A colophon is traditionally the part of a book that describes how it was made. This page serves that purpose for this site.
About This Site
This site has been my corner of the internet since April 2024. It started as a simple portfolio and has grown into something more personal: a place for my writing, projects, bookmarks, and whatever else I find interesting.
I treat it as a long-term project. The goal isn’t to chase trends or optimize for engagement. I want a space I enjoy maintaining, one that might still work in ten years without major rewrites. That philosophy shapes most of the technical decisions below.
Technology
The site is built with Astro, a static site generator that ships minimal JavaScript by default. I chose Astro because it stays out of the way. Content lives in flat MDX files that I can edit in any text editor. If Astro disappeared tomorrow, migrating the content would be straightforward.
For the few interactive pieces (the music widget, table of contents, and some lab experiments), I use React through Astro’s island architecture. Animations are handled by Framer Motion.
The guestbook and other dynamic content run on Astro DB, backed by Turso. Hosting and deployment is on Vercel.
Typography
Headings are set in Editorial New, a serif typeface that gives the site its character. I self-host it to avoid third-party font requests and ensure it loads reliably.
Body text uses Inter, a sans-serif designed for screens. It loads from the system font stack where available.
I use a fluid type scale, so text sizes adjust smoothly based on viewport width rather than jumping at breakpoints.
Styling
Colors come from Radix Colors, which provides accessible color palettes with built-in dark mode support. The accent throughout the site is Tomato.
I use Tailwind CSS alongside custom CSS variables for spacing, typography, and theming. There’s a subtle noise texture overlay on larger screens, something I picked up from print design.
Code
Syntax highlighting is powered by Expressive Code with two themes: Rose Pine Dawn for light mode and Kanagawa Dragon for dark.
Writing
I write in Markdown (MDX, specifically) using whatever text editor I have open. Posts start as rough notes, often just a few sentences. I revise them over time, sometimes publishing quickly, sometimes letting them sit for weeks.
There’s no CMS. I commit content directly to the repository. It’s more friction than a web interface, but it keeps everything version-controlled and portable.
Privacy
I use Vercel Analytics, which respects privacy and doesn’t use cookies. There are no trackers, no ads, and no data sold to third parties.
The guestbook collects only what you submit: your name, message, and country (for the stamp). If you want your entry removed, email me.
Accessibility
I aim for WCAG AA compliance. The site works without JavaScript, respects reduced motion preferences, and should be navigable by keyboard and screen reader. If you encounter accessibility issues, please let me know.
Energy
This site produces approximately 0.03g of CO2 per page view, earning an A+ rating on Website Carbon Calculator. That’s cleaner than most websites, largely thanks to minimal JavaScript, optimized images, and static page generation.
I care about this because the internet consumes a lot of energy, and personal sites are a good place to be intentional about it.
Inspiration
The design and approach have been influenced by many personal sites I admire. A few that stand out: Paco Coursey, Maggie Appleton, Fabian Schultz, and the many folks in the Hotline Webring.
Source
The code is on GitHub. Feel free to look around, borrow ideas, or open an issue if something’s broken.