Introduction

Intro

Hi, my name is Cyan. I am a 20 year old queer and disabled cybersecurity enthusiast, artist, and programmer. While I primarily draw, I also write, sew, and do other crafty things. I’m learning to code, so this website is one of my first projects. I made this site for two reasons: the modern web is falling apart and I like making things.

Enshittification

But, what do I mean by “the modern web is falling apart”? I’m referring to the phenomenon of enshittification, or the steady downward trajectory in the quality of a service (ie: social media platforms and other websites.) There are many cases of this I can recall from the past few years, including YouTube’s removal of the dislike counter and Tumblr Live (which no one ever asked for.)

Why is this happening? Social media sites, while providing a user-friendly form of communication, are not inherently profitable. They are, however, brilliant aggregators of data about the people who use it, especially the kind that can be used to personalize advertisements and generate interaction. Is this unethical? Absolutely. But, shareholders don’t care about the users of a site, only the return on investment.

I used to be highly active on Twitter, especially during 2020. The website was far from good, but I could post my drawings and interact with other artists. For in-real-life reasons, I experienced burnout and stopped posting to Twitter. I did one day plan to come back, even if only for my fellow artists. Then, Elon Musk bought the platform and turned it into a puddle of fascist-flavored goo. I wish I could say I am willing to navigate that wasteland and fight the good fight for my fellow queer pals, but I know I am far too temperamental for that. Besides, why feed the capitalist data harvesting machine any more than I have to?

DIY

Many people thought AI would be used to reduce the amount of time humanity needed to spend on hard labor so we could collectively advance and enjoy different mediums of art. Well, the capitalists did exactly the opposite and, for the past few years, AI generated images, videos, audio, and writings are flooding into cyberspace. This has created many issues for creators across the board, especially those who depend on their art to survive. I know many artists who have quit their craft altogether because they feel there is no point when art consumers seem perfectly content with whatever “AI script engineers” put out. I’m scrappy, so, while I have felt discouraged at points, I’ve had it in me to keep making things, even if only out of spite. My disabilities impact the speed at which I can complete things, but I enjoy the process anyways.

Goals

What are my goals with this website? I want to take an accessibility first approach in my design of this website. There’s little point to a blog if some people can’t enjoy it in the first place. These are the features I’m implementing in order to achieve this (though I would be more than happy to include new additions too!):

  • Alternative text for all images and gifs on the website.
  • Avoiding the use of acronyms and abbreviations without full-text clarifications immediately afterward. The text-to-speech readers I have used kind of mash these together, so it’s hard to understand what they mean without looking at them.
  • Making the website mobile-accessible. In its current state, elements do load, but with incorrect formatting. I am looking into making a secondary layout for tablets and phones.
  • Pausing all gifs by default until the image is hovered over. I am looking into how to do this for the background.
  • Striking a balance between having enough contrast to discern elements but not so much that it causes eyestrain. In order to provide more options, I may add multiple themes later in development.

I’m not particularly fond of modern web design’s emphasis on visual minimalism. I wouldn’t consider myself a maximalist, but I would like my page to have a visual identity. As I learn more about web development and design, I will be adding personal flair and detail to certain elements with hand-made assets.