I've been privillaged to access to computers and the internet since the days of Rediffmail's free email service. As I entered college, the internet became a part of my life, and I found my first online homes on Blogspot and WordPress. In 2008, thanks to Anivar Aravind, I acquired this domain and got started with WordPress hosting — a moment of great pride for me!
Over time, social media took centre stage, and while the site remained, it became mostly inactive. I once thought of using this domain as a design portfolio, but it never quite worked out. In 2020, I faced a crucial decision: either revitalise this project or let it go. That's when I discovered the concept of a digital garden, inspired by Santosh Thottingal's Docs and Nikita Voloboev's Wiki. This led me to the current version (version 16?) of Hiran.in!
This website is a reflection of my ongoing ideas and work, following a workflow that suits me best. The homepage design draws inspiration from Paco's website, while the collections are based on Matthw Ström's reading list. The Async design coaching is inspired by Anthony Hobday, and the Now page is based on Derek Sivers's Now Page.
Built with Jekyll and hosted on Github, I used Simply Jekyll as a starting point for this version, which I now maintain under the theme Jekyll Garden. For code highlighting, I rely on Highlight.css. Additionally, Obsidian serves as the Content Management System for this site.
Notably, this website stands out from other product designer websites, as it boldly uses 98% Inter and 2% Newsreader as the typeface — quite the unique choice!🤣.
Thanks List
Anish Sheela, for hosting and JS teaching. Ershad K for Jekyl and Ruby 101 Asim K T for designing the first version of HTML and for the Flex and Grid lectures. Binny V A for being a co-consiprator, a fellow zettelkasten learner, who created the Gatsby version of the same theme.