Personal Mini Project: Responsive Design

At the early stages of the Web 2.0 era, I learned how to build webpages through trial and error – spending hundreds of hours in front of the computer screen, coffee in hand. It was thrilling to inspect the code of other sites to understand how they were built and how I could do something similar. I geeked out when I built my first blog from the ground up around 2008 – 2010.

Fast forward a few years later, while working on several UI projects with developers and researchers, the term “responsive design” started making waves. I was eager to learn what that meant and how that was different from adaptive design. I also wished to understand the mechanics of responsive design and to better articulate that during my conversations with researchers, designers, and developers. Most importantly, I wanted to ensure that users were getting the best experience possible, regardless of what device they were on.

I felt the best way to tackle such a task was to take up a web development program at Brainstation. Through that program, I learned to master the building blocks of responsive web interfaces and proficiently use HTML5, CSS3, Chrome DevTools, and Visual Studio Code. By the end of the program, I was tasked to build a fully responsive webpage and share it with my peers. I can confidently say that such an undertaking has better equipped me to advocate for users and connect with developers and programmers.