Redesign 4

I’ve never been happy with the design of my website—until now. The previous version felt fine, but they lacked personality. I leaned heavily on new-age “linear clone” designs like Tailwind UI’s Spotlight for structure and style. Although I avoided outright plagarism, the result was unmistakably derivative. That realization drove me to pull everything back and rebuild from the ground up. I simplified my markup, reworked the typography, and reorganized content until the site felt like a proper extension of myself.

I’ve never been happy with the design of my website—until now. The previous versions felt fine, but they lacked personality. For structure and style, I leaned heavily on new-age “linear clone” designs like Tailwind UI’s Spotlight. Although I avoided outright plagiarism, the result was unmistakably derivative. That realization drove me to pull everything back and rebuild from the ground up. I simplified my markup, reworked the typography, and reorganized content until the site felt like a proper extension of myself.

I’ve chosen to use the Source Serif typeface combined with a muted color palette in this design. Everything is centrally constrained to a readable width with minimal distractions so readers can focus on what matters. I kept the “Hey there” sign, which has been prevalent throughout my site’s history. It’s reminiscent of earlier websites from the 2000s with a more modern coat of paint.

I’ve also updated and made larger a picture I took atop Eagles Peak, Colorado, as a reminder of the world’s wonders. These small elements replace the cookie-cutter flourishes I featured in the old design. While these changes aren’t too impactful, they personalize the site and make it more organic. Finally, I’ve reorganized the site’s source code and am taking advantage of Tailwind CSS v4.

This redesign process helped me recover authenticity in a sea of clones by developing a simple, if boring, design language. The internet needs more genuine places with some amount of whimsy. The nice part about personal websites is they let us experiment and try new things.

I look forward to the things ahead. ▲