🎨 FindMalek — Building My Digital Identity

Welcome to the story behind FindMalek — a living, evolving digital space where I showcase not just my work, but my creative workflow, values, and personal growth as a builder.

This is my journey from concept sketches to launching two full iterations of this portfolio.

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🌱 Version 1.0 — Humble Beginnings

The first iteration was built out of necessity. I needed a space to introduce myself to the world — fast, clean, and simple.

My vision:

Minimalist. Glossy. Easy to navigate. Fast.

The initial structure:

• Landing Page
• About Me
• Projects
• Contact

I started by browsing other portfolios, but nothing quite clicked. I wasn't a full-fledged dev yet — mostly a UX designer and graphic artist just starting to pick up Next.js, React, and experimenting with ChatGPT when it was still in early beta.

📖 From Paper to Excalidraw

I went back to basics with paper sketches, then digitized them in Excalidraw. Unfortunately, my very first layout file is lost, but that was the spark.

Planned layout flow:
Introduction → About Me → Projects → Contact

🎨 Designing the First UI in Figma

I spent hours in Figma, laying out clean, modern sections. I discovered a Tailwind UI SVG background that felt perfect:

Key design elements:

• Glossy header navigation
• Background text hinting at each page's content — subtle but intentional
• Large hero image of myself (because… why not?)

👉 Introducing the NextPage Component

To improve flow between sections, I created a NextPage teaser component:

"Learn more about me →"

This gentle CTA bridged pages seamlessly.

📖 About Me

The page broke down:

• Profile overview
• Ventures & Playlist (because music fuels me)
• Books I've read

💼 Projects Page

I added interactive hover effects for projects. On click, a sheet opened with full details.

🔗 Original FindMalek v1

I've kept this version online — a nostalgic, raw look at where it began.

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🚀 Version 2.0 — Rethinking Everything

After two years of growing my skills and building client projects, it was time for a serious glow-up.
I debated starting from scratch but chose to refactor, redesign, and evolve.

🔗 Live: FindMalek 2.0

✏️ Planning the Revamp

I reopened Excalidraw to map a new information architecture.
Key upgrades:

• Slimmed down layout containers from max-w-lg to max-w-md for an editorial, article-like feel
• Moved the theme switcher to the footer for a cleaner header

🔥 Major Page Improvements

Home:

• Cleaner, sharper hero
• A polished narrative

Overview Cards:

• Designed animated cards to showcase key sections
• Smooth transitions and hover effects for better engagement

About:

• Removed filler text
• Refined copy and layout

Projects:

• Split into Projects (personal ventures) and Work (professional experience)
• Each project now gets its own individual page (instead of sheets)

New Sections:

• Experience: Individual job/role pages
• Clients: My freelance and agency collaborations
• Stack: Tools & technologies I work with daily

🧠 The Contact Page Revolution

I hated basic forms.
So I built an AI-powered chatbot using Vercel AI SDK with tool calling. It can:

• Send emails via Resend MCP
• Book meetings using Cal.com
• Share my resume
• Act like me, powered by my bio and details
• Help estimate project prices (fun to build!)

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⚙️ Tech Stack

• Next.js 15
• React 19
• TailwindCSS
• Vercel for deployment

Open Source:

• 🔗 GitHub Repository
• 🔗 Pull Request Breakdown
• 🔗 Figma Design File
• 🔗 Excalidraw V2 Plan

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📚 Lessons & Reflections

• Version 1: It's okay to start rough. Your first portfolio doesn't need to be revolutionary.
• Version 2: Focus on incremental, thoughtful changes — small UX wins stack up.
• AI tooling accelerates execution.
  ChatGPT, Figma plugins, and Vercel AI SDK saved me countless hours.
• Personal projects matter more than you think — they sharpen your design, dev, and problem-solving skills.

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📌 Conclusion

FindMalek 2.0 is now more than a portfolio.
It's a real-time, living archive of my growth, mindset, and digital craftsmanship.

👉 Check it out
👉 Find me on GitHub
👉 Let's connect on LinkedIn

"Your portfolio isn't just your work. It's your narrative. Make it personal."