DHRUV PRAJAPATI
"I turn tangled briefs into clean, working things —
where design meets engineering."
WHO AM I
Developer. Designer. Problem-untangler.
IN THE CRAFT
"I build things people use — then I ask why they use them."
Hey, I'm Dhruv. I'm a full-stack web developer based in Oshawa, Ontario, with a BE in Computer Science and a diploma in Interactive Media Design. That dual background isn't a coincidence — I've always believed that code and craft belong together.
At Brainbox Labs, I work on complex client projects spanning healthcare, government, insurance, and media. My work isn't just about shipping features — it's about understanding the underlying problem and engineering something that actually solves it. Whether that's untangling N+1 database queries, rebuilding a CDN pipeline, or rethinking a user flow from scratch.
Outside the agency, I build side projects, run a home lab server, experiment with automation workflows, and slowly pull my career toward UX/UI design. I'm drawn to the intersection of logic and aesthetics — where a system works beautifully and looks beautiful working.
The Numbers Speak
for Themselves
Three years of shipping, debugging, optimizing, and never settling.
Experience
Delivered
Achieved
Served
SELECTED WORK
Real problems, real solutions, real clients.
Suite Website
"A media platform choked by N+1 queries and a cache system that couldn't keep up with a national broadcast schedule."
What I Did
Resolved N+1 database queries across multiple controllers, built a per-item cache invalidation system tied to post_modified_gmt timestamps, implemented a proactive WarmApiCache artisan command across timezones, and integrated Meilisearch with custom sync logic.
Resource Hub
"A sprawling elections resource tool that Ontario municipal clerks couldn't navigate — and couldn't trust to show their jurisdiction."
What I Did
Built a Vue-based filterable resource list, a proximity + jurisdiction-based clerk office directory using Ontario GeoHub boundary data, full WCAG/AODA accessibility audit and remediation, and GTM/GA4 analytics integration.
Health Website
"An enterprise health site with declining performance scores, a broken CDN, and a multilingual HubSpot integration that wouldn't cooperate."
What I Did
Resolved LCP issues through eager loading and N+1 fixes, migrated CDN from imgix to AWS CloudFront, embedded HubSpot forms across English and French domains, and built custom CKEditor 5 plugins for quote and column content blocks.
Microsite
"A 6-page government microsite with a hard political deadline, built on a brand-new stack under agency time constraints."
What I Did
Architected and built the full site using Astro 5, Vue 3, and Tailwind 4 on Cloudflare Pages. Wrote the full operational Notion doc covering dev → staging → launch → takedown lifecycle.
HOW I WORK
I think like a designer, build like an engineer.
Diagnose First
I start by understanding the actual problem — not the stated one. Most briefs describe a symptom. I look for the root cause before writing a single line of code.
01Map the Constraints
Deadline, budget, legacy code, third-party dependencies — I map every constraint before proposing a solution. The best solution is the one that survives real-world conditions.
02Build Iteratively
I ship working increments, not promises. Each commit should be usable. Each PR should be reviewable. I prefer a functional 80% on day one over a perfect spec that never ships.
03Care About the Last 10%
The difference between good and memorable is the last 10%. The hover state. The loading fallback. The accessibility label. That's where I spend the extra hour — because that's what people actually feel.
04
LET'S BUILD
SOMETHING
Worth Talking About.
I'm available for freelance projects, consulting, and full-time opportunities. If you have a problem worth solving, I'd love to hear about it.