Comment l'illustratrice Marion Somlyay a créé un site web multilingue présentant son portfolio pour toucher une clientèle internationale
In the heart of Vienna, Marion Somlyay sits down with pen and paper, tools that have defined her career as an illustrateur for the past twelve years. But Marion’s story isn’t just about the art itself; it’s about how the right tools, both analog and digital, have allowed her to build a presence that reaches audiences around the world while staying true to her craft.
Portrait of illustrator Marion Somlyay.
From Childhood Sketches to a Professional Illustration Career
Marion’s passion for drawing began in childhood, a spark that eventually led her to university programs exploring various creative fields. During her formal study, she experimented across disciplines, trying graphic design, communication design, and countless other creative pursuits. It was during these formative years that illustration emerged not just as an interest, but as a viable career path worth pursuing.
“I’m an illustrator, which means I draw for my clients. I visualize stories and ideas. I help brands articulate the ideas that will help them communicate their message. I work in the fields of branding, editorial, and packaging design.”
Over the past twelve years, Marion’s work has shifted. “My work and workflow have evolved over time,” she says, “and I think growing more confident in my work has been the biggest advantage because it drew in bigger clients over the years.”
Today, Marion has found her niche. “I draw nature; plants and animals,” she explains. This thematic focus isn’t limiting, it’s liberating. By honing her distinctive voice, she’s created a recognizable aesthetic that speaks to clients seeking that particular sensibility. The trajectory of Marion’s career serves as a reminder that specialization and clarity of vision can be more powerful than broad versatility.
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Why Vienna Shapes Her Creative Process
Being based in Vienna has profoundly shaped not just where Marion works, but how she approaches her practice. “Being based in Vienna benefits my work a lot because there is a shared appreciation for craftsmanship and for traditional working with your hands, and that aligns perfectly with my way of working with pen and paper and ink. There’s a shared appreciation of good things taking time and the human touch. Especially nowadays, when a lot of companies will do everything quickly, real craft is still valued in Vienna.”
This isn’t just about location—it’s about cultural values that reinforce Marion’s belief in the power of slow, intentional work. In a global creative market often obsessed with speed, Vienna provides her with both inspiration and validation for her labor-intensive process.
Sketching, Rendering, and the Meditative Craft of Ink
Marion’s workflow is methodical and thoughtful. A project typically begins with a client briefing, often with guidelines already established. She then moves into what she loves most: the act of creation itself.
First comes sketching; broad, exploratory ideas rendered loosely in pencil. She develops these sketches further based on client feedback, refining them until everyone agrees the direction is right. “After the sketch is in a good place, I start with my favorite part, which is rendering. I print the sketch and work on the rendering part of the illustration, which is really long and time-consuming. It’s very meditative and my favorite part of the whole process. Once that’s finished, I scan the piece. If it needs color, I add the color digitally. If not, I clean it up and send it to the client.”
What makes Marion’s approach distinctive is how she combines client ideas with her visual language: “What I enjoy about translating my clients’ stories or ideas into my illustration is that I pick these little elements and use them like building blocks to put them together in a unique way. I try to really pick up some elements from the communication or from the briefing, and really put them together in some interesting fashion. But sometimes the briefing is really straightforward—’draw this one specific thing’—and that’s when I really dive into the craft and the craftsmanship of the work and the rendering. I enjoy every little stroke and really take my time with the rendering part of it.”
Building an Illustrator Portfolio Website on Format
In 2024, Marion’s life changed significantly. This convergence of personal and professional milestones created the perfect moment to completely rebuild her web presence. “When I got married I changed my surname, I also had a new portfolio images taken—so I had all these fresh new images, a new name, a new logo, a new domain. I decided it was time to build a new website from scratch.”
Why Marion Chose Format Over Other Website Builders
Marion explored various portfolio website builders, but Format immediately stood out. She built a test site to evaluate it and was impressed by how intuitive the platform was and how beautiful the modèles de portefeuilles looked. “I loved how easy it was to use,” she says. The test site became her actual site; she simply stuck with it because it worked great.
For Marion, her website serves as her home base. “My potential clients need to see, very quickly, what I can do for them and what they can expect from my process.” Social media channels like Instagram and word-of-mouth referrals drive traffic to her portefeuille en ligne, but once visitors arrive, Format’s clean, uncluttered design delivers the message clearly.
Designing for Clarity: “Don’t Make Me Use My Mouse So Much”
This clarity is intentional. Marion remembers a workshop teacher—an art director—who gave her advice that stuck: “Don’t make me use my mouse so much. I need to see your best work at a glance.” Marion took this to heart when building her Format portfolio website. The result is immediate and striking: illustrations take center stage, and within seconds, a visitor understands who Marion is and what she offers.
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The Multilingual Portfolio Dilemma: English vs. German
With her portfolio, Marion faced a genuine strategic dilemma. Her client base is predominantly German-speaking, yet she had always felt compelled to maintain an English-language website. “Even though my client base is largely German speaking, I always felt that my website needed to be in English because it felt more international and more professional. Most of my peers have their websites in English as well. So having it in German only, without a language switcher, would feel very limiting.”
But this decision came with a cost she couldn’t ignore. How could she reach German-speaking prospects who might naturally search in their own language? The problem became concrete when she was working on Format’s SEO setup: “When I filled in the SEO fields on Format, that’s when I thought: what would my potential clients Google? Would they put in keywords in English or in German? Having both language options now on my website really solves the problem for me.”
How Weglot Made Her Portfolio Website Multilingual in Under an Hour
In March of 2026, Format released an API integration with Weglot, a translation app. When the email announcing this feature hit Marion’s inbox, it was a big shift in her website. “The decision to translate my portfolio website was easy,” Marion explains, “because I was actually waiting for a feature like that for a while.”
Setting Up the Format + Weglot Integration
What surprised Marion most was how simple the process actually was. “I was afraid that setting up a multilingual website would take a lot of my time and create technical hurdles that I didn’t know how to overcome. But the process of the integration was the exact opposite. It was really quick and easy to use.” The entire process, from creating a Weglot account to reviewing and publishing her translated site, took just 30 to 45 minutes.
Translation Accuracy and the Review Process
Marion reports that the translation itself was impressively accurate. The automated translation handled the bulk of the work; Marion only needed to review the content and adjust a handful of words where the German translation felt off. “It surprised me that the translation pretty much did everything by itself. I only reviewed and found some words here and there that I felt like I’d like to say differently in German, but otherwise it really did a perfect job.”
The shift Marion describes is profound. She’s no longer caught between two incompatible choices: “No longer having to decide between a local and international presence feels very professional and very intentional. It feels like a feature that makes my website more well-rounded.” Now both audiences—German-speaking and English-speaking clients—can discover her work in their own language, with search engines able to index her site properly in both languages.
Multilingual SEO: Getting Found in Both Languages
“If someone was on the fence about translating their website, I would tell them, ‘Why not do it?’ Because there’s simply no disadvantage of having the option. And on top of that, it takes less than an hour to do so.”
The takeaway from Marion’s experience is that translation with Format’s Weglot integration doesn’t require sacrifice. She maintains her professional, international English presence while simultaneously serving her local German-speaking market. Both exist together, strengthening her overall positioning rather than diluting it. Her website will now be picked up for SEO keywords in both languages, helping with greater visibility and reach.
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What a Multilingual Portfolio Means for Creative Professionals
Marion’s journey with Format illustrates an important principle: the right digital tools should support and amplify an artist’s work, not complicate it. For someone whose professional philosophy centers on craftsmanship, intentionality, and the human touch, Format and Weglot deliver exactly that. The platform, and the translation of her site, stays invisible, letting Marion’s illustrations speak first.
The Weglot integration extends this philosophy globally. By removing a barrier that previously prevented multilingual presence, it allows creatives like Marion to serve their full audience—regardless of language or location.
Marion Somlyay’s story is ultimately about recognition and access. In a globalized creative economy, the tools we use to present our work matter deeply. They shape how audiences find us, how they understand us, and whether they decide to hire us. Format, with its clean design, drag-and-drop page builder, and thoughtful features like Weglot integration, has become part of Marion’s creative infrastructure—quietly amplifying her reach while staying beautifully invisible.
Her pencil, her ink, and her Format portfolio website—together, they represent how a contemporary illustrator can honor traditional craftsmanship while embracing the digital tools needed to reach a truly global audience. That’s the real artistry of professional practice in the modern age.
The Format + Weglot Integration at a Glance
For illustrators, photographers, and designers whose clients span multiple countries and languages, Weglot solves a problem that was previously complicated or required significant technical knowledge.
The integration allows you to:
- Automatically translate your entire portfolio website
- Maintain separate SEO keywords for each language
- Present a fully bilingual experience without duplicating your work
- Reach audiences who naturally search in their native language
- Appear more professional and accessible to international clients
Marion’s experience—complete setup in 30-45 minutes—demonstrates how accessible this has become. For creatives ready to expand their global reach without compromise, it’s a feature worth serious consideration.
Your work deserves a global audience.
Format gives illustrators, photographers, and designers a portfolio platform built for creative professionals. With the Weglot integration, you can translate your entire site and unlock multilingual SEO with no code and no compromises.
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