Responses by Isabel Moranta, designer, and Yannis Yannakopoulos, creative developer.

Design core: “I wanted the site to feel personal, a site that would reflect my own tastes and things that matter to me, but it’s a portfolio at the end of the day, so it’s hard to fit everything in,” says Isabel Moranta. “However, I wanted to create some spaces that felt like home, and I started by focusing on the things I love most.

“The core features are definitely art and literature,” she continues. “For example, I included a quote from Virginia Woolf, someone I deeply admire. It felt like the perfect fit—deep, dark and beautiful with a strong sense of womanhood. I’m fascinated by how self-doubt and judgment can sometimes block creativity, and I’ve definitely felt that pressure before, wondering what others expect from me. I wanted this site to be a way to push back against that, to just create what I enjoy without worrying about the end result too much.

“Music is my second big influence,” Moranta explains. “I spent a lot of time designing the site with certain bands on repeat—post-rock bands like Deerhunter, Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Set Fire to Flames and Sigur Rós, to name a few. These bands helped shape the vibe of the site and inspired a lot of the mood.

“So, these two core elements—literature and music—helped define the essence of the site,” she concludes. “They’re woven into bold serif quotes on the homepage and the About page, anchoring the design. The rest of the site kind of fell into place after that. I also love how the monotype font takes a quieter, more understated role; it feels more informational and modest, which led me to experiment with dropping vowels in some areas.”

Favorite details: “I like how the design of my portfolio blends minimalism with boldness, especially in the contrast between the monospaced typeface Century Schoolbook Std Monospaced and the serif font Ogg,” says Moranta. “The monospaced type represents who I am as a designer—precise, structured and deliberate—while the serif font speaks to my personal side, my tastes and what I truly enjoy. I wanted the portfolio to merge these two worlds, reflecting both my professional identity and personal aesthetic.

“I’m also proud of the subtle details that you might miss on first glance but reveal themselves upon closer exploration,” she continues. “For example, the understated homepage with its minimal design sets a tone for quiet sophistication. The blurred effect adds an element of uncertainty, echoing my transition to independence just nine months ago. It’s a nod to the ambiguity and learning that come with that change.

“Additionally, I’m incredibly happy with the work Yannis did on the site,” Moranta concludes. “I couldn’t have asked for a better developer—his attention to detail is unmatched. We share a similar design sensibility, both gravitating toward darker, moodier aesthetics, which made collaborating so much fun. I’m especially proud of the interactive noise background and the scramble effect—those little touches Yannis added elevate the entire experience. They’re the perfect complement to the design.”

Challenges: “During development, we adapted and refined the initial concept and ideas,” say Moranta and Yannis Yannakopoulos. “While some elements felt right as initial concepts during the design phase, they didn’t translate as strongly as we’d hoped once materialized. This led us to experiment and iterate multiple times, fine tuning the design to achieve the perfect balance between our original vision and what worked best on screen.”

Time constraints: “There were no time constraints on this project,” says Yannakopoulos. “We did a full sprint to kick things off, then kept it in progress between other projects. We left and revisited it quite a few times in the span of several months until we found that we were both happy with the end result.”

Technology: “The site was built in WordPress using mostly our own tools,” says Yannakopoulos. “We incorporated Vanilla JS, curtains.js for the WebGL and, as in every project, GSAP as our animation platform.”

Special technical features: “In addition to the full experience, the site respects users’ preferences for reduced motion,” Yannakopoulos explains. “If a user has this setting enabled or toggles it through their device’s settings, the site responds in real time, loading a lighter version without heavy animations or interactions, ensuring a smooth, accessible experience for everyone.”