Hard refresh
This website started out as a “personal homepage” back when those were still a thing. It was ugly because I was still learning the basics of graphic design and CSS. But it was creative and unique because I was blissfully unaware of many current trends and interaction patterns.
As I began to become a practiced web designer and developer, my website transitioned from a personal one to a professional one. It showed off my portfolio and promoted my services as a freelancer. It finally became, in a word, good.
I still have most of the source code for every design iteration of this site from its beginnings in 2005 to the 2013 design, which stayed in place through the summer of 2015. I managaed to put together this graphic that shows the homepage of each iteration:
It’s been a fun ride. Now it’s time to move into a new era. In May 2015 I joined Mad Genius as a full-time Interactive Designer. As such, I won’t be taking on any freelance web work. And this site no longer needs to promote my services as a freelancer. Like many bloggers before me—and I’m certain many after—I now hope to focus on writing more.
So this is a hard refresh. I won’t make promises about what will appear on this site because like many bloggers before me—and I’m certain many after—there’s a good chance I’ll break those promises. But I’m excited that I finally feel smart enough to write intelligibly on matters of web development. I’ve always wanted to have a development blog, and it finally seems like the right time to have one.
Maintaining one blog is hard enough, so I’m officially retiring I hate stairs, though I will keep it online. Disability topics are still relevant to me and I’m interested in the convergence of web development, design, and assistive technology.
Thanks to everyone who supported Blake Watson Design, especially my clients, family, friends, and online peeps.