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Portfolio Improvement Master Checklist

Portfolio Improvement Master Checklist

Quick Reference: Simple todo list for all improvements Time: ~30 hours over 2 weeks Result: Portfolio goes from 7.5/10 → 9/10

🔥 WEEK 1: Content & Positioning (15 hours)

Day 1: Deploy Demos (3 hours) ⚡ HIGHEST IMPACT

  • Find Fancy Monkey live URL
  • Add URL to _data/ai_projects.yml demo_url field
  • Deploy Internet Infrastructure Map to Vercel
  • Deploy Letratos to Netlify/GitHub Pages
  • Update project cards to display demo links
  • Test all demo links work
  • Take screenshots of each demo

Files: _data/ai_projects.yml

Day 2: Rewrite 3 Projects (3 hours) ⚡ HIGH IMPACT

  • Rewrite describe_it description with narrative
    • Hook: “Stuck at basic descriptions”
    • Insight: “Variety expands vocabulary”
    • Impact: “3 tutors, 12 students using it”
  • Rewrite subjunctive-practice description
    • Hook: “The subjunctive broke me after 6 months”
    • Insight: “Context over conjugation”
    • Impact: “The tutor I wished I had”
  • Rewrite fancy_monkey description
    • Hook: “Can you run e-commerce with $0 hosting?”
    • Insight: “GitHub Pages + 1 serverless function”
    • Impact: “Profitable with zero infrastructure cost”

Files: _data/ai_projects.yml (lines 38-44, 67-92, 195-202)

Template:

[Problem] → [Your insight] → [What you built] → [Impact] → [What you learned]

Day 3: Redesign Homepage Hero (3 hours) ⚡ HIGH IMPACT

  • Rewrite hero section to feature family teaching lineage
  • Add stats: “100+ years family teaching / 10 years / 15 projects”
  • Write clear value prop: “Educator building AI tools”
  • Add personal teaching photo (if available)
  • Update SCSS for asymmetric layout
  • Test mobile responsiveness

Files: index.html (lines 7-34), _sass/_layout.scss

Copy:

<span class="hero-eyebrow">4th Generation Educator × AI Developer</span>
<h1>Brandon JP Lambert</h1>
<p>My great-grandfather taught in the 1940s. My grandfather in the '70s.
My father in the '90s. I taught languages for 10 years in the 2010s.
Then I learned AI could build the tools I wished I had. So I learned to code.</p>

Day 4: Create Teaching Philosophy Page (3 hours)

  • Create _pages/teaching-philosophy.html
  • Write “Four Generations” section
  • Write “What 10 Years Taught Me” section
  • Write “5 AI Learning Principles” section
  • Add to main navigation
  • Update homepage CTA: “My Teaching Philosophy →”
  • Style with pull quotes and sections

Files to create: _pages/teaching-philosophy.html Files to edit: _data/navigation.yml, index.html

Day 5: Remove “Built with Claude Code” Framing (3 hours)

  • Search all files for “Claude Code” mentions
  • Search for “AI-assisted” or “AI-generated”
  • Remove or reframe each mention
  • Update brandonjplambert.com project description
  • Focus on decisions, not tools
  • Keep only mentions that show judgment (“I tested 3 approaches”)

Files: _data/ai_projects.yml, README.md

💻 WEEK 2: Technical & Design (15 hours)

Day 6: Extract JavaScript ✅ (COMPLETED Oct 8, 2025 - 1 hour actual)

  • Create /assets/js/ directory
  • Extract project filter JS → projects-filter.js
  • Extract modal JS → project-modal.js
  • Extract tooltip JS → tech-tooltips.js
  • Remove inline scripts from HTML
  • Add <script> tags to load new files
  • Remove all console.log() statements (8 removed from ai-projects.html)
  • Test filtering, modals, tooltips still work (manual testing pending)

Files to create:

  • /assets/js/projects-filter.js
  • /assets/js/project-modal.js
  • /assets/js/tech-tooltips.js

Files to edit: _pages/ai-projects.html

Day 7: Fix Mobile Navigation ✅ (COMPLETED Oct 8, 2025 - 0.75 hours actual)

  • Delete duplicated mobile nav HTML (created nav-items.html include)
  • Keep single navigation source (DRY principle applied)
  • Add CSS for mobile overlay (moved to _layout.scss)
  • Create navigation JavaScript module (site-navigation.js)
  • Add proper ARIA attributes (aria-expanded, aria-controls)
  • Test on iOS Safari (manual testing pending)
  • Test on Android Chrome (manual testing pending)
  • Test keyboard navigation (manual testing pending)

Files: _layouts/default.html, _sass/_layout.scss, create /assets/js/mobile-menu.js

Day 8: Color & Typography Refresh (3 hours)

  • Update color variables in _variables.scss:
    • Primary: #2B6CB0 (warmer blue)
    • Secondary: #DD6B20 (Colombia orange)
    • Tertiary: #38A169 (growth green)
    • Ink: #2D3748 (softer black)
    • Paper: #FFFAF0 (warm white)
  • Test colors on buttons, cards, links
  • Check contrast ratios (WCAG AA minimum)
  • Increase body line-height to 1.8
  • Add pull quote styling
  • Improve heading hierarchy

Files: _sass/_variables.scss, _sass/_typography.scss, _sass/_components.scss

Day 9: Update Project Statuses (2 hours)

  • Review all 15 projects honestly
  • Replace “Active Development” with specific statuses:
    • “MVP Complete - seeking feedback”
    • “Live - in production”
    • “Prototype - concept validated”
    • “On Hold - achieved learning goals”
    • “In Progress - 40% complete”
  • Add completion notes where helpful
  • Update last_updated dates if needed

Files: _data/ai_projects.yml (all status: fields)

Day 10: Add Photography & Personal Elements (4 hours)

  • Select 5-10 best photos from Letratos portfolio
  • Add photo as hero section background (with overlay)
  • Create “Creative Work” section on homepage
  • Add 3-4 featured photos
  • Link to Letratos prominently
  • Add personal teaching story to /work/ page
  • Create family teaching timeline (if photos available)

Files: index.html, _pages/work.html, _sass/_layout.scss

🎯 Quick Wins (If Time Limited - Do These First)

Must Do (8 hours) - 70% of Impact

  • Day 1: Deploy demos (3 hours)
  • Day 2: Rewrite 3 projects (3 hours)
  • Day 3: Redesign hero (2 hours)

Should Do (12 hours) - Gets to 90%

  • Day 4: Teaching philosophy page (3 hours)
  • Day 5: Remove AI tool framing (1 hour)
  • Day 8: Color refresh (2 hours)
  • Day 9: Update statuses (2 hours)
  • Day 10: Add photos (2 hours)
  • Day 6: Extract JavaScript (2 hours)

📊 Success Checklist

After 2 weeks, you should have:

Content ✅

  • 3-5 working demo URLs
  • 3 projects with narrative descriptions (not specs)
  • “4th generation educator” in hero
  • Teaching Philosophy page live
  • No “Built with Claude Code” generic mentions

Technical ✅

  • JavaScript in separate files
  • Zero console.logs in production
  • Mobile navigation with ARIA
  • Cleaner, maintainable code

Design ✅

  • Warmer color palette applied
  • Body line-height 1.8
  • Personal photos integrated
  • Visual personality evident

Positioning ✅

  • Clear “educator who codes” message
  • Teaching lineage front and center
  • Honest project statuses
  • Pedagogical thinking visible

🧪 The 30-Second Test

After completing improvements:

  1. Show site to 3 people for 30 seconds
  2. Ask: “What makes this person unique?”

Success = They say:

  • “4th generation educator—100 years of teaching!”
  • “They understand learning AND can build tools”
  • “Educator who innovates with AI”

Failure = They say:

  • “Um… they taught English?”
  • “Some developer with teaching background?”
  • “Not sure what’s special?”

🔄 Daily Workflow

Each day:

## Morning (15 min)
- [ ] Read full task description
- [ ] Git commit current state
- [ ] Start Jekyll server: `bundle exec jekyll serve`

## During (varies)
- [ ] Make small commits frequently
- [ ] Test in browser after each change
- [ ] Check mobile responsiveness
- [ ] Verify no broken links

## End of Day (15 min)
- [ ] Test in multiple browsers
- [ ] Check console for errors
- [ ] Git commit with clear message
- [ ] Review: Did I achieve today's goal?

📁 Key Files Reference

Content:

  • _data/ai_projects.yml - All project data
  • index.html - Homepage hero
  • _pages/ - All site pages

Styles:

  • _sass/_variables.scss - Colors, spacing, fonts
  • _sass/_components.scss - Buttons, cards, UI
  • _sass/_layout.scss - Page layouts
  • _sass/_typography.scss - Font styles

Templates:

  • _layouts/default.html - Site wrapper, nav, footer
  • _includes/ - Reusable components

JavaScript (to be created):

  • /assets/js/projects-filter.js
  • /assets/js/project-modal.js
  • /assets/js/tech-tooltips.js
  • /assets/js/mobile-menu.js

⚡ Start Right Now

Your first 30 minutes:

  1. Open _data/ai_projects.yml
  2. Find Fancy Monkey project
  3. If you have the live URL, add it to demo_url:
  4. Commit: git commit -m "Add Fancy Monkey demo URL"
  5. Push to GitHub

Congratulations! You have your first demo link.

That’s how you start. One small win at a time.

🆘 Getting Stuck?

Content problems:

  • Read examples in 01-content-storytelling.md
  • Ask: “What problem did this solve for ME?”

Technical problems:

  • Check code examples in 03-technical-implementation.md
  • Test frequently in browser
  • Make small changes, commit often

Design problems:

  • Review principles in 02-design-ux.md
  • Use WebAIM contrast checker for colors
  • When in doubt, keep it simple

Positioning problems:

  • Reread 05-positioning.md
  • Remember: Educator first, coder second
  • Lead with teaching expertise

🎯 The Commitment

30 hours over 2 weeks:

  • 2 hours per weekday (morning or evening)
  • 5 hours per weekend day

It’s doable. It’s worth it.

Your portfolio will transform from:

  • “Nice work” → “I need to hire this person”
  • “Competent” → “Compelling”
  • 7.5/10 → 9/10

Start Monday morning. Start with demos.

You’ve got this.

✨ Final Motivation

You have the most unique positioning in education + tech:

  • 4 generations of teaching (100+ years)
  • MA-TESOL + 10 years classroom
  • Learned Spanish to Advanced
  • Built 15 AI projects

This combination is extraordinary.

Stop hiding it.

These 2 weeks make it visible.

Start now. 🚀