Claude Instructions for Attempting Art

Design Context

Users

The sole audience is the creator — this is an anonymous personal archive, not a portfolio or public-facing product. There is no external approval to seek. Design decisions should optimize for the creator’s own delight, curiosity, and joy of making. If something is fun to build or fun to look at, that’s enough justification.

Brand Personality

Three words: authentic, playful, joyful

The site’s whole ethos — “you don’t have to be good at something to enjoy it” — should be felt in every design choice. Nothing should feel overly polished or try-hard. Imperfection is a feature. The tone is warm, a little silly, genuinely enthusiastic. It documents attempting, not achieving.

Voice: first-person, casual, no performance. The site is a journal, not a gallery.

Aesthetic Direction

• Light mode primary, with dark mode as a future exploration when the creator is ready
• Clean, card-based layouts already in place — build on them rather than reinvent
• Subtle layered gradients (already implemented) add depth without visual noise — keep this
• Animations should feel fun and surprising, not just functional. Think: things that make you smile when you notice them. Bounces, wiggles, playful reveals. Not corporate micro-interactions.
• No external visual references — the aesthetic should emerge from the work itself (doodles, colors, textures in the content)
• Existing palette: blue #0D90E2, orange #ff9500, purple #635bff — these work. Orange especially fits the warm/joyful tone.

Accessibility Direction

The site is a learning lab for accessibility. Rather than a compliance checkbox, treat each feature as a chance to understand why a practice exists. Build with:

• Semantic HTML (correct heading hierarchy, landmark regions)
• Sufficient color contrast (WCAG AA as a baseline)
• Keyboard navigability for interactive components
• Focus indicators that are visible and don’t look like an afterthought
• prefers-reduced-motion already implemented — keep honoring it
• Alt text on images (meaningful, not just filenames)
• ARIA labels where interactive elements lack visible text

Goal: by using this site as a practice ground, gradually develop fluency in accessible design — not perfection, but attempting.

Design Principles

1. Delight is a valid requirement. This site exists for joy. If an animation, color choice, or layout makes the creator smile, it belongs. There is no “too playful.”

2. Authenticity over perfection. Rough edges, personal quirks, and visible enthusiasm are features. Design should feel like it came from a person, not a template.

3. Motion should feel alive. Animations are not decoration — they’re personality. Prefer bounces and springs over linear fades. Use cubic-bezier easing that feels organic. Always respect prefers-reduced-motion.

4. Accessibility as craft. Treat each accessibility decision as a design skill being developed. Good contrast, clear focus states, and semantic structure make the site better — not just more compliant.

5. No audience pressure. Never design to impress. Design to express. The creator is the only judge of whether something works.