clear messaging, not just visuals. Framehaus evolved from a design studio into a results machine.
Straight from Mara: The Truth About Pixiilab
“Before Pixiilab, I thought my designs spoke for themselves. I was wrong. Seeing the live clarity audit was a game-changer, it showed me exactly where I was losing clients without knowing it. The fixes didn’t just improve my site, they changed how I sell my work. Now, I’m not just proud of what I create; I’m proud of what I close. Pixiilab didn’t just save my business, they saved my confidence.”
— Mara Vexley, Founder, Framehaus.
From Pretty to Profitable: Framehaus’s Clarity Breakthrough
Framehaus had stunning designs but struggled to close sales. Mara Vexley believed great visuals would sell themselves. The truth? They didn’t. Pixiilab stepped in with a live clarity audit that exposed confusing messaging and hidden offers. We focused on making the message clear, cutting fluff, and guiding visitors with strong CTAs.
The results were real: inbound leads jumped 212%, conversion rates tripled, and project sizes grew. Mara didn’t just improve her site she transformed how she sells. Design alone doesn’t sell. Clarity does.
Ready to Make Your Design Sell?
Stop hoping your work speaks for itself. Let Pixiilab show you the clarity your brand needs to turn views into clients. Book your free clarity session now and start closing more deals today.
What We’re Asked When No One’s Watching
Q: Why doesn’t good design sell?
Because “good” looks don’t pay bills. If the visitor can’t see how it helps their business, they bounce.
Q: How do you fix a site that confuses visitors?
Watch. Track clicks, scrolls, hesitations. Then kill the clutter. Simplify navigation. Speak in clear outcomes, not fancy words.
Q: What’s branding without storytelling?
Dead weight. It doesn’t move anyone or build trust.
Q: How do you tie design to business goals?
Cut the fluff. Focus on what makes the client say yes. Every word and button must push toward that.
Q: Does navigation really matter?
If people can’t find what they want fast, they leave. It’s that simple.
Q: Why is it tough for designers to sell value?
Because they’re selling design when clients want results. Bridging that gap means learning to speak business, not just art.
