Jean-Marie Made It is the creative studio of designer and creative director Jean-Marie Merkle. I work across multiple mediums including website design, branding, interiors, illustration, creative direction, and project management.

Some clients hire me to design a Squarespace website, others bring me in to concept an entire visual world for their brand or space. If it needs bold ideas, strong visuals, and someone who can see the big picture — that’s where I come in.

Think of it less like hiring a service and more like bringing in a creative partner who can make something unforgettable.

I work on a wide range of creative projects including:

• Squarespace Website design

• Brand identity and visual direction

• Interior design concepts for restaurants, retail, and creative spaces

• Illustration and custom graphics

• Creative direction for new businesses or launches

• Project Management / Admin

My favorite clients are bold, open-minded people who want something unique and are excited to trust the creative process.

The best collaborations happen when clients come in with a clear goal — launching a restaurant, building a brand, opening a shop, creating a space — and then give me the room to explore big ideas and bring the vision to life.

If you’re someone who enjoys brainstorming, values strong creative direction, and wants your project to stand out visually, we’ll probably work very well together.

The clients I work best with tend to:

• Be excited about original ideas rather than playing it safe

• Respect the creative process and avoid micromanaging design decisions

• Want their brand, website, or space to feel distinctive and memorable

• Be open to collaboration and experimentation

If you’re looking for someone to simply execute very specific instructions pixel by pixel, I may not be the best fit.

But if you want a creative partner who can see the bigger picture and help shape something special, that’s exactly the kind of work I love.

Squarespace is designed to be user-friendly, so technically yes — you can build your own website.

The real question is how much time you want to spend figuring everything out.

Designing a website involves more than choosing a template. Things like page structure, layout, visual hierarchy, branding, mobile design, and SEO setup all affect how professional your site feels and how well it works for your business.

Some people love learning this process themselves. Others would rather hand it off to a designer and focus on running their business.

That’s why I offer two options:

1. Hire me to design your website
If you want a custom site and creative direction, I design fully custom Squarespace websites for businesses, restaurants, creatives, and brands who want something bold and polished.

2. Build it yourself with my DIY guide
If you want to create your own site but don’t want to lose your mind doing it, I created a step-by-step guide called “Make a Website Without Losing Your Mind.”

It walks you through my actual process for planning, designing, and launching a website using Squarespace — without the overwhelm.

👉 You can check out the DIY guide here: [link to product]

Either way, the goal is the same: help you launch a website that actually works.