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See the template before you commit to it.

The decision layer in action — inspect the actual starter experience in-browser before choosing to download.

Human Scribble

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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.
Open full page

Preview snapshots

The kind of moments this template should create.

Desktop preview

Sketch intro

Warm, approachable personality from the first fold
Annotations that create momentum and charm

Screen 02

Annotated projects

Annotations that create momentum and charm

Screen 03

Now page snippets

A clear structure underneath the playful layer

Content guidance

What to put into this layout.

Tip 01

Let a little roughness stay visible so it feels human.

Tip 02

Show current interests and experiments, not only polished work.

Tip 03

Keep the scribble accents consistent so they read as style, not clutter.

Why this works

The reasoning behind the style.

Human Scribble reduces polish anxiety and increases warmth. It works when the goal is to feel approachable, curious, and unmistakably personal rather than corporate.

Inspired by

Maggie Appleton's digital garden warmth and illustration depthNadia Asparouhova's unstructured, essay-led personal siteLenny Rachitsky's newsletter visual languageJustin Jackson's founder-personal-brand approach

Recommended sections

How this template is structured.

01

Hero

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

02

Projects

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

03

Now page

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

04

Notes

This layout benefits from a focused notes 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

Indie hackers and solo builders who ship products publicly and want the portfolio to feel like an extension of that energy

02

Developers who are active on Twitter/X or Threads and want a portfolio that matches their public personality

03

Makers with a strong personal voice who want visitors to feel like they know you before they email you

04

Founders who code — the warmth and approachability is particularly effective for community-driven builders

When to skip this

This might not be the right fit if…

01

Developers targeting Fortune 500 companies where the informal aesthetic may be read as unprofessional

02

Anyone whose personal brand is already polished and precise — this direction is hard to reconcile with a minimal identity

03

Those who want the technical skills and project quality to be the first impression rather than personality

04

Developers who don't write publicly or have a Now page — the template needs regular content updates to feel alive

Color palette

The exact colors to use.

Primary

#332317

Main actions & headings

Secondary

#f8dcae

Surface & background tones

Accent

#7a5a36

Highlights & emphasis

Background

#fdf8eb

Page base color

Text

#332317

Body copy color

Muted

#8b7355

Labels & metadata

Typography

Font recommendations.

Headings

Caveat

Display + hero text

Body

Nunito

Paragraphs & descriptions

Mono

JetBrains Mono

Code & metadata

Animation details

Motion language.

Hero

sketch

Entrance effect

Hover

bounce

Interactive feedback

Page

none

Transition style

Classification

Template metadata.

Style

creative

Difficulty

intermediate

Audience

freelance

Use cases

Personal brand, Storytelling

Features

What's included.

Hand-drawn elementsPlayful annotationsPersonal notesWarm tone

Technical notes

Implementation details.

  • Next.js App Router
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Framer Motion
  • SVG markers

Layout & spacing

How the grid is built.

Structured informally — content blocks carry deliberate slight rotations of ±1–2 degrees using CSS transform: rotate() for a handmade feel without chaos. Annotations use absolutely positioned spans set in the Caveat typeface. The overall layout is single-column at all breakpoints with unusually generous negative space (120px+ vertical gaps) to let the scribble accent elements breathe and not compete with the content.

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

Write your hero section in first person and past tense — 'I built X to solve Y' not 'A platform for Z'. This is the most impactful single edit you can make and takes 5 minutes.

2

Add a 'Currently building' line directly under your name on the first screen — this single hook is often what makes a visitor stay and scroll rather than bounce.

3

Change the warm amber palette to any color you like by updating 3 CSS variables: --color-paper, --color-ink, and --color-accent. The scribble SVG paths inherit from ink.

4

Your Now page is the living heart of this template — update it at least monthly to show you're active. Stale Now pages signal abandonment more than a missing portfolio section.

SEO

Search & social readiness.

Personal brand pages benefit most from explicit Person schema with sameAs links to all public social profiles. The OG title should be your full name — not a tagline, not a role — because name recognition is the most valuable first impression for this template type. Update the meta description alongside your Now page content monthly so search snippets stay fresh.

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

Accessibility

Built for everyone.

All text rotation is kept below 2 degrees to avoid readability issues for users with visual processing difficulties. Users with prefers-reduced-motion enabled get an immediate fallback to zero rotation — verified in the CSS with a media query that removes all transform effects globally. High contrast mode has been tested and the layout remains fully functional with the rotations removed.

WCAG AA contrast
Keyboard navigable
Screen reader friendly
Semantic landmarks

Performance

Load profile.

Next.js App RouterTailwind CSSFramer MotionSVG markers

Inline SVG markers and scribbles mean zero extra HTTP requests for aesthetic assets. Motion effects are handled by Framer Motion's hardware-accelerated engine. The full page including handwriting fonts loads in under 1.5 seconds on 4G.

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

creative

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

  • Hand-drawn motif treatment
  • Loose layout accents without chaos
  • Playful annotation styles
  • Simple scripting for hover and note reveals

Download status

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