This is a submission for the New Year, New You Portfolio Challenge Presented by Google AI
About Me
I’m a full-stack developer, but most of the time I find myself leaning more towards the front end, especially UI, UX, and the overall feel of a product.
I’ve built portfolios before, but I tend to overthink them and never feel satisfied. This time, I wanted to stop chasing “perfect” and just build something simple and real.
Portfolio
How I Built It
The idea
Before starting, I was clear about one thing — I didn’t want anything fancy. I just wanted a simple, clean portfolio.
Something that shows who I am, what I build, and stays out of the way.
Tech Stack
I went with tools I’m already comfortable with:
- Next.js (App Router)
- TypeScript
- Tailwind CSS
- Framer Motion
- Docker + Google Cloud Run
Using Google AI (Antigravity)
I used Antigravity throughout the process, mostly to think through ideas and get unstuck when I was unsure.
I didn’t use it to generate the whole project, but more for things like:
- Trying out layout ideas
- Improving wording
- Breaking features into smaller steps
- Getting quick feedback on UX decisions
It felt a bit like talking to someone while building, helpful for clarity.
The messy part (real experience)
The hardest part wasn’t building the UI.
It was deploying.
I had never used Google Cloud Run before, and I honestly underestimated how many small things could go wrong:
- Docker not running
- Wrong ports
- Missing permissions
- Build service accounts failing silently
- Artifact Registry access errors
At one point I spent more time fixing IAM roles than writing code.
But that struggle was actually valuable. I now understand:
- How container-based deployment works
- How Cloud Build, Artifact Registry, and Cloud Run fit together
- And why production setups are rarely “one click”
What I'm Most Proud Of
- The portfolio feels simple and calm, not overwhelming.
- Small micro-interactions that add life without being distracting.
- The fact that it’s properly deployed on Google Cloud, not just hosted on a static platform.
- And most importantly: I actually finished it instead of endlessly tweaking.
Thanks to DEV and Google AI for the challenge.
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