Particular

Particular is a Jekyll theme for personal websites and interactive résumés, with data-driven configuration and animated particle backgrounds.

What is Particular?

Particular is a Jekyll theme for personal websites, optimized for hosting an interactive résumé. It is a static-site theme that takes YAML configuration files and Markdown posts as input and produces a multi-page site with home, about, projects, resume, and 404 pages. It runs on any standard Jekyll setup using Ruby and Bundler, and is maintained in the GitHub repository ashtonmv/particular_theme, with a live demo at michael-ashton.com. The theme is loosely based on the Freelancer Jekyll theme and imports the particleground.js library for its signature particle backgrounds.

Key Features

• Particle backgrounds — Uses particleground.js to render animated, interactive particle canvases as page backgrounds; styling options live in _data/particles.yml.
• Data-driven configuration — Nearly everything editable via YAML files under _data/ (about.yml, formbutton.yml, nav-icons.yml, particles.yml, resume.yml) plus _config.yml for title, email, description, keywords, and meta author.
• Resume page with PDF download — A dedicated /resume page populated from _data/resume.yml, with a button that links to a PDF placed in downloads/.
• Projects as Jekyll posts — Projects are managed under projects/_posts with the strict naming convention YYYY-MM-DD-title.md; six dummy projects are included as examples.
• Icon-based navigation — Main navigation is configured through _data/nav-icons.yml and can link to internal or external pages.
• Bootstrap and Sass styling — Includes Bootstrap via css/bootstrap.min.css and uses Sass variables in _sass/head.scss for theme colors, fonts, and responsive breakpoints.
• Formspree form button — An optional contact button can be enabled by configuring _data/formbutton.yml; it appears on all pages when active.
• Typewrite hover effect — Home and 404 pages display a typewriting animation for nav icons on hover, implemented in _includes/typewrite.html.

Who is it for?

• Job seekers and professionals — Build an interactive résumé site that presents work history and skills in web format, with a downloadable PDF version for recruiters.
• Personal website owners — Set up a minimal personal homepage with about, projects, and contact sections without writing much HTML.
• Jekyll users — Developers who want a ready-made Jekyll theme they can customize through YAML data files and Sass variables instead of editing templates.
• Freelancers and portfolio owners — Use the projects posts system to showcase case studies, client work, or writing samples.

What can you do with Particular?

• Create an interactive résumé: Fill in _data/resume.yml and add a PDF under downloads/ so visitors can view the site résumé and download the PDF.
• Showcase projects: Add Jekyll post files to projects/_posts to display dated project entries.
• Customize the background animation: Tweak particle density, colors, and behavior in _data/particles.yml without touching JavaScript.
• Add a contact form button: Configure a Formspree endpoint in _data/formbutton.yml to embed a contact button across the site.

How does Particular work?

Set up requires Ruby and Bundler. Clone the repository, run bundle install and bundle exec jekyll serve to start a local server. Most content is edited through YAML data files; HTML partials in _includes/ only need to be touched when adding new résumé fields or custom scripts.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Nearly every aspect is configurable via YAML files; the theme includes six sample projects and a live demo; it is based on the well-known Freelancer Jekyll theme; responsive breakpoints are pre-tuned for mobile devices.
• Cons: Custom résumé fields require direct edits to HTML includes; there is no built-in method to convert the HTML résumé to PDF, so you must upload a PDF manually.

FAQ

How do I install Particular?

Clone the repository from GitHub, ensure Ruby and Bundler are installed, then run bundle install followed by bundle exec jekyll serve. This starts a local server at localhost where you can view and iterate on the site.

How do I change the particle background?

Particle styling options are stored in _data/particles.yml. Edit properties there to adjust how the particleground.js animation looks and behaves; no JavaScript changes are required.

How do I add my résumé PDF?

Place the PDF in the downloads/ folder at the theme root. The button at the bottom of the /resume page links to that file automatically.

How do I add a new project?

Create a new file under projects/_posts using the strict naming convention YYYY-MM-DD-title.md. Jekyll posts that don't follow this format will not appear in the theme.

Can I export my résumé as a PDF automatically?

No. The theme does not provide a way to generate a PDF from the HTML résumé. You must create a PDF separately and upload it to the downloads/ folder for visitors to download.