In the world of web development, there's a fine line between inspiration and imitation. And if I’m being honest, I’ve never been afraid to blur that line—at least when it comes to learning.
This blog post is a confession of sorts. Not in the "I copied everything pixel for pixel" sense, but more of a love letter to the ideas, aesthetics, and creatives who pushed me to build something of my own. My portfolio website—thaletto.vercel.app—isn’t a product of solitude and originality. It’s the outcome of standing on the shoulders of modern design giants and remixing their best ideas into a form that feels like... me.
The structure of my site—the layout, the geometry, the breathing space between sections—was heavily inspired by Julien Thibeaut. When I first encountered his portfolio, I initially dismissed it as too simplistic. However, I soon realized that as a developer, my focus should be on showcasing the technical implementation rather than complex design elements. This epiphany led me to embrace a minimalist approach, allowing the underlying technology to take center stage.
He had generously made his design available as a template, check it out here
Color is hard.
Like many developers, I’ve spent hours doom scrolling through color palettes that looked good in theory but didn’t feel right in practice. I wasn’t looking for trendy, solid tones—I was chasing colors that evoked something.
And right then, Diabrowser was rolling out its general release. The browser company (which houses some ex Apple designers) had created something truly elegant with diabrowser.com and its sibling, arc.net. The subtle gradients, the interplay between soft light and muted shadows—it gave me a baseline. A direction.
With the help of ChatGPT, a bit of experimentation, and countless refreshes later, I had curated a palette that felt balanced. A light mode that didn’t burn my eyes, and a dark mode that didn't just invert—but expressed character.
Let me be honest design isn't my forte, and photo editing is even more challenging. My approach to creating compelling visuals relies heavily on AI tools like ChatGPT, but even that requires a solid design foundation and reference points. I've been particularly drawn to Perplexity's marketing imagery, and it's a easy choice. You can find them at the Perplexity Blogs
What I’ve built isn’t a design masterpiece. Forget masterpiece, it is a cheap copy of mix of great designs but this is a practice ground, a sandbox.
My portfolio is where I try out tech, mess with UI ideas, and mimic designs that inspire me—not to replicate, but to understand. I believe that’s how you learn: you borrow, you bend, you break, and you build again.
So yes, I stole the design of this website. But in doing so, I found a design language of my own.
And I'm just getting started.