Hawkes Smash - AI Innovation Blog

The Ultimate AI Pair Programming Experiment

What you're reading right now is hosted on a website that was built 100% through AI pair programming. Not a single line of code was written manually - everything from the initial npx create-next-app to the complex animations and responsive design was generated through natural language conversation with Claude.

The Challenge

Could an entire production website be built purely through AI conversation? Not just simple components or helper functions, but a complete, polished, production-ready application with:

Modern tech stack (Next.js 15, React 19, TypeScript)
Custom animations and interactions
Responsive design that works on all devices
Blog system with markdown support
Dynamic content management
Production deployment with custom domain

The Process

Starting from Zero

The journey began with a simple prompt:

"Let's build a blog called Hawkes Smash with a Hulk theme"

From there, Claude:

Initialized the Project: Set up Next.js 15 with TypeScript and Tailwind CSS
Created the Design System: Developed the Hulk-themed color palette and styling
Built Core Components: Header, Footer, Navigation, and Logo components
Implemented Features: Blog system, markdown parsing, dynamic routing
Added Interactions: Framer Motion animations, including the infamous dancing Hulk
Fixed Issues: Resolved DNS problems, mobile responsiveness, and build errors
Deployed to Production: Configured Vercel deployment and custom domain

Key Technical Achievements

1. Markdown-Based Content System

Created a complete blog infrastructure using gray-matter for frontmatter parsing and remark for markdown-to-HTML conversion. This same system now powers both blog posts and AI projects.

export function getSortedPostsData(): Post[] {
  const fileNames = fs.readdirSync(postsDirectory)
  const allPostsData = fileNames.map((fileName) => {
    const id = fileName.replace(/\.md$/, '')
    const fullPath = path.join(postsDirectory, fileName)
    const fileContents = fs.readFileSync(fullPath, 'utf8')
    const matterResult = matter(fileContents)
    
    return {
      id,
      ...(matterResult.data as Omit<Post, 'id'>),
    }
  })
  
  return allPostsData.sort((a, b) => {
    if (a.date < b.date) return 1
    else return -1
  })
}

2. Interactive Hulk Experience

The signature "SMASH!" feature with progressive animations and the dancing Hulk GIF that appears after 5 clicks - all conceived and implemented through AI conversation.

3. Mobile-First Responsive Design

When coworkers said the site "looked ugly on mobile," Claude performed a complete responsive overhaul in under 30 minutes, implementing:

Hamburger menu with smooth animations
Progressive text scaling
Touch-friendly tap targets
Mobile-optimized layouts

4. Production Infrastructure

Vercel deployment configuration
DNS setup and troubleshooting
Favicon generation from source images
SEO optimization with metadata

The Human-AI Collaboration Model

This project demonstrates a new development paradigm:

Human Provides:

Vision and requirements ("Make it Hulk-themed")
Quality feedback ("It looks ugly on mobile")
Real-world testing
Business context

AI Provides:

Complete code implementation
Technical problem-solving
Best practices enforcement
Rapid iteration

Lessons Learned

1. Natural Language is the New Programming Language

Instead of writing code, the entire development process was driven by conversation:

"Add a dancing Hulk after 5 smashes"
"Fix the mobile navigation"
"Create a blog post about this process"

2. AI Excels at Holistic Development

Claude didn't just write code - it:

Architected the entire application structure
Maintained consistent coding patterns
Remembered context across the entire codebase
Applied best practices automatically

3. Speed of Development is Unprecedented

What would typically take days or weeks was accomplished in hours:

Complete website: 4 hours
Mobile responsive fixes: 30 minutes
Blog system implementation: 45 minutes
AI projects system: 20 minutes

4. Quality Doesn't Suffer

The generated code is:

Type-safe with TypeScript
Following React best practices
Properly structured and maintainable
Performance-optimized

The Code That Built Itself

Perhaps the most meta aspect is that Claude even wrote the blog post you're reading about being built by Claude. It's AI all the way down.

Impact and Implications

This project proves that AI pair programming isn't just about autocomplete or code suggestions - it's about having a true development partner that can:

Understand Intent: Translate high-level ideas into working code
Maintain Context: Remember decisions across an entire codebase
Apply Expertise: Use best practices without being told
Iterate Rapidly: Fix issues in real-time based on feedback

Technical Stack Deep Dive

Every piece of technology was chosen and implemented by Claude:

Next.js 15: For its App Router and React Server Components
TypeScript: For type safety across the application
Tailwind CSS v4: For rapid, consistent styling
Framer Motion: For smooth, performant animations
Gray-matter & Remark: For markdown processing
Vercel: For seamless deployment

The Future of AI Development

This project represents a glimpse into the future where:

Developers become architects and directors rather than coders
Ideas can be transformed into production applications in hours
Technical barriers to creation are dramatically lowered
The focus shifts from "how to build" to "what to build"

Try It Yourself

The entire codebase is open source. You can explore how every feature was implemented, from the dancing Hulk to the responsive navigation.

But more importantly, this project proves that you can build production applications through conversation. The barrier between idea and implementation has never been lower.

Conclusion

The Hawkes Smash blog isn't just a website - it's a proof of concept for a new era of software development. An era where natural language is the primary programming interface, where AI partners handle implementation details, and where humans focus on vision, creativity, and user experience.

Every pixel you see, every animation you experience, every line of code that serves this page - all generated through conversation.

Welcome to the future of development. It's already here, and you're looking at it.

This entire website, including this blog post, was created through AI pair programming with Claude. Not a single line of code was written manually. The future isn't coming - it's already deployed to production.

Hawkes Smash Blog - 100% AI-Built Website