Personal branding (in the 2010s)
Back in 2012-ish, when the web was still finding its way with new technologies, I embarked on a personal project that combined creativity, storytelling, and technical innovation. It was a time when CSS scrolling parallax effects were just starting to make waves, and I decided to use this technique to tell a fun, light-hearted story—about my brother’s dog, Chewy.
The site began with a simple question: “What do web developers do in their spare time?” As users scrolled down, the answer animated in: “Make a website for your dog.” And so, the story of Chewy unfolded, each section brought to life with custom animations and playful graphics.
This project was about more than just showcasing my skills; it was an attempt to make web development fun again. Inspired by the time I spent dog-sitting Chewy, I poured my best work into this site. The goal was to keep the site as lightweight and responsive as possible, using CSS to build shapes and overlay them onto custom SVG graphics that I designed myself.
One of the standout features was the animated parallax effect, which invited users to scroll down to reveal more of the story. Studies have shown that users prefer scrolling to clicking, and this site was a perfect example of that principle in action. As users navigated the site, they encountered Chewy’s favorite foods, his moods, and even a whimsical Dog-o-matic that tried to figure out what was on his mind.
And then there was the pièce de résistance: Chewy doing a downward dog yoga pose. Yes, the dog actually does yoga! I couldn’t resist adding this cute, quirky touch to the site, making it both relatable and entertaining.
Creating custom graphics was a big part of this project. With ‘flat design’ trending at the time, I leaned into it, using Illustrator to craft lightweight, fast-loading SVG files. These vector graphics, combined with CSS, made for smooth, efficient animations that didn’t tax web servers—a nod to the importance of performance even in fun projects.
Looking back, the Chewy project was a defining moment in my career. It allowed me to experiment, to push the boundaries of what was possible with web design and development, and to inject a bit of personality into my work. It was a big hit at the time, and while I’ve since moved on to other projects, it’s still a piece of work I’m proud of—a homage to where I started, and a reminder of how much fun web development can be.
