The process of building a personal website is as much about discovering what you want to say as it is about writing code.
Why Build From Scratch?
There are countless templates and website builders out there. But I wanted something that felt mine — every color, every transition, every word chosen with intention.
This site is built with Next.js, Tailwind CSS, and MDX. The warm stone palette and olive accents were inspired by sites I admire. The typography pairs Cormorant Garamond for headings with Geist Sans for body text.
The Stack
- Next.js 16 with App Router and React Server Components
- Tailwind CSS v4 with a custom warm color system
- Motion for scroll-triggered animations
- MDX for writing notes like this one
What I Learned
Building a personal website teaches you restraint. Every feature you could add is a feature that might distract from what matters — the content itself.
The best design is the least design. — Dieter Rams