SOFTWARE
My Projects
Below are some recent software projects I've worked on that highlight my skills and experience.
NYC City Guide
A responsive mini travel site built with HTML & CSS
A beginner-friendly city guide to New York City, this project was created to strengthen my front-end development skills without relying on templates or frameworks. It features sections on iconic neighborhoods, landmarks, and local eats,all styled with semantic HTML5 and responsive CSS3. Through this project, I honed my skills in layout design, typography, and media queries, while gaining confidence building UIs from scratch.
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Game Boards and Pieces
A modular board game parser and renderer built in C++
This project focused on building a flexible and modular C++ program that reads game board data from formatted text files and renders the board layout in the console. It supports dynamic board dimensions, robust file parsing, and structured representation of game pieces using structs and vectors. The project highlights strong error handling, clean code architecture, and an emphasis on data-driven design.
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Christmas Movie Image Gallery
An interactive, category-based image gallery built with vanilla JavaScript
This festive image gallery showcases Christmas movies organized into themed categories like Classics, Family Favorites, and Rom-Coms. Built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, the project features a lightbox-style modal that allows users to click and enlarge movie posters, then scroll through the full collection interactively. It was designed to strengthen core JavaScript skills such as DOM manipulation, event handling, and UI behavior without using any libraries or frameworks.
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Cafe Mundial Website
A custom website built for a NYC nonprofit using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Designed and developed from the ground up, this responsive site was created to support Cafe Mundial's mission of community empowerment. The project followed clean HTML/CSS conventions and was wireframed using both hand sketches and Figma. It deepened my understanding of the full web development lifecycle- from concept to deployment- while contributing to a real-world cause.
Check it outWHO AM I
About Me
Hi, I'm Nicole Lucas- a computer science graduate with a passion for human-centered design.
My journey into tech began in high school, sparked by a love for robotics. In my first year of college, I discovered an interest in how thoughtful design shapes technology, leading me to pursue a degree in Computer Science with a minor in Human-Computer Interaction. With a strong foundation in both programming and design, I’m driven by curiosity and a constant desire to learn and create technology that truly serves people.
Outside of tech, you will often find me running races, reading novels, or trying out a new hobby. These moments keep me energized, grounded, and inspired. Feel free to learn more from my WashU feature here!
INTERESTS
Beyond Software
A collection of personal, design, and creative projects that reflect my broader skillset and interests.
Soul Sync
A dual-interface mindfulness app designed in Figma to support both users and event organizers
This app introduces mindfulness through personalized event recommendations based on user preferences gathered during onboarding. Users can sync events to their calendars and explore local experiences tailored to their interests, prompting accessibility and mental well-being. On the back end, organizers can create and manage events, monitor participant engagement, and access analytics to improve retention. SoulSync bridges the gap between those seeking mindfulness and those providing it - through thoughtful design and streamlined interaction.
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Personal Website
A custom built portfolio site made with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
My personal website (this!) showcases my projects, background, and contact info, with responsive design and interactive features like smooth scrolling and a mobile menu. My site is constantly changing as I continue adding more projects I develop!
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Exploring Mouse-Based User Identification
A privacy-conscious research project exploring the use of mouse behavior for biometric user identification
This project investigated whether users can be uniquely identified through their mouse movement patterns. We collected raw mouse data from the browser, processed it to reduce noise, and engineered features such as cursor speed, hesitation time, and pathing behavior. By applying clustering and classification models, we assessed the viability of mouse-based tracking as a privacy-preserving alternative to traditional methods like cookies or IP addresses.
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SolidWorks Designs
This collection features mechanical parts, assemblies, and conceptual prototypes developed using SolidWorks and supported by initial freehand sketches. From precise dimensioning to rendering and motion studies, these designs reflect an iterative design process rooted in functionality and form. Each project demonstrates attention to detail, spatial reasoning, and a passion for translating ideas into manufacturable components — skills essential to both engineering and product design workflows.
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