About this project
Design · Engineering · Human and AI collaboration
I wanted this website to give more context than a résumé could: the problems I've worked on, the decisions I've made and how I approach engineering. Building the cockpit became another example of that process.
Finding a direction
The first concepts were too plain. I wanted more color, more technology and something worth exploring. I tried several directions, including a pixel world and a portable computer, before settling on a spaceship cockpit.
The early spaceship images went too far in the other direction. They suggested a large game environment that would be difficult to build and distract from the writing. The useful idea was smaller: a cockpit, a view into space and a set of displays where the content stays readable.
From generated images to working materials
AI image generation helped me compare designs before committing to an implementation. I reacted to the results, chose details and rejected others: brighter lights, a darker cabin, silver display rims and fewer decorative controls that looked clickable.
I instructed the AI to build the cockpit and display models in Blender, then directed revisions to materials, texture, lighting and proportions. Later, I sent screenshots of the working website back through image editing to explore a more detailed finish. The approved result became a reference for changes to the actual site, including generated cabin artwork prepared as runtime assets.
Making the scene behave
The website combines layered space artwork, rendered cabin surfaces and live display geometry. The writing is HTML, so it stays selectable and scrollable as the displays move. The screens, their text, reflections and shadows have to agree about where each display is.
That took repeated corrections. Side hinges appeared to slide. Tilted edges looked jagged. Reflections made the glass look cracked. Shadows needed to follow the console's different heights. I could see when something felt wrong, even when I didn't yet know the graphics term for it.
Travel needed the same attention. Planets drifting sideways felt like objects being rearranged. I changed the movement to suggest approaching them, passing them and pulling away across much larger distances.
Keeping it usable
More detail also brought performance problems. I measured the animation, reused prepared artwork and lighting, and kept expensive rendering for the parts that actually change. Fixed cabin lighting can be baked into an image; a folding display still needs its pose, glass and shadows to respond.
The text remained the priority. I adjusted the reading area, made vertical scrolling read the article, and kept chapter navigation separate. On phones, the side displays disappear so the main display and the view outside have enough room.
Working with AI
I directed the project through references, questions, choices and hands-on feedback. The coding agent investigated problems, proposed approaches, generated iterations, implemented changes and checked the result.
The final view is an artist's impression inspired by the Local Group, our neighborhood of galaxies. Positions and distances are compressed for this composition.