COWABUNGA.workthis portfolio
the idea
As with the first portfolio site I designed, building this one became a case study of its own.
It serves two purposes: a home for the art I make outside of work, and a showcase of my skills as a UX designer. I wanted the artwork split into animation and still images, design work in its own little world, and a bit about me.
the process
Until recently, my work hadn’t called for AI-assisted coding or prototyping, but I knew it was the way of the now and the future.
So I did what any good designer would do and taught myself, with a few friends helping me get set up.
the approach
An earlier “lite” version used ChatGPT for copy-and-paste code snippets, but I still built the HTML and CSS files myself. It sat dormant for a few months while other parts of life needed my attention.
This time I built it by prompting an AI coding assistant to make the site look and behave exactly how I wanted.
takeaways
I’ve only been doing this since last Thursday, and this site shows I’ve learned how to steer an AI coding assistant toward the design in my head.
Hopefully enough of it feels subtle and intuitive that it quietly delights the senses and sparks the viewer’s intrigue.
