Field Notes on Design
In the Wild
Many small business owners inherit websites they neither chose nor fully understand, and often no longer trust. Others sense that their site has ceased to reflect where their business is now, but they hesitate to make changes for fear of breaking something that’s already fragile.
Observation
Every website is an ecosystem. Pages, content, tools, and maintenance either support one another — or quietly work at cross-purposes.
Before any design work begins, I map the terrain. I concurrently consider structure, content, workflows, and long-term care are considered together so the site functions as a coherent whole, not a collection of disparate parts.
Approach
Each project is a species. Each page, a habitat.
A well-built site is not static. It adapts over time. Changes can be made without collapse. Growth needn’t require reinvention.
The goal is stability with room to evolve. I create systems that are clear, flexible, and designed to be lived with, not constantly rescued.
About the Designer
Lisa Green Bolhuis is the designer behind Bolhuis Design, a small studio focused on building and caring for website ecosystems. Her work brings together structure, visual clarity, and long-term thinking — informed by years spent working within complex creative and technical systems.
She works closely with small businesses to create sites that are stable, adaptable, and designed to age well.