The Perfect First Project for Exploring Any JS Framework

The worst part of finishing a tutorial is not knowing what to do next. You could go look up some app ideas online, but aren't you tired of making to-do lists and calculators you probably won't use? It probably feels like there's nothing left to make.

What about a resume? I spent today coding mine up using Gatsby (I really needed to use the typography and icon plugins), then I did a swift little ctrl-p > "Save to PDF". It was much easier for me to do it this way than to make something in LibreOffice Draw. The program always seems to distort colors and such anyways.

So... what makes a resume the perfect project?

• It's only one page—that's not too much work.
• You can practice laying things out with CSS if you do what I did and use two columns.
• There's all types of elements you can practice with: headers, paragraphs, links, and lists.
• Again, if you use two columns, you can practice placing your elements in the correct order for accessibility.
• You can use get some extra practice with tools like Lighthouse that test accessibility, performance, and best practices.
• After it's done, you can add it to your personal/portfolio site(s) and have something great-looking to brag about. 😉

Still feeling a little uninspired about design? Take a look at these sites for some resume examples:

• Piktochart
• Dribbble
• Awwwards

If you have any other ideas, or would like to share your work, please do leave it in the comments below or send me a tweet! I love seeing what other people create. 😊