Two weeks ago, my career took an unexpected detour. Though I initially felt confused by the decision, I decided to see it as a sign to hit the reset button. I started mapping out my next steps, with redoing my portfolio and CV to match the current job market's demands topping my to-do list. This process felt familiar, almost like one of the many projects I've tackled at an agency. So, I approached it with a similar strategy: assessing my resources and figuring out what matters to my audience and how to stand out among hundreds of applicants, all within a tight timeline and budget. I was going to be my own client.

A bit about me—Professionally, I am a brand, campaign, web, and communications strategist. I create strategies that are informed by data and translated through storytelling. Though not a designer, UX strategist, nor developer by trade, I’m a curious tech nerd. I’m that guy who’s always eating your ear about the cool new OpenAI release. I would dip my toes into almost anything just to give it a try.

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Becoming my own client

Facing the challenge of being my own client meant first zeroing in on my core objectives for the website. It had to do more than just grab attention; it needed to showcase my skills and experiences, mirror my personality to an extent, and be visually engaging, while making it easy for potential leads to reach out. So I asked myself, "What will make my Creative Strategist portfolio stand out in 2024?"

I did my research. The best portfolios out there weren’t just a showcase but interactive experiences—merging content strategy, UX (User Experience, ensuring the site is easy and pleasant to use), and the user journey with thoughtful design. After all, as strategists, we are expected to wear a lot of hats, but to truly mirror my personality and offer an interactive experience, I considered taking a step further.

My solution? Integrating a dynamic AI bot. To align with my goals of showcasing my adaptability and personal touch, incorporating a generative AI bot seemed like a natural next step. I've been working with generative AI for a couple of years and exploring its potential applications; while the idea of the bot was doable in theory, the challenge was in actualizing the concept in practice, which I had never done.

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Planning

I set myself a two-week deadline, realizing that too much flexibility would probably lead to procrastination.

I laid out my critical tasks, starting with the technical feasibility of the generative AI plugin. Was it possible? Could it be done for free? If not, could I keep it low budget? Could I pull it off with no coding knowledge? Answering these questions would confirm the AI bot's viability. Next, I had to choose the platform for the website build. My schedule was pretty packed:

• 2 days for technical research, leaning on my familiarity with ChatGPT and the OpenAI platform.
• 4 days for wireframing and content curation. Given my experience with content creation and a clear vision for the site’s layout, I was confident here. Plus, I already had Relume in mind for this phase, but more on that soon.
• 4 days dedicated to design development. This was slightly out of my comfort zone, not being a designer professionally, but I was probably the most excited about it.
• 4 days for execution. With my previous experience with Webflow, I figured I would have a smoother process with less of a learning curve.

To keep everything on track, I planned to monitor my progress hour by hour on Google Calendar. It's a strategy that always helped me stay focused during my agency days.

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My tools

So, plan in hand, it was time to pick my weapons of choice. I needed web tools that were sophisticated enough to implement my AI idea but still within my wheelhouse. My foundation was going to be Webflow, a no-brainer for a few reasons.

First, it’s user-friendly and gives you a lot of control over design without having to code everything from scratch. It supports CMS (Content Management System, which lets me update website content easily)—which was critical for the AI plugin I was psyched about. Plus, I could add a blog, making my site not just a temporary portfolio but an evergreen showcase of my work and thoughts. And having worked with Webflow before, I wasn’t starting from zero.

In Part 2, I'll walk you through the process—how I created a responsive website, without spending hours on screen-by-screen layout designs. Next, I'll guide you through the design process and how I utilized Webflow to create the website and the animations on the homepage. And in the final part, we'll go over how ChatGPT integrates with CMS form submissions through a make.com connection.

Curious about turning strategy into real impactful digital presence? Stay tuned for the next chapter.