How this site was built.

This site is itself a small case study in how I work: designed and built by me, with AI coding tools as a force multiplier across research, design, copywriting, and implementation. The judgment calls — what to claim, what to cut, what the site should say about the work — stayed human. A fuller build log is planned.

Stack

• Astro — static-first framework; every page ships as plain HTML, with small client-side scripts reserved for optional interactions.
• Markdown content collections — each case study or note is one file with typed frontmatter; statuses and volatile facts live in a single data file rendered everywhere.
• Hand-rolled CSS — no framework, no external fonts, no CDNs, no trackers. System font stack; the palette and type live in a few hundred lines of hand-written CSS.

Design intent

Editorial first, organic second, technical third — roughly 70/20/10. Measured points stand for evidence becoming infrastructure: the homepage data plot resolves into a hand-drawn Pittsburgh skyline. Warm cream, charcoal, muted moss, and copper; monospace only for metadata.

Accessibility

• Targets WCAG 2.1 AA — the palette was contrast-checked before any CSS was written.
• Honors prefers-reduced-motion: the hero renders fully drawn, no animation.
• Semantic HTML, skip link, keyboard-visible focus states, decorative graphics hidden from assistive tech.

Privacy

No analytics, no cookies, no third-party requests. If that changes, it will be a privacy-respecting, cookieless tool — and this page will say so.