Tags
browsers, calligraphy, css, html, internet explorer, javascript, web design
I’ve wanted for some time to create a personal home page which would serve as my online resume and portfolio – and Lo, It is Done. I didn’t want anything complex – most of my needs are already served between this blog, and my various other Web 2.0 accounts. So I wanted something simple, but at the same time unique and personal enough to stand out. I decided to create the site from scratch with good ‘ol HTML and CSS – a good exercise in itself. For some of the fancy aesthetic things I wanted to do I would also need JavaScript, so I set about learning about these languages from online sources, most notably the w3schools, and this excellent tutorial on CSS page-layout.
For the overall design I was inspired by Luis von Ahn’s homepage (seriously, is there anything this guy does which is not totally awesome?). I purloined some elements of his design, but wanted something uniquely personal. For this I decided to incorporate my hobby of writing with fountain pens, and so all the images for the links were written out by hand, scanned, and made transparent with GIMP. I think this gives the site a unique feel.
The only problem with the approach I took is that the site works with every major browser except Internet Explorer browsers older than 8. I debated for a while whether or not I actually care about this, and concluded that I don’t. If I can find easy fixes that will make it work then fine, but I’m not going to redesign the entire site just because Microsoft refuses to properly implement standards. Besides, chances are anyone who I would wish to see the site would know better than to use IE…
All in all it has been a very valuable project, and I am happy with the result. I would welcome any suggestions as to how I could improve the design or layout of the site!
