Introduction

The creation of this website can be divided into two main sections and software: the design, in Figma; and the development, in Webflow. This project was also the first time I used both Figma and Webflow, so along the way I went through lots of trial and error and many head-scratching bugs. But altogether, the project was a rewarding and enjoyable experience. If you want to check out some screenshots of the Figma design and Webflow development environment, check out this section of my portfolio.

The Design in Figma

I am interested in the field of design, as it can offer an opportunity for me to holistically blend my technical problem-solving skills with my creative hobbies. As a result, I wanted to distinctly highlight both at the front of the website. This led to the hero section of “Resume | Portfolio” and was the catalyst to the overall design. I wanted to make sure the header and footer offered the rest of the functionality needed to navigate the site, and thus came the general container for each section of the website. Otherwise, I thought a simple design colour-wise would be aesthetically pleasing, so I chose one light and one dark colour, along with a purple accent colour. I like the purple accent because I see it as a blend of a typically creative blue, and a more technical or objective red, furthering the theme of the website and my skills.

In reality, this design came over many iterations as I learned how to use Figma, along with learning general concepts of design. Some of the elements were thought of and added as I developed the website in Webflow, somewhat skipping their formal design phase. Also, the mobile design was initially an afterthought that I just went straight to developing in Webflow. Luckily, I was able to translate most of the design of the desktop site, with the main change being the menu element in the header.

Having started to learn Figma from scratch, I was lucky that there are high-quality first-party tutorial lessons and projects, along with a wide selection of design articles to learn from. I think I went through nearly everything recommended for beginners and spent some additional time learning how to use the Auto-Layout feature, which paid off as I started to make my own designs. I probably spent a little too much time prototyping and animating in Figma, but considering this was my first project, there was a lot to learn as I continued to refine the design. I felt that there were some limitations to how far you can take prototyping and components, but I maybe should’ve taken that as a sign to keep the Figma design low- to mid-fidelity. When I get started on another design project, I’m looking forward to hopping back over to Figma and widening my creative eyes again.

The Development in Webflow

With the website fully designed in Figma, it came time to develop it. I chose to develop it in Webflow at the recommendation of a colleague, and I am happy with my experience using Webflow. I came into this stage with some comfort in the web-dev process, due to my degree and current job. To learn how to use Webflow, I watched and followed some of the introductory Webflow courses, before quickly hopping into developing this website. To then figure out the rest along the way, I used a mix of Webflow tutorials/articles, forum posts, the Webflow AI Assistant, and banging my head against a wall. Since I was learning everything as I went, there were many speed bumps, re-iterations, and even functional overhauls over the course of development. But now, having this experience under my belt, I think my next project would go much smoother and allow me to deepen my technical understanding and complexity. In addition, the original Figma design had the website split up into more individual pages. However, the free version of Webflow only offers support for up to two pages, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to pay yet. So, I changed the website design to be fully contained on one page, which can be scrolled through. This probably led to more problems than it solved but forced me to work out some interesting solutions. While I'm sure I could find more ways to refine the site, I think that it would be best to move on to some other projects, and then come back to this fresh, with a larger set of skills.

Next Steps and Conclusion

In addition to considering adding multiple pages, two areas I held back on during development were making Lottie animations and implementing custom code. I was just exposed to GSAP and was considering another functional overhaul of the website to leverage its benefits. However, I did not want to turn my first project into a never-ending one, and felt it was ready to finally share publicly, even if it is not yet perfect. There will always be time to update this site between other projects.

And now, all that’s left is to ask what’s to come next. As I mentioned, I want to learn how to make Lottie animations, and implement custom code to a Webflow project, likely using GSAP. I love shopping for clothes, so one idea I have is creating a fake landing page for a made-up designer, or remaking one that already exists.

If you have any ideas, or a request for your own site, feel free to get in touch with me! Otherwise, thanks for reading and checking out my website. :)

Hi! I’m Aaron Safer-Rosenthal, a 24-year-old Application Security Consultant, with a growing interest in the field of design. I am currently working at the Royal Bank of Canada, my second job after graduating with a Bachelor of Computing (Honours) degree from Queen’s University in 2021. I had initially enrolled in the General Arts program at Queen’s but quickly realized my interest in Computer Science after a few weeks in the Introduction to Computer Science course. (I transferred programs after completing my first year of studies.) One of my favourite experiences during my degree came during my final year, when I acted as a Teacher’s Assistant for the third-year Algorithms course. This was one of my favourite courses as a student, so I appreciated the opportunity to offer tutoring to other students in the course and watch their knowledge grow. A project I was proud of was a game development project I made with two friends during our third year. You can play the game here!

After my second year at Queen’s, I worked at RBC as an IT Risk Analyst over the summer. During this experience, I was exposed to Cyber Security and quickly found an interest in it, particularly in offensive security. This led to finding a contract position as an IT Security Analyst at Scotiabank after I graduated from Queen’s. During this job, I obtained the CompTIA Security+ and AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certifications. After my contract expired, I was hired at my current position, seeing through the journey I had started those years ago.

In addition to the application security concepts I have learned and practised over the last couple of years, I obtained my AWS Solutions Architect Associate certification at the end of 2023. Although it does not directly relate to application security, or even cyber security, I wanted to broaden my general knowledge of cloud computing. Making up a core component of our digital ecosystem, I felt that pursuing this certification would offer an additional perspective to my problem-solving process as my career progresses.

Outside of work, I am fortunate to enjoy a variety of hobbies, several of which are creative in nature, such as playing piano, drawing, and painting. I began playing piano when I was 8 years old, taking lessons until I was 19. However, it was only a couple of years later, during COVID, when I really fell in love with playing. Since then, my skill has substantially improved, and it is something I am proud of and always happy to show off (like at the airport in Rome)! I have drawn for about as long as I can remember, typically comic characters and the like, and began doing larger acrylic paintings a few years ago. In this, I take after my Zaidy, whose house, and whose children’s houses, are filled with paintings he has made over the years. I’m fortunate to be able to use his studio, along with his endless selection of brushes and paints.

With these creative hobbies in mind, I found a desire to bring more creativity into my professional life. This led me to finding an interest in the field of design, as it seems to provide an opportunity to holistically blend my technical problem-solving skills and creative abilities. As a first step into this field, I thought that designing and developing a personal website would serve as a great starting point. I felt it would (and it has) allow me to start with a blank, but personal, canvas and give me a project that I can continue to add to as my skills and portfolio grow.

Further outside of work, I am a huge NFL fan, particularly of the New England Patriots. I love spending my Sundays watching football and having endless discussions with my younger brother about the sport in general, and particularly about the upcoming year’s draft prospects during the offseason. I am also hoping to repeat as fantasy champion in a league with my friends and win my third title in a league with my family. Mock draft season is on! Some of my other hobbies include playing single- and multi-player video games (Cyberpunk 2077 and CoD MWIII are currently filling my free time), going to see movies, and practising weightlifting and yoga.

I am excited to see where this journey in the field of design takes me and how it allows me to engage with and blend my professional and personal interests.