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Editorial

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Preview notes

Scroll the full page to judge rhythm and hierarchy.
Compare whether the tone matches your personal brand.
Download the ZIP only if the structure already feels close.
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Preview snapshots

The kind of moments this template should create.

Desktop preview

Intro statement

Strong reading rhythm and typographic hierarchy
Space for thoughtful project context

Screen 02

Case-study feature

Space for thoughtful project context

Screen 03

Essay-style about

Credibility through clarity rather than decoration

Content guidance

What to put into this layout.

Tip 01

Write like a person, not like a resume.

Tip 02

Use your best project story as the emotional anchor of the page.

Tip 03

Avoid overfilling the layout with badges that interrupt the reading flow.

Why this works

The reasoning behind the style.

Editorial layouts turn clarity into credibility. They are strongest when a developer wants their thinking, process, and point of view to be as visible as the visual style.

Inspired by

Craig Mod's slow, deliberate writing-led web presenceStripe Press' typographic careThe Browser Company's nuanced editorial voiceRobin Rendle's personal portfolio and essays

Recommended sections

How this template is structured.

01

Intro

This layout benefits from a focused intro section with clear, editable content blocks in the starter kit.

02

Featured writing

This layout benefits from a focused featured writing section with clear, editable content blocks in the starter kit.

03

Projects

This layout benefits from a focused projects section with clear, editable content blocks in the starter kit.

04

About

This layout benefits from a focused about section with clear, editable content blocks in the starter kit.

05

Contact

This layout benefits from a focused contact section with clear, editable content blocks in the starter kit.

Who thrives here

This template is ideal for you if…

01

Developers applying to product design or PM-adjacent roles where written communication is evaluated

02

Career changers who want their thinking, reasoning, and process visible alongside their projects

03

Senior engineers who write publicly — on Substack, a blog, or in open-source documentation

04

Those with strong written case studies who want the portfolio to function as a genuine portfolio of thought

When to skip this

This might not be the right fit if…

01

Anyone whose primary strength is visual work with little supporting writing — the layout exposes the absence of text

02

Portfolios that need to make an instant punch — readers have to invest time to appreciate this direction

03

Developers in fast-paced outbound job searches who need immediate visual differentiation over depth

04

Those who find writing a chore — this template rewards regular updates and fresh editorial voice

Color palette

The exact colors to use.

Primary

#2f2a24

Main actions & headings

Secondary

#f0ede6

Surface & background tones

Accent

#57534e

Highlights & emphasis

Background

#fafaf9

Page base color

Text

#2f2a24

Body copy color

Muted

#78716c

Labels & metadata

Typography

Font recommendations.

Headings

Newsreader

Display + hero text

Body

Source Serif 4

Paragraphs & descriptions

Mono

IBM Plex Mono

Code & metadata

Animation details

Motion language.

Hero

none

Entrance effect

Hover

underline

Interactive feedback

Page

none

Transition style

Classification

Template metadata.

Style

editorial

Difficulty

intermediate

Audience

senior

Use cases

Getting hired, Storytelling

Features

What's included.

Serif typographyLong-form contentArticle stylingReading optimized

Technical notes

Implementation details.

  • Next.js App Router
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Serif typography
  • Prose optimized

Layout & spacing

How the grid is built.

Inspired by broadsheet newspaper design — a single typographic column with 66ch max-width for body text, generous leading at line-height 1.8, and optical margin alignment on headings using slightly negative left margin. Projects are treated as long-form essays: each has a chapter-like intro paragraph before the content detail, and the project title is set at display scale (3rem+) to emphasize its editorial weight.

Customization roadmap

Where to start editing.

The four highest-impact edits to make this template feel genuinely yours, in the order we recommend doing them.

1

Your best project headline is the single most important line on the page — invest 80% of your editing time making it specific, confident, and outcome-focused rather than generic.

2

Add a short 'Currently' section below the hero (one or two lines on what you're working on right now) for instant personality without disrupting the editorial rhythm.

3

Change the cream background to white for a crisper newsroom feel, or to off-black (hsl(30 10% 12%)) for an editorial dark mode that still feels considered rather than gimmicky.

4

Use pull quotes styled with a custom blockquote treatment to break up long project descriptions and lift the best sentence in each case study to display prominence.

SEO

Search & social readiness.

Article elements use proper schema.org Article markup for blog-style content. An estimated reading time meta tag is pre-wired to the article length. Canonical URLs are set to prevent duplicate content if you publish the same essays on your portfolio and also on Medium or Substack.

Single H1 per page
OG + Twitter card tags wired
Canonical URL in head
Schema.org Person markup

Accessibility

Built for everyone.

Serif body text at 18px passes WCAG AA with ample contrast on the warm off-white background. Paragraph spacing (1.5em between paragraphs) aids readability for users with dyslexia or attention difficulties. The layout reads correctly in linear DOM order with no CSS-reordering tricks. A skip-to-content link is included in the head of the template.

WCAG AA contrast
Keyboard navigable
Screen reader friendly
Semantic landmarks

Performance

Load profile.

Next.js App RouterTailwind CSSSerif typographyProse optimized

The editorial rhythm is preserved with static generation. Zero runtime JavaScript required for the reading experience unless you add interactive elements. Optimized typography loading ensures zero Layout Shift (CLS) when fonts finish downloading.

Compare with

If this doesn't feel right, one of these might.

These directions share some of the same goals but take a different approach. Compare them before deciding.

Version

1.0.0

Files

12

Updated

2026-04-15

Style class

editorial

Starter kit

Built for fast local customization.

Each template ships as a ZIP containing a fully-configured Next.js starter project. Built with Tailwind CSS and Framer Motion, it provides a deep, production-ready foundation that stays editable while following modern React best practices.

This kit includes

  • Typography-first rhythm system
  • Long-form content-friendly layout
  • Article-style project sections
  • Clean spacing and hierarchy defaults

Download status

This template has a real ZIP starter kit attached. The primary button downloads an editable Next.js, Tailwind, and Motion project.