Personal Blog

Personal Blog / Digital Garden

A typography-first personal site for designers and writers — part blog, part portfolio, built around clarity, restraint, and thoughtful reading.

About this template

This template is designed for people whose work is their thinking: designers, writers, researchers, and builders who want a personal site that feels calm, intentional, and worth reading. It’s not a “content feed” layout — it’s a digital garden: a home for evolving ideas, essays, notes, and reflections.

The hero section leads with a bold thesis-style headline and a short positioning paragraph, immediately communicating what you explore and why it matters. A “current focus” block adds structure without noise, letting visitors understand your themes at a glance (design systems, UX, minimal typography, etc.).

The “Recent Thoughts” area is built for skimming and depth at the same time: date, title, short excerpt, and a category tag. It feels like an editorial index — clean dividers, clear hierarchy, and comfortable spacing that invites scrolling. A simple “View archive” button supports long-term writing without changing the home page structure.

Lower on the page, there’s space for a featured quote/image moment to break up the rhythm and add atmosphere. The footer then flips the palette into a dark, high-contrast “about + contact” section that feels like a signature: who you are, what you do, and a big, unmistakable email CTA.

Overall, this is a personal site that signals taste, maturity, and craft — especially for people who believe the interface should get out of the way and let ideas land.

Who This Is For

• Designers who write and want a site that feels like an editorial publication

• Indie builders / founders sharing learnings, principles, and product thoughts

• Researchers and strategists publishing essays, notes, and frameworks

• Creatives building a long-term body of work (digital garden style)

• Freelancers who want a calm blog + subtle portfolio entry point

Best Use Cases

Digital Garden / Essay Hub: Perfect for ongoing writing, reflections, and evolving ideas that compound over time.

Designer Blog + Portfolio Blend: Works great if you want “Work” and “Journal” side-by-side without turning the homepage into a project grid.

Thought Leadership Site: Ideal for publishing opinionated essays, critiques, and frameworks in a format that feels credible and readable.

Minimalist Personal Brand: Strong voice without being flashy — your headline, your topics, and your writing do the heavy lifting.

Newsletter Home Base: Great as a canonical place to send readers from Twitter/LinkedIn and convert them into long-term followers.

Getting Started

Step 1: Remix This Template
Duplicate it to get the full structure: thesis hero, recent posts list, archive link, featured image/quote section, and about/contact footer.

Step 2: Write Your Thesis Headline
Replace the big headline with a single sentence that captures your philosophy (e.g., design, psychology, craft, simplicity). This is your hook.

Step 3: Set Your Focus Areas
Update the “Current Focus” list to 3–5 themes you actually write about. This becomes your lightweight navigation for the mind.

Step 4: Add 4–8 Recent Posts
Keep excerpts short. Titles should be clear and specific. Category tags help readers browse by interest.

Step 5: Build Your Archive
Point the “View archive” button to a page with all posts, categories, and search. This is where your writing compounds.

Step 6: Personalize the Footer
Add a short bio, credibility bullets (features/clients/awards), and make your email unmissable. This is where opportunities come from.

Step 7: Publish + Keep Planting
Ship it, then treat it like a garden: add notes, revise posts, link between ideas, and let the site become your long-term asset.

Conclusion

This template is for people who believe simplicity is a feature. It gives you a calm, editorial home for your writing, a structured way to present your focus areas, and a bold contact section that turns readers into collaborators. If you want a personal blog that feels timeless, readable, and quietly confident — this is it.