How it all started
This was the first portfolio website I fully designed and developed on my own - from visual direction and frontend implementation to PHP-driven structure and content management.
Originally created between 2002 and 2005, the project became the foundation of my first international opportunities in the web industry and ultimately helped me begin my professional career in Australia.
At the time, personal portfolios were still relatively uncommon and most websites relied on static layouts, table-based structures and very limited interaction patterns. This project explored a more author-driven approach - combining development, visual design, photography, digital artwork and experimentation within a single self-built environment.
The archive includes several sections created entirely from scratch:
- digital artwork and graphic experiments
- hand-drawn sketches and traditional illustration work
- early PHP and JavaScript experiments
- custom image presentation systems
- interactive photo galleries built long before modern lightbox libraries became standard
One of the more experimental sections was the "Pictures" archive - a layered collage-based image navigation system where photographs connected visually into one another, with manually mapped interaction areas opening larger previews through custom JavaScript windows. While technically simple by modern standards, the concept reflected an early interest in structure, interaction design and non-linear navigation.
Looking back today, the project clearly belongs to the early web era visually - but many of the underlying ideas remain surprisingly consistent with how I still approach web development:
- combining design with engineering
- building systems from the ground up
- maintaining strong structural clarity
- treating the web as both a technical and creative medium
This archive marks the beginning of a professional journey that has now continued for more than two decades.
