Context
Isto Vai Dar Merda was an online conference about the less positive effects of the pandemic across different parts of society. Henrique Macedo created its wonderfully irreverent visual identity; I had one weekend to turn it into the event website.
The deadline made prioritisation essential. The site needed to communicate the programme and support the event first, while still carrying the humour and personality that made its identity memorable.
Process and decisions
I implemented the design in Next.js and Styled Components, creating reusable pieces quickly without flattening Henrique’s visual direction. Jest and Testing Library covered components and Cypress exercised the complete flows in a browser. The test suite enforced a 95% global coverage threshold, which helped keep a very fast build disciplined.
Semantic structure, heading order, forms, focus visibility and keyboard navigation were handled during implementation. Automated checks with axe-core supplemented those tests rather than standing in for manual review.
Then there were the easter eggs. The site included optional fart sounds because, well, the conference was called Isto Vai Dar Merda. They remained separate from essential information and interaction, so the joke did not become an obstacle for people using the site with a keyboard or assistive technology.
Result
The finished site supported the online event and preserved a distinctive identity under a very short deadline. It is also a compact example of accessibility working alongside humour rather than sanding away everything unusual about a design.
Learning
Constraints do not have to produce bland work. Clear priorities, early accessibility decisions and focused testing made it possible to move quickly without losing either usability or personality.