Projects

(Summer 2024): I've done a ton of work on this portfolio to split it into several pages, and added a new section for testimonials from past colleagues.

I've also been doing a deep dive into SQL, following the coursework laid out on ZeroToMastery. The final big update for the summer is that I've begun to dip my toes into the freelancer waters, lending my software expertise and focus on accessibility to help folks bring their projects to the next level.

(November 2023): I've done some major stylistic updates to this portfolio's project section. These updates do a better job promoting the projects themselves, as well as allowing me to include additional context or information for each project. There's also a better responsive pattern when viewing this portfolio across a variety of device widths.

In addition to the major updates to my development portfolio, I've done some minor work on my photography portfolio. Most notably, I've added titles for each image which will display in desktop view, and I've restyled the hover effects to incorporate the new content. In my eyes these changes may be minor, but they make the portfolio feel more professional. Check it out!

(October 2023): I have completed my certification to become a ScrumMaster! Achieving this certification has brought a semblance of order and understanding to my experience as an engineer. Having previously worked on scrum teams, I never focused too hard about why we did some things--just that they seemed to make sense. With this course I now understand more completely the reasons scrum events are an integral part of the development process. Credential details can be viewed here.

In addition to my new certification, I've done some behind-the-scenes work on this portfolio page. I replaced the inline SVGs with image elements, and updated the display to move the descriptors into a figure caption. Previously, this information was hidden behind a cursor hover action.

(September 2023): I have launched my photography portfolio! This is a special moment for me, as I worked relentlessly to sift through the more than 70,000 photos I've taken to select the very best of my nature photography. Beyond simply selecting the images, each one has a custom caption and includes species identification. In addition to all the work that entails, I built the portfolio from the ground up using Next.js & TypeScript as the code, Cloudinary as the CDN & API, and Vercel as the site host. Working with Next.js was a brand new endeavor for me, and I'm very glad I went this route. Take a look!

(July 2023): I'm still working on the photo gallery project. When it came time to deploy I encountered some unexpected difficulties with serving the back end in production. While the project was built as React/Express, this is not the best tech setup for what I'm attempting to accomplish. The scope of the project changed along the way, and the current iteration is over-engineered. Therefore, I'm rebuilding the project as a Next.js app to leverage serverless functions. I'll be deploying this to Vercel, and both Vercel and Cloudinary suggest this approach.

I've made some minor updates to this portfolio to include some better information about the ultimate goal of each of the practice projects.

(May 2023): I revamped this portfolio page to remove bloated code, close security vulnerabilities, and update dependencies, and upgrade from Webpack 3 to Webpack 5. I'm continuing to work on my photo gallery project. There are some kinks with how the Cloudinary API serves data that I need to resolve, as well as finalizing accessibility support for mobile view before I can publish this project.

(August 2022): I'm working on building out a photo gallery using React, Typescript, Express, and the Cloudinary API. I'm excited to expand my Typescript knowledge, revisit Express, and dabble with a new API. Let's be honest, the early projects where I built my own back end leave a lot to be desired. But hey, that was early days when I was just learning there's more to software than HTML! This upcoming project will be hosted on Netlify, which is nice and easy, even if it will get a wacky URL.

I just wrapped up version 3.1.1 of my Recipe Search app! This latest update, while minor, addressed a number of security vulnerabilities in the code. Code maintenance is a critical tool in an engineer's belt, and this was the first time I got to really dive into it solo. Give it a go!

Of course, my learning is never complete. Every time I try out a new-to-Jacob project, read a code article, or watch a code tutorial I'm learning something new, or deepening my comprehension of engineering concepts.