New Skills, Feedbacks and Exciting Opportunities

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been focusing on several key aspects of my web design projects and learning new techniques along the way. I completely revamped the design of my portal page. I worked on modernizing the overall layout and creating a more user-friendly design, making it cleaner and more intuitive. By using grid systems and flexible layouts, I ensured that the design is responsive across all devices. I also prioritized simplifying the navigation to focus on the most-used sections of the page.

I spent time enhancing my parallax effect as well. By having images and text move at different speeds, I was able to create a dynamic and engaging experience. I paid close attention to performance to ensure the parallax effect didn’t slow down the page. Additionally, I integrated Sass into my workflow to make my style sheets more efficient. By using variables, mixins, and nested structures, I was able to write more organized and maintainable CSS. This allowed me to avoid repetitive code and create a cleaner structure for the project.

The feedback I received helped me improve my design even further. I refined the color choices and typography on the portal page. I also noticed that the parallax effect wasn’t performing well on some mobile devices, so I optimized it for better performance. These types of feedback are crucial in helping me improve the design to be more polished and user-friendly.

As a result, the techniques I’ve learned over the past two weeks have made my projects more professional. The combination of parallax, Sass, and responsive design has made my designs more modern, dynamic, and user-friendly. I plan to continue improving and refining these skills in the coming weeks to finalize my projects.

PS: I’m beyond excited to be attending an industry event like Figma Config 2025 with a scholarship ticket. This is such an incredible opportunity for me, and I can’t wait to engage with some of the brightest minds in the design world. It’s going to be a truly eye-opening experience!

Week 12: Parallax, Sass, and the Final Project

The last two weeks we learned new skills such as Sass, animations, and Parallax, which I can see myself using in the future. I also had some time to think about my final project. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my own web design skills, what I have learned, and what I want to make to conclude the semester.

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Revamping My Portal Page: Parallax, Big Kitties, and New CSS Tricks

“Meow”

This semester, I gave my portal page a much-needed upgrade. I have to say, it is been one of my favorite projects so far! I wanted the page to feel a little more alive and personal, so I brought in parallax scrolling effects, animated floating cats, and some playful, colorful backgrounds.

One of the biggest changes was adding a parallax background featuring a giant cat image that starts below the header and stretches down below my bio section. This added a really cool , making the page feel more dynamic without being overwhelming. I also used CSS animations to create floating kitties that drift across the screen, adding even more movement and personality.

Along with parallax, I used some modern CSS techniques like flexible layouts, colorful background shifts with keyframe animations, and subtle box shadows to give different sections some extra pop. Overall, this revamp made my portal page feel way more “me.” It’s fun, creative, and just the right amount of chaos thanks to all those giant kitties.

Two Weeks in Design: Learning by Doing

The past two weeks have been a deep dive into the world of web design. What started as simple class projects quickly turned into opportunities for real discovery. I did not just follow instructions. I started noticing how different choices in layout, structure, and tools can completely change how a website feels and functions.

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Good Boy Fetches My Files, and Occasionally Loses Them!

Lately, I’ve been getting more into web design, and honestly, it’s been a mix of excitement, frustration, and way too much time spent tweaking tiny details. Typography, FTP, and building my portal page have been my main focus, and each has come with its own set of surprises.

Typography has been one of my favorite parts. I always knew fonts mattered, but I never realized how much they shape the entire feel of a website. Picking the right font isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about making sure people can actually read what you’re putting out there. I also got way too into typography games (yes, they exist, and yes, they’re weirdly addictive). Who knew I’d be out here kerning letters for fun? But honestly, playing those games helped me understand how small adjustments can make a design look polished or completely off.

On the more technical side, I’ve been using Fetch as my FTP client to upload my work. It’s pretty satisfying to drag and drop files and see my updates go live. At first, it felt a little intimidating—like, one wrong move and everything could disappear—but once I got the hang of it, it wasn’t bad at all. The key lesson? Keep files organized. Because trust me, trying to find the right version of a file in a mess of randomly named folders is not fun.

And then, there’s my portal page: Samet Kaya – Portal Page. It’s the hub for everything I’m working on, and designing it was a fun challenge. I wanted to make sure it was simple, clear, and easy to navigate—because if people have to think too hard about where to click, they probably won’t click at all. I focused on keeping the layout clean and making sure the important stuff was easy to find. So far, I’m happy with it, but let’s be real—I’ll probably keep tweaking it forever.

Web design has definitely been a learning experience, but I love how it’s a mix of creativity and problem-solving. One day I’m picking fonts, the next I’m troubleshooting an upload issue, and somehow, it all comes together. Now, onto the next challenge (or maybe just another round of typography games).