It's about time huh? So what took so long?
Could I have used a template? Yes.
Would it have looked better and taken a fraction of the time had I done so? Most definitely.
Do I hate myself? More than I could ever articulate.
If I could go back 6 months, would I have used a template instead? Absolutely not.
Call me stubborn (I am) but I can say with 100% certainty that the countless hours spent toiling and stressing over my from-scratch Webflow site was integral to my web design education, and I wouldn't have done it any other way (or at least that's what I'm telling myself to cope).
Not only that, but a self proclaimed web designer using a template feels akin to a professional chef pulling out a cook book mid-shift (or something like that, you get me).
That is to say, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that this site came completely from my halfwit brain. Bits and pieces of inspiration were taken from all sorts of websites belonging to much more talented people, and I'd be a hack if I didn't take some time to shout them out.
I'll try to keep it brief. Prepare to bookmark.
This guy Derrek is a multi talented artist specializing in animation. His site Derrek.org is a textbook example of how to inject yourself into a website. He seems really cool and funny, you should check his stuff out. Major inspiration (as evidenced by my inclusion of a sketches page very similar to his).
A Swiss based design studio comprised of four core members who, in pictures more closely resemble a band. These geezers design it all, and design it well. They're Swiss after all, It's in their blood. You can attribute my one third- two third thumbnail strategy to their site.
This ones a bit of a ghost. This is a Chicago based type foundry born sometime around 2000, and used to be a purveyor of some insanely nice type. It still exists today but the best incarnation of this site can be found only in traces. I treasure the pieces I have been able to scrounge up and I reference them often.
A Seattle based artist who's doing everything we want to be doing, selling her art to a loyal fanbase and traveling the world. I can't say I took direct inspiration from her online shop, but poking around her discord server and eavesdropping on people talking graphic and web design is always a nice backdrop to working on stuff. She's got a pretty cool Neocities site in the works too. [Edit: her Neocities site; annehero.neocities.org is now very built out and looks very cool. I really enjoy how she formats her blogposts. Take notes, I definitley have.]
Haze is one of those few OG graffiti writers who evaded the many life pitfalls of doing graffiti, and instead graduated to coveted graphic designer. Partially accessible via the Wayback, his old website is a quirky example of a multifaceted portfolio. Showcasing proper fusion of graffiti and graphic design (None of that asset pack bubble-letter shit seen today). Another true role model.
This is where (like everyone else with a website) I tell you the internet has gone to shit and everyone should learn html to make a website and blah blah blah. It's all been said, and its all true. Make a site for whatever it is you're passionate about, but don't think you NEED to learn html and css to do so. Do they help? Absolutely, but nowadays there are plenty of tools out there that allow you a great deal of customization in building a site without having to know shit about coding. Try your hand at Framer or Cargo or something. Not every site has to be some 12/10 ultra-elaborate Neocities site overflowing with gifs and other bullshit idk.
If you read this far, thank you, and I hope you stick around. Stay tuned :]
