devlog 02 - making the site work everywhere

The site has changed quite a bit since the first version.

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the new look

I’ve changed a lot of the actual interface and started pushing the visual direction much further.

I also added the custom cursor from xenobiota. I really liked how something that small could change the whole feel of the site, so I wanted to try it here too.

I’ve also been taking a lot of inspiration from Awwwards sites. One thing I’ve noticed is that the best sites aren’t just crazy because they have crazy effects. The really good ones make those effects work properly across devices.

That became a pretty big focus for me.

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performance

I added separate cases for different hardware.

If a device has hardware acceleration, it can use the full experience. If it doesn’t, the site falls back to a lighter version so the effects don’t completely destroy performance.

There’s also a separate lite mode and a mobile mode. I don’t want the site to only look good on the machine I built it on.

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small things

I’ve also been making the interactions a bit more obvious, especially around muting and unmuting.

There are still a lot of little things like this that I’m catching as I actually use the site instead of just looking at it.

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documenting the process

I’m also working on something I want to add directly to the site: a breakdown of the design process.

I want to explain why certain colours, fonts, layouts and effects were chosen instead of just putting the finished site in front of someone and leaving them to guess.

The site is the portfolio piece, but the process behind making it should be part of it too.