Paper Comics Site

Personal Project: Cross-Browser Document Access and UX Integration

The Paper Comics Website was a personal concept project built to solve a specific user need: securely accessing a personal library of physical comic books (stored as organized PDF files) from any modern web browser. This project demonstrates strong Front-End UX design and robust document handling integration.

The Challenge & Goal

The primary goal was to create a fluid, highly compatible, and responsive reader experience. Rather than building a complex custom viewer, the technical solution focused on leveraging the native strength of modern browsers—the ability to render PDF files directly—while maintaining the site's dark, distraction-free aesthetic.

Technical Features & Solutions

• Universal Compatibility (PDF Integration): The decision to use PDFs and open them in a new browser window (`target="_blank"`) ensured that the files would be rendered by the user's native PDF reader (Chrome PDF Viewer, Adobe, etc.). This maximized cross-platform compatibility without relying on unstable third-party viewer libraries.
• Minimal Viewer UI: The main site focuses on content discovery and organization, with the viewing experience delegated to a clean, full-screen browser window, providing a distraction-free, "app-like" reading mode.
• Efficient Document Linking: The core viewer utilizes simple, direct HTML links to the PDF files. This structure minimizes JavaScript dependencies, making the solution fast and highly resilient to browser updates or rendering changes.
• Clear Navigation Context: The main site's organized comic list provides clear metadata (title, issue number, date) allowing users to easily select and open the correct document, maintaining intuitive navigation.