Since I started working full-time as a web developer and designer, I've been thinking that it would be a good idea to update my portfolio website, which I'd been neglecting since I first launched it a few years ago. As is the feeling with most folks in my field, updating my own portfolio was a task that I didn't look forward to much at all. As designers and developers, we're our own worst critics, and sometimes we get stuck in a rut when it comes to building a site that best represents the individual we know best.
A coworker of mine at Drexler gave me the inspiration (and the deadline) I needed when he shared a link to May 1st Reboot. I'd not heard of this event before, but it seemed like a cool thing, so I jumped in.
I wanted to build a site that was clean and simple and good for blogging, which I'm hoping to get back into (hahaaa...). Now that I've been doing full-time work as a developer, I wanted a portfolio that showed off some of the style I'd picked up and some of the neat-o tricks I'd learned.
The first portfolio website I ever built was done in WordPress with some bloated, pre-fabbed theme (hey, everyone starts somewhere). I do most of my work now in the custom WordPress world, and this seemed like an ok thing at the time. I quickly discovered, however, that I wanted a sleek, speedy site with a minimal look, and that I didn't need a big CMS such as WordPress to get the job done. The second version of my site was rebuilt with Jekyll, and I've stuck with Jekyll for this third reboot of my portfolio.
I added some fun touches to the homepage with Particles.js, a very nifty little library that can spice up your sites. There's not too much configuration to worry about, but the documentation is a little spotty. Get in touch if you're looking to use it and want any tips on what worked best for me.
Hope you enjoy the new look, and happy May 1st!