By Diego Torres – Visual Designer & Creative

When I set out to build diegotorressierra.com, I wasn’t looking to just make a portfolio — I wanted to build a hub. A space that brings everything I do into one clean, functional, and creative place. Whether it’s design, photography, blog posts, or future projects — I wanted it all to live together with intention.

I built it using Framer, and honestly? I haven’t looked back. The process felt intuitive, expressive, and kind of addictive (in the best way). Here’s what I loved about the experience — from the interface and scroll animations to the CMS and forms — and what I’d love to see next from the platform.

🧠 Why a “Hub” — Not Just a Portfolio?

I wear a few different creative hats — I design, I write, I shoot, I build. So I wanted this site to feel like a living space for all of it. Not just a place to show off past work, but a tool where I can:

• Share updates and thoughts in a blog format

• Highlight ongoing or archived projects

• Link to social platforms, side hustles, or even future merch drops

• Keep everything on brand, simple, and centralized

That mindset influenced every design decision I made — it had to be modular, scalable, and me.

🛠️ The Interface That Just Made Sense

Coming from Figma, using Framer felt super familiar. The UI is clean, visual, and really friendly to designers who are used to drag-and-drop workflows and component-based layouts. The Assets tab, the layers, the text handling — it all felt like second nature.

What I especially appreciated was how little I needed to Google. The platform is built for people who think in design systems and layouts, not code blocks.

✨ Scroll Animations, Transformations & That Sweet Motion

Motion was a big part of what I wanted — not flashy animations, but the kind that feel intentional and create rhythm as you scroll.

Framer let me:

• Add scroll speed variations (like clouds moving slower in the background for depth)

• Use scroll transforms to make objects grow, shift, or fade smoothly into view

• Layer things with parallax effects that actually feel smooth and not janky

And all this without touching a single line of code. For a visual designer, it’s honestly wild how powerful the scroll features are. It gave my site just the right amount of interactivity — it moves with you, without yelling at you.

📬 Custom Forms That Actually Feel on Brand

One underrated feature: forms. I set up a contact form that matches my site perfectly — custom-styled, with hover states and animations. I connected it with Framer’s native form handling so I could track messages easily, and there was no need for third-party styling hacks.

Now it feels less like a "default form" and more like part of my voice.

🧩 Components, Reuse, and Responsiveness

Framer’s component system helped me stay consistent and clean — I built reusable sections for:

• Project cards

• Blog previews

• Call-to-actions

• Mobile menus

Even better? They’re fully responsive by default. I didn’t need to create separate mobile versions or mess with pixel pushing. I could set rules, stack content, and preview across breakpoints with confidence.

✍️ CMS: Simple, Scalable, but Missing RSS

The CMS inside Framer is honestly solid. I use it to manage my blog, and it’s also powering other sections like notes, links, and quote blocks. It lets me bind real content to my layouts and keep everything clean and dynamic.

The only thing I’d love to see added is RSS. For people like me who blog and want to let others subscribe or auto-pull content into newsletters, that’s a missing piece. Hopefully that feature drops soon.

🧠 Why Framer Was the Right Call (For Me)

I thought about using Webflow or even going headfirst into a custom-coded site, but Framer just made sense. Here’s why:

• It’s visual and fast

• It speaks the same language as Figma

• It lets me create a site that actually feels like me

• I can scale it — blog more, add sections, drop in future projects — all without breaking the flow

And now, I have a digital home that houses my creative world — not just a showcase, but a creative system I’m constantly evolving.

👋 Want to Build Yours?

If you’re a designer or creative trying to build something that’s more than a portfolio, I definitely recommend giving Framer a try. It’s a creative playground with the right amount of structure.

You can explore the live site here: diegotorressierra.com
And feel free to reach out if you’re working on something cool and want to collaborate.