This portfolio began life as a stock Astro template. It worked, but it looked like exactly what it was.
The rebuild took it in four passes: modernise the toolchain, settle on a design language, rebuild every component against that language, and finally add the features a portfolio actually needs — filtering, a contact form, and the page you are reading now.
The guiding idea was “sleight of hand”: a dark editorial canvas, one warm accent, and motion that reveals content the way a card turn does. Deliberate, never flashy.