How This Was Built
From 8 flat cards to 30+ interactive features. Zero lines of code written by hand.
A strategy director who's never written code
I'm a Strategy Director who's never written code. I had 9 live projects and wanted a portfolio that matched the quality of what I'd built. The first version was simple: dark background, 8 text cards, a heading.
It worked. It existed. But it didn't represent what I'd actually done. Nine fully deployed, designed, automated products built from scratch. The portfolio needed to feel like the work itself.
The tool that changed everything
Every project on this site was built with Claude Code, Anthropic's AI coding tool. I describe what I want, Claude writes the code. But the real skill isn't prompting. It's taste. Knowing what to ask for, what to reject, and when to push further.
The process is more like creative direction than engineering. I'm the client and the creative director. Claude is the developer who never gets tired, never pushes back on a third round of revisions, and never says "that's not technically possible" without offering an alternative.
From flat cards to depth and dimension
The flat cards became stacking cards with real screenshots, browser mockups, and 3D tilt effects. A bento-style About section replaced the generic bio. A career timeline with highlight cards. Everything got depth.
Each project card now has its own accent colour, generative art pattern, and hover state. The layout went from a list to a visual experience: scroll-triggered animations, parallax effects, and a stats strip that counts up as you scroll past it.
Then the features started stacking
What started as a static portfolio became something closer to an interactive experience. Each feature was a separate conversation with Claude Code: describe the idea, review the output, refine, ship.
- A command palette (Cmd+K) for instant navigation
- A full terminal mode (press backtick) with 10+ commands
- An AI chatbot that knows about every project
- An achievement system with 12 unlockable badges
- Hover sounds via Web Audio API
- A particle text hero that scatters on mouse hover
The details nobody asks for but everyone notices
This is where taste lives. Not in the big features, but in the invisible details that make something feel considered. Every one of these was a deliberate choice.
- WebGL fluid simulation replacing CSS blobs
- Cursor particle trail
- Generative art unique to each project card
- Animated SVG signature in the footer
- Time-of-day colour shifts
- Scroll velocity motion blur
- A gradient border animating around the viewport
Because what's a portfolio without secrets?
The best portfolios reward the curious. These aren't documented anywhere on the main site. You either find them or you don't.
- Konami code triggers confetti
- Type 'hireme' anywhere for a special overlay
- Shake your phone for confetti
- The terminal has a 'secret' command
- The 404 page is a mini-game
What it adds up to
Taste, vision, and persistence matter more than syntax
The gap between "can code" and "can build" is closing fast. Taste, vision, and persistence matter more than syntax. The tools don't replace creativity. They remove the barriers to it.
If you're a non-coder with ideas, start building. The only thing stopping you is not knowing what's possible. And the moment you see what's possible, you can't unsee it.
"When everyone can make things, what you choose to make, and the taste you bring to it, becomes the only differentiator."
If this resonates, or if you want someone who ships like this on your team, let's talk.
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