How it all started
StephenJordan.com began as my graduation portfolio project at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. It brought together the work, skills, and ideas I wanted to take into my professional life.
Built with the latest techniques and technology of the early 2010s, it was among the best portfolio websites that year. I was proud of it—and after graduation, it continued earning its keep as a place to showcase my work, attract business, and share a little of the person behind the portfolio.
A refresh became overdue
I periodically added projects and redesigned individual sections, but the website as a whole remained largely unchanged from 2011. By 2014, it had started to feel stale.
I’d wanted to rebuild it for quite a while. Meanwhile, the site kept representing a version of me that was getting further away from the present. My experience had grown, my interests had expanded, and the website hadn’t quite kept up.
The final push came when AI became capable enough to help me move the project forward. The motivation was already there. Now I had a way to turn it into something.
More than a portfolio
This version is the next chapter of the original site. My work still belongs here, but so do the other things that make me who I am: my thoughts, interests, photographs, books, music, films, and the occasional subject I find too interesting to leave alone.
I want visitors to get a fuller picture of me than a résumé or portfolio alone can offer.
That doesn’t mean the website has retired from professional life. I still want it to help people discover my skills, explore my projects, and consider working with me. It complements my business website by giving the work some personal context—and giving potential clients a better sense of who they’d be working with.
Building it has been part of the discovery
I’ve really enjoyed working on this new version. Choosing layouts, colors, and typography has been part of it, but some of the most valuable work has happened before anything reaches the page.
Working with AI has challenged me to dig deeper into my professional and personal background: revisiting projects, remembering work worth sharing, and thinking about how those experiences connect.
It’s becoming more than a website rebuild. It’s also an opportunity to gather parts of my story that deserve a place here.
Still taking shape
The design direction is approved, and the site is taking shape in an isolated development environment. The next step is bringing the approved design and the writing, projects, and photographs already gathered here into WordPress.
There’s still plenty to do. But this time, I’m building a website with room to keep growing alongside me.
