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Case study2024

Forge Notes

A personal knowledge site that blends technical writing, project summaries, and light automation in one place.

Role

Product builder

Stack

MDX, Tailwind CSS, Content modeling, Automation

Problem

The goal was to combine project storytelling and technical writing without making the authoring workflow feel heavy.

Problem

The goal was to combine project storytelling and technical writing without making the authoring workflow feel heavy.

Constraints

  • The system needed to stay friendly for quick updates.
  • The design had to support both short and long-form pages.
  • Future expansion should not require a full CMS migration.

Approach

Modeled projects as structured records with repeatable fields.

Reserved MDX for long-form narrative where prose mattered most.

Kept the visual system light so the content could do the work.

Technical decisions

Separated repeatable metadata from narrative content.

Used a restrained layout so writing stayed readable and calm.

Left an obvious path for future notes and blog-style pages.

Outcomes

Improved readability for long-form notes and project stories.

Kept authoring lightweight with a file-based workflow.

Left a clean path for future expansion without a CMS.

Problem

There was a need for a simple way to capture project notes, writeups, and reusable summaries without turning the site into a CMS project.

Approach

I used structured records for repeatable data and MDX for long-form writing. That kept the authoring flow light while preserving room for future expansion.

Outcome

The site became easier to maintain and easier to extend. Most importantly, the structure stayed flexible enough for a portfolio that would keep growing.