DEV Community: rashida qaiyumi

The Memory Kitchen PROJECT

rashida qaiyumi — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 14:58:07 +0000

This is a submission for Frontend Challenge - Comfort Food Edition, Perfect Landing.

What I Built

Most comfort food websites focus on recipes or restaurants.

I wanted to build something different.

The Memory Kitchen is an interactive storytelling experience inspired by the memories we associate with comfort food. Instead of asking "What should I cook?", it asks a different question:

"What meal reminds you of home?"

Visitors step into a warm digital kitchen where every object tells a story. A handwritten recipe notebook, a steaming pot, a vintage radio, and familiar kitchen elements encourage exploration rather than traditional navigation.

The goal wasn't to build another recipe website—it was to create an emotional experience that celebrates the people, traditions, and memories behind our favorite meals.

Features

🏡 Immersive storytelling experience
📖 Interactive kitchen exploration
✨ Smooth animations and transitions
📱 Fully responsive design
♿ Accessibility-focused interface
⚡ Fast performance with Vite
❤️ Cozy visual design inspired by nostalgia

Demo

🌐 Live Website

https://memory-kitchen.vercel.app/

💻 GitHub Repository

https://github.com/rashidaqaiyumi/memory-kitchen

If you're viewing this on DEV, you can also explore the live project here:

memory-kitchen.vercel.app

Journey

When I first saw the theme Comfort Food, my initial thought was to build a restaurant landing page.

Then I stopped and asked myself:

What actually makes comfort food comforting?

It isn't the ingredients.

It's the memories attached to them.

That idea completely changed the direction of the project.

Instead of designing another food website, I focused on creating an atmosphere. Every animation, transition, and interaction was designed to feel warm, calm, and nostalgic. I wanted visitors to slow down, explore, and experience the kitchen at their own pace.

This project also pushed me to think differently about frontend development. Rather than asking "How should this section look?", I kept asking "How should this interaction feel?"

If I continue working on this project, I'd love to expand it into a platform where people can preserve family recipes, attach stories to meals, and build their own digital memory kitchen.

Thank you to the DEV Community for another amazing Frontend Challenge. I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

I Built Deadline Decoder

rashida qaiyumi — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 18:13:23 +0000

I Built Deadline Decoder 🚀

While applying for internships and jobs, I realized I was spending more time reading long PDFs than actually applying.

So I built Deadline Decoder.

It takes a job posting, internship notice, admission brochure, or scholarship PDF and turns it into a structured action plan in seconds.

It extracts:

✅ Eligibility
📅 Important deadlines
📄 Required documents
💰 Fees & application mode
📝 Step-by-step checklist
⚠️ Important conditions and red flags

The goal wasn't to build another "Chat with PDF" app—it was to solve one specific problem well: turn messy notices into clear next steps.

Building this project helped me explore AI-powered document parsing, prompt engineering, and designing around a real user pain point.

I'd love to hear your feedback or ideas for improving it!

rashidaqaiyumi / DEADLINE-DECODER

Deadline Decoder

Turn messy internship, admission, and job notices into a clean action checklist.

Problem

Students and job seekers waste hours re-reading long, badly formatted PDFs and notices just to figure out who is eligible, what the deadline is, what documents are needed, and what to actually do next. The information is usually there. It is just buried.

What it does

Upload or paste any notice (PDF, image, or plain text). The app extracts and returns:

Eligibility — degree, year, branch, GPA, age, experience, spelled out specifically
Important dates — application open, last date, exam or interview date
Required documents — resume, transcripts, certificates, ID, etc.
Fees and mode — free or paid, online or offline
Action checklist — a numbered list of exactly what to do next
Red flags — conditions that commonly cause rejection or confusion (e.g. "Only for 2026 grads," "Age limit 25")

The output is a…

View on GitHub

I Built a Live Information Tracker Instead of Just Scrolling

rashida qaiyumi — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:51:49 +0000

During a major public protest, I noticed something frustrating.

Information was everywhere.

Reliable information was not.

People were switching between social media, news websites, and messaging apps trying to understand what was actually happening.

So I built a simple live tracker.

Not because the problem required complex AI.

But because it required clarity.

Sometimes the most impactful software isn't the one using the newest technology.

It's the one that organizes chaos.

This project reminded me that developers don't always need to invent something revolutionary.

Sometimes we simply make information easier to access.

And that alone can make a meaningful difference.

What everyday problem around you deserves a simple software solution?

I Built an AI-Powered Alumni Platform. Here's Why.

rashida qaiyumi — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:48:27 +0000

One question kept bothering me:

Why do students lose access to one of the most valuable networks they already have their alumni?

That question became AllySphere.

It's an AI-powered alumni networking platform designed to make meaningful connections easier between students, alumni, faculty, and recruiters.

Instead of disconnected WhatsApp groups and outdated directories, I imagined a smarter system where people could:

✅ Find relevant alumni instantly

✅ Get AI-powered recommendations

✅ Discover mentors based on interests

✅ Connect for internships and career guidance

Building AllySphere taught me far more than software development.

It taught me that great products begin with real problems—not flashy technology.

AI should remove friction.

Technology should strengthen communities.

This project pushed me to think beyond writing code and toward building products people would actually use.

I'd love to know:

If your college had an AI-powered alumni platform, what feature would you use first?

Why I'm Starting Before I'm Ready

rashida qaiyumi — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:41:17 +0000

Stop Waiting. Start Building.

For a long time, I believed I needed to be "ready."

Ready with a stronger portfolio.
Ready with more skills.
Ready with a clearer career plan.

So I waited.

Eventually I realized something uncomfortable:

Confidence isn't built before you start. It's built because you start.

I'm an AI & Data Science graduate figuring things out in public.

Right now I'm:

Learning AI beyond what college taught me.

Building projects that solve real problems.

Applying for internships and jobs.

Documenting everything I learn.

I don't have all the answers.

But I do have curiosity.

This blog is my commitment to consistency over perfection.

I'll be sharing projects, mistakes, things I learn, career experiments, and ideas that hopefully help someone else who's also trying to figure things out.

If you're also building before you feel ready

Welcome. 🚀

Let's learn together.

What was the project that finally pushed you to stop waiting?