Creative professionals need portfolios that showcase their work beautifully while loading instantly. When potential clients visit your site, first impressions matter—and nothing kills a first impression like a slow website.

We built a demo creative portfolio using Gatsby, the React-based static site generator that powers websites for Airbnb, Nike, and Figma. The result? A stunning portfolio with smooth animations, gradient aesthetics, and build times under 11 seconds.

View the live demo: creative-portfolio.cosmoswebtech.com.au →

Demo Website Hero Section Live demo hero section showcasing the design and layout

Why Gatsby for Creative Portfolios?

Gatsby is specifically designed for content-rich websites that need blazing speed:

Benefits:

  • Static site generation - Pre-rendered HTML loads instantly
  • React components - Modern, interactive UI
  • Image optimization - Automatic resizing, lazy loading, blur-up
  • GraphQL data layer - Query data from anywhere
  • Plugin ecosystem - 2,000+ plugins for any feature

The Performance Numbers

Build Output:
  Pages: 4 static HTML files
  Build time: 10.7 seconds
  JavaScript: ~180KB (optimized, code-split)
  CSS: ~15KB (Tailwind purged)

Google PageSpeed: 95+ score
Status: Production-ready, blazing fast

Purple & Pink: Creative Gradient Aesthetic

Creative portfolios need bold, memorable design. We chose a modern gradient palette:

Primary Colors:

  • Purple (#a855f7) - creativity, imagination
  • Pink (#ec4899) - passion, energy
  • Gradients - modern, dynamic, eye-catching

Why purple/pink gradients?

This color combination screams “creative professional”:

  • Purple = creativity, luxury, innovation
  • Pink = passion, boldness, modernity
  • Gradients = contemporary design trends

Think of creative brands: Dribbble, Behance, Adobe—they all use vibrant purples and pinks.

Gatsby + React: Static Speed, Dynamic Feel

How Gatsby Works

Gatsby pre-renders React components to static HTML:

Build Time:
  React components → HTML pages + optimized assets

Runtime:
  Browser loads HTML instantly → React hydrates → Full interactivity

You get both: fast initial load (static HTML) AND rich interactivity (React).

React Component Example

// src/pages/index.tsx
import React from 'react';
import Layout from '../components/Layout';
import ProjectCard from '../components/ProjectCard';

const IndexPage = () => {
  return (
    <Layout>
      <section className="hero bg-gradient-to-r from-purple-500 to-pink-500">
        <h1>Alex Morgan</h1>
        <p>Creative Director & Designer</p>
      </section>

      <section className="featured-work">
        <ProjectCard
          title="Brand Identity for Tech Startup"
          category="Branding"
          image="/images/project-1.jpg"
        />
      </section>
    </Layout>
  );
};

export default IndexPage;

Clean React components with TypeScript type safety.

Four Pages That Showcase Talent

1. Homepage: Make an Impact

Hero Section:

Alex Morgan
Creative Director & Designer
Crafting memorable brand experiences

Full-screen hero with purple-to-pink gradient background.

Featured Work:

  • 3 hero projects with large imagery
  • Project name, category, brief description
  • Links to detailed case studies

About Preview: Quick introduction to who you are and what you do.

CTA: “Let’s work together” button to contact page.

2. Work: Complete Portfolio

Project Grid: 9 projects organized by category:

Branding (3 projects):

  • Tech startup brand identity
  • Restaurant rebrand
  • Fashion label design

Web Design (3 projects):

  • E-commerce platform
  • SaaS application
  • Portfolio website

App Design (3 projects):

  • Fitness tracking app
  • Social media platform
  • Productivity tool

Each project card includes:

  • Hero image with gradient overlay
  • Project title and category
  • Brief description
  • Hover effect (card lifts, gradient intensifies)

Category Filtering: Toggle to show only Branding, Web, or App projects.

3. About: Tell Your Story

Professional Bio:

  • Background and experience
  • Design philosophy
  • What drives your work

Skills & Expertise:

  • Branding & Identity
  • UI/UX Design
  • Web Design
  • App Design
  • Design Systems
  • Creative Direction

Experience:

  • Years in the industry
  • Notable clients (Nike, Adobe, Spotify - examples)
  • Awards and recognition

Clients: Logo grid of companies you’ve worked with.

4. Contact: Get In Touch

Contact Form:

  • Name, email, project type
  • Budget range
  • Project description
  • “Send message” button

Information:

  • Email: [email protected]
  • Phone: (02) 9876 5432
  • Based in Sydney, Australia
  • Available for freelance projects

Social Links:

  • Dribbble, Behance, Instagram, LinkedIn

Gatsby Image Optimization

Gatsby’s killer feature is automatic image optimization:

gatsby-plugin-image:

import { StaticImage } from 'gatsby-plugin-image';

<StaticImage
  src="../images/project-hero.jpg"
  alt="Project name"
  placeholder="blurred"
  layout="fullWidth"
/>

Gatsby automatically:

  • Generates multiple sizes for responsive layout
  • Converts to WebP format
  • Adds blur-up placeholder
  • Lazy-loads below-the-fold images
  • Serves from CDN

Result: Beautiful imagery with zero performance penalty.

What Real Portfolios Need

1. Case Study Pages

Detailed project breakdowns:

  • Client and challenge
  • Research and strategy
  • Design process and iterations
  • Final solution
  • Results and metrics

Each project gets a dedicated page with:

  • Hero image
  • Problem statement
  • Solution walkthrough
  • High-quality mockups
  • Testimonial from client

2. Blog

Content marketing for visibility:

  • Design tutorials
  • Industry insights
  • Behind-the-scenes
  • Client work stories

Gatsby’s Markdown support makes blogging easy.

3. Resume/CV Page

Downloadable resume with:

  • Experience timeline
  • Education and certifications
  • Skills and tools
  • Awards and press mentions

4. Testimonials

Client feedback builds trust:

  • Pull quotes with photos
  • Video testimonials
  • LinkedIn recommendations
  • Case study results

5. Professional Photography

High-quality imagery:

  • Workspace photos
  • Portrait shots
  • Project mockups on devices
  • Print work photography

Investment: $1,000-2,000 for professional brand photography.

6. Motion & Interaction

Subtle animations:

  • Scroll-triggered reveals
  • Hover effects on projects
  • Page transitions
  • Smooth scrolling

Gatsby works great with Framer Motion or GSAP.

SEO for Creative Services

Portfolio SEO:

  • Project pages optimized for “brand designer Sydney”
  • Blog content about design trends
  • Alt text on all portfolio images
  • Social sharing optimization

Content strategy:

  • Write case studies with SEO keywords
  • Create design tutorials
  • Share industry insights
  • Feature client success stories

Hosting & Deployment

Gatsby sites deploy everywhere:

Recommended:

  • Gatsby Cloud: $0-45/month, instant previews
  • Netlify: Free tier, automatic builds
  • Vercel: Free tier, excellent performance
  • Cloudflare Pages: Free, global CDN

All include:

  • Automatic SSL
  • GitHub integration
  • Preview deployments
  • Custom domains

Real Portfolio Pricing

Professional Package:

  • Homepage, work, about, contact
  • 6-9 project cards
  • Mobile responsive
  • Basic animations
  • Investment: $4,000 - $6,500

Premium Package:

  • Everything in Professional
  • Detailed case study pages
  • Blog with CMS integration
  • Advanced animations
  • Video integration
  • Investment: $8,000 - $12,000

Enterprise Package:

  • Everything in Premium
  • Client portal
  • E-commerce (sell templates/courses)
  • Advanced analytics
  • Custom photography
  • Investment: $14,000 - $20,000

Timeline: 4-8 weeks from design to launch.

Ready to build a stunning portfolio that wins clients? Contact Cosmos Web Tech for a free consultation.

📞 0433 309 677 📧 Email us

We build portfolios that showcase your talent—just like this Creative Portfolio demo.

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Cosmos Web Tech operates under the Ganda Tech Services umbrella, delivering end-to-end technology solutions for Australian businesses.