CodePen Monthly Challenge: March Recap
Man, I love challenges. To my own pleasant surprise, this March I discovered that CodePen has monthly challenges — so let’s recap.
To begin with, this was something new for me after a while. Most of the time, I’m focused on building and maintaining websites — meaning I usually look at elements and components as part of a bigger whole, not as individual assets. These challenges, in a sense, dared me to look at things as standalone pieces, and made me rethink some skills that were getting a bit rusty.
March’s theme: bugs — whether literal bugs or code bugs. But as always, there’s no boundary on how creative you can get with interpreting the theme.
Week 1: 🐞 Bugs
Didn’t finish anything. Inspiration kind of cracked that week — whoops.
Week 2: 🐛 Errors
I made a little 90s-inspired error bar.
Since creative freedom wasn’t limited, I decided to consult my bestie ChatGPT on the execution. Overall, it was my tribute to the nostalgic vaporwave style I love so much.
Week 3: 🦋 Glitches
I threw together a glitchy button that morphs weirdly.
In theory, the idea looked cooler than how it turned out. Not too proud of this one, but honestly, it was a great learning opportunity.
Week 4: 🕷️ Cicada Principle
I made a simple grassy setting with a chill vibe.
This one made me really think. First, I had to study what the Cicada Principle even was. Looking at some of the super advanced examples out there was kind of demotivating, so I decided to keep my approach simple.
Initially, I had an idea to make a ladybug hover over colorful green tiles that change color — kind of like those old-school cursor effects. But halfway through, I no longer liked it, so I switched to a basic grassy setting that changes color on hover.
To say I fully comprehend the Cicada Principle would be a massive overstatement, but I definitely got acquainted with a nice new concept.
To Summarize:
This was a great refresh and a chance to learn — not just coding itself, but also planning, analyzing, and evaluating (even if just my own capabilities).
My biggest takeaway: Don’t be lazy, just do the thing.
Also, fun fact: the Week 4 challenge got the most recognition — it was even added to a CodePen collection! I think I’m off to a good start.