My_Portfolio_Website — Vite Portfolio Template

SHA-256: e14289a758bb297af538a86a810041cf83c2a9a8974838fff6e10d4afc2898c4

2026-10-07T13:49:41.657Z

# Richmond Annor — Portfolio & Engineering Console

A personal portfolio website for **Richmond Annor Ayisah**, presented as an "engineering console". It brings together four professional identities in one interactive interface: **Web Developer**, **Junior Data Analyst**, **Process Officer**, and **Junior Project Manager**.

The site is a single-page React application with a dark, terminal-inspired design, an animated hero section, a searchable command palette, project detail views, and a downloadable CV.

---

## Table of Contents

1. [Features](#features)
2. [Tech Stack](#tech-stack)
3. [Getting Started](#getting-started)
4. [Available Scripts](#available-scripts)
5. [Project Structure](#project-structure)
6. [Customizing the Site](#customizing-the-site)
7. [Building and Deploying](#building-and-deploying)
8. [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
9. [Notes on Unused Dependencies](#notes-on-unused-dependencies)
10. [License](#license)

---

## Features

- **Animated hero section.** The hero cycles automatically through four stages. Each stage has its own photo, role title, accent color, and frame shape:

  | Stage | Role | Frame shape |
  | --- | --- | --- |
  | 1 | Web Developer | Circle |
  | 2 | Junior Data Analyst | Rectangle |
  | 3 | Process Officer | Hexagon |
  | 4 | Junior Project Manager | Square |

  A glowing, moving SVG outline traces the active frame. Visitors can also jump to any stage using the indicator dots.

- **Page sections.** Home, About, Projects, Experience, Skills, and Contact, all reachable from the top navigation bar.
- **Featured projects with detail views.** Each project opens in a modal with a full description:
  - Modelling Expected Goals in Football (machine learning and sports analytics)
  - Global Banking & Economic Analytics (financial engineering and business intelligence)
  - AHA Hospital Database Benchmarking (operational analytics and biostatistics)
- **Command palette.** Press `Ctrl + K` (or `Cmd + K` on Mac) to open a searchable menu for jumping to sections, opening projects, switching theme, and opening the CV. Press `Esc` to close it.
- **Dark and light themes.** The theme toggle saves the visitor's choice in the browser, so it is remembered on the next visit. Dark mode is the default.
- **CV viewer.** A resume modal lets visitors preview the CV, print it, or download it as a PDF.
- **Contact form.** The form opens the visitor's email app with the message pre-filled and addressed to the portfolio owner.
- **Responsive layout.** The site adapts to phones, tablets, and desktop screens.

---

## Tech Stack

| Area | Tool |
| --- | --- |
| UI library | React 19 |
| Language | TypeScript |
| Build tool and dev server | Vite 8 |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS 4 |
| Animation | Motion, plus native SVG animation for the hero outline |
| Icons | Lucide React |
| PDF export | jsPDF and html2canvas |

---

## Getting Started

### Prerequisites

- **Node.js 20.19 or newer** (22 or newer also works). Download the LTS version from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org).
- **npm**, which is installed together with Node.js.

Check your versions:

```bash
node -v
npm -v
```

### Installation

1. Place the project in a folder whose name uses only letters, numbers, and dashes, for example `richmond-portfolio`. **Do not use `&` or spaces in the folder name**, because it breaks the npm scripts on Windows.
2. Open the folder in VS Code (File → Open Folder).
3. Open the VS Code terminal (`Ctrl + `` ` ``) and install the dependencies:

```bash
npm install --legacy-peer-deps
```

The `--legacy-peer-deps` flag is needed because the pinned `esbuild` version differs slightly from what Vite 8 lists as an optional peer dependency. The flag is safe for this project.

### Running the site locally

```bash
npm run dev
```

Then open **http://localhost:3000** in your browser. The page refreshes automatically whenever you save a file. Press `Ctrl + C` in the terminal to stop the server.

> **Important:** Run the project from the terminal with `npm run dev`. Do not use the ▶ "Run Code" button of the Code Runner extension, because it does not support React or Vite projects and shows the error "Code language not supported or defined".

No API keys or `.env` file are required to run the site.

---

## Available Scripts

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `npm run dev` | Starts the development server on port 3000 |
| `npm run build` | Creates an optimized production build in the `dist` folder |
| `npm run preview` | Serves the production build locally so you can test it |
| `npm run lint` | Runs a TypeScript type check without producing files |

The `npm run clean` script uses a Linux command (`rm -rf`) and does not work in Windows PowerShell. To clean on Windows, delete the `dist` folder manually.

---

## Project Structure

```
richmond-portfolio/
├── public/                    # Static files served as-is (photos, favicons)
├── src/
│   ├── assets/images/         # Images imported directly into components (CV portrait)
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── Header.tsx         # Top navigation and theme toggle
│   │   ├── Hero.tsx           # Animated hero, photo frames, SVG outlines
│   │   ├── About.tsx          # About section and core competencies
│   │   ├── Projects.tsx       # Featured projects grid
│   │   ├── ProjectModal.tsx   # Project detail pop-up
│   │   ├── Experience.tsx     # Work experience timeline
│   │   ├── Skills.tsx         # Skill categories and proficiency bars
│   │   ├── Contact.tsx        # Contact form and email links
│   │   ├── ResumeModal.tsx    # CV preview, print, and PDF download
│   │   ├── CommandPalette.tsx # Ctrl+K command menu
│   │   └── Footer.tsx
│   ├── data/
│   │   └── portfolioData.ts   # All site content: hero stages, projects, skills, experience
│   ├── App.tsx                # Page layout, theme state, global shortcuts
│   ├── index.css              # Global styles and hero frame shapes
│   ├── main.tsx               # Application entry point
│   └── types.ts               # TypeScript types for the content data
├── index.html                 # HTML entry file
├── vite.config.ts             # Vite configuration
├── tsconfig.json              # TypeScript configuration
└── package.json               # Dependencies and scripts
```

Most content changes happen in a single file: **`src/data/portfolioData.ts`**.

---

## Customizing the Site

### Change a hero photo

1. Copy your new picture directly into the `public` folder (not into a subfolder). Use a simple file name with no spaces, for example `my-photo.jpg`.
2. Open `src/data/portfolioData.ts` and find the `HERO_STAGES` list. Each stage has a `photoUrl` line.
3. Replace the link with a `/` followed by the exact file name:

```ts
photoUrl: '/my-photo.jpg',
```

The file name and extension must match exactly, including capital letters. Choose a photo with the face near the center, because the frame shapes crop the corners.

### Change a hero frame shape

Each frame shape is defined in two places, which must be edited together:

1. **The photo crop** in `src/index.css`. Edit the `clip-path` of the matching `.shape-...` class.
2. **The moving outline** in `src/components/Hero.tsx`. Edit the matching tracer element inside the `<svg>` block.

The Process Officer frame is currently a hexagon. For historical reasons, its internal names are still `shape-triangle` and `tracer-triangle`. Keep those names unchanged, because `src/types.ts` and `portfolioData.ts` refer to them. Update the `shapeLabel` and `badge` text in `portfolioData.ts` if you change the displayed shape name.

### Edit projects, skills, and experience

Open `src/data/portfolioData.ts` and edit the text inside the quotes of the relevant list:

- `HERO_STAGES` for the hero roles, colors, and photos
- `PROJECTS` for the featured projects
- `EXPERIENCES` for the work history
- `SKILL_CATEGORIES` for skills and their percentages

Keep the commas, brackets, and quote marks in place. If the page goes blank after an edit, check the terminal for an error message that points to the line you changed.

### Update the CV

The CV layout lives in `src/components/ResumeModal.tsx`. The CV portrait is loaded from `src/assets/images/richmond_cv_portrait.png`. To change it, replace that file with a new image that has the same name.

### Change the contact email

The recipient address for the contact form is set at the top of `src/components/Contact.tsx`, in the `targetRecipient` line.

---

## Building and Deploying

Create a production build:

```bash
npm run build
```

This creates a `dist` folder containing the finished static website. Upload that folder to any static hosting service. **Netlify** and **Vercel** are the easiest options:

1. Push the project to a GitHub repository.
2. Connect the repository to Netlify or Vercel.
3. Use these settings:
   - Install command: `npm install --legacy-peer-deps`
   - Build command: `npm run build`
   - Output directory: `dist`

Before pushing to GitHub, make sure `node_modules` is not included. The provided `.gitignore` already excludes it.

---

## Troubleshooting

**"Code language not supported or defined" in VS Code**
This comes from the Code Runner extension, not from the project. Use `npm run dev` in the terminal instead of the ▶ button.

**"npm.ps1 cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled" (Windows PowerShell)**
Run this once, type `Y` when asked, then open a new terminal:

```powershell
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
```

**`npm install` fails with `ERESOLVE could not resolve`**
Run the install with the legacy flag:

```bash
npm install --legacy-peer-deps
```

**`'...\node_modules\.bin\' is not recognized` or `Cannot find module ...\vite\bin\vite.js`**
The project folder name contains an `&` or similar special character. Rename the folder to use only letters, numbers, and dashes, delete the `node_modules` folder, and run `npm install --legacy-peer-deps` again. Close the folder in VS Code before renaming it, otherwise Windows reports that the folder is in use.

**A changed photo does not appear**
Check that the picture is directly inside `public`, that the path in `portfolioData.ts` starts with `/`, and that the file name and extension match exactly, including capital letters.

**The page does not update after saving**
Make sure the dev server is still running in the terminal. If it stopped, run `npm run dev` again.

---

## Notes on Unused Dependencies

`package.json` lists a few packages that came with the original project template and are not used by the current site code: `@google/genai`, `express`, `dotenv`, and `tsx`. The site runs without them, and no API key is needed. They can be left as they are. If you ever remove them, run `npm install --legacy-peer-deps` afterward and confirm that `npm run dev` and `npm run build` still work.

The `.env.example` file also comes from the template and can be ignored.

---

## License

The source code carries an Apache-2.0 license header. Personal content, including text, photographs, and the CV, belongs to Richmond Annor Ayisah and may not be reused without permission.