Creating a summary block that looks like a portfolio page or create portfolio filters

Is there a code to make a summary block behave like a portfolio page? I like the way projects are stacked in text and hovering over it can make the background image change to the featured image

I want my website to have a featured projects section and then a menu where people can look through categories to see other work I've done. So I can have a project tagged or categorized as A, B, and C but if people are only looking for work I've done under the B category it will filter through and show those.

I know how to do this second filtering by using the archive feature with blog articles but I haven't figured out a way to get the blog articles to show an image on above the headline that includes the title on top of the image. I also can't customize the title and have run into many limitations.

The summary section, I would ideally like it to work like the portfolio pages but can't find the code to do that.

Sorry if this is hard to follow - I'm having a hard time articulating it all!

I've written a very long rant about it, put it in a notepad and I'm keeping it for when I actually lose my mind over Squarespace's lack of basic functionality. The elephant in the room. Live and learn right?

Coming back to the problem, I'm tackling the exact same issue and I'll let you know if I come across a solution.
So far:

• https://www.squarewebsites.org/squarespace-plugins/p/universal-filter (Mind their disclaimer on limitations, make sure to read before purchasing)
• ChatGPT, business plan with css / javascript and lots of forum diving.

Enough rage, I'll post my rant so they can toss it into the already growing pile of complaints and go out to lunch as usual.