Why this website exist
The web today often feels less like a place of discovery and more like a competition for your attention. Algorithms, notifications, and engagement metrics shape much of what we see and do online. As a designer, I’ve been part of this system, my work is frequently judged by how well it captures attention. It’s effective, but it can also feel like a double-edged sword.
A while ago, I came across the idea of the Small Web. Unlike the ad-driven, corporate-dominated Big Web, the Small Web is built around personal websites, blogs, and projects that you stumble upon through recommendations, links, or curiosity, not algorithms. What I love about it is the sense of exploration: you find things because you want to, not because something is trying to keep you scrolling.
I think the internet is healthiest when both the Big Web and the Small Web coexist. But when it came time to update my own portfolio, I knew I wanted to contribute to the Small Web. This site is my attempt to create a minimal, lightweight website where I can share projects and ideas on my own terms.
It’s built with Hugo, based on a customized version of the beautiful Shibui (渋い) theme by Kien Nguyen Tuan. I wrote the code in Cursor and the site is hosted on GitHub Pages. There are no tracking scripts, no pop-ups, no infinite scroll, and no recommendation engines trying to keep you hooked—just a simple site designed to stay out of the way.
If you’d like to follow along, you can subscribe via RSS. For more on the philosophy behind the Small Web, here are a few resources that inspired me: