devlog #1: Setting Up My Publishing Platform
Exploring how I established Signals & Systems, the technologies involved, and the decisions behind them.
Today marks the beginning of a new journey. I’m excited to share the creation process of Signals & Systems, a personal publishing platform I’m building from the ground up to host long-form, interactive content.
The Vision
As both an educator and technologist, I’ve always found myself at the intersection of content creation and technical implementation. I wanted a platform that would give me complete control over how my articles appear, how they function, and how they evolve over time. More importantly, I wanted a canvas for experimentation - a place where I could seamlessly blend written content with interactive elements.
Tip
When creating your own publishing platform, start with a clear vision of what you want to accomplish. This will guide your technical decisions and help you avoid unnecessary complexity.
Technology Choices
After evaluating several options, I settled on a tech stack that prioritizes performance, simplicity, and developer experience:
- Astro: A modern static site generator that delivers excellent performance by default, with minimal JavaScript.
- Astro Components: Using Astro’s component system for creating reusable UI elements with HTML-like syntax.
- MDX (Future): Planning to explore Markdown with JSX support for simpler content writing workflow.
- Tailwind CSS: A utility-first CSS framework that makes styling straightforward and consistent.
- Google Analytics: For basic audience insights while respecting privacy concerns.
Technology Selection Confidence
My confidence level (0-100) in each technology choice for this platform.
Project Structure
I’ve organized the project with a focus on modularity and maintainability:
signals-and-systems/
├── src/
│ ├── components/ # Reusable UI components
│ ├── layouts/ # Page layout templates
│ ├── pages/ # Route definitions
│ └── styles/ # Global styles and Tailwind config
├── public/ # Static assets
└── astro.config.mjs # Astro configuration
The Design Philosophy
For this platform, I’m embracing a minimalist design approach with a focus on readability and content hierarchy. The typography is carefully chosen to ensure comfortable reading for long-form articles, and the color palette is subtle yet distinctive.
A key principle I’m following is “progressive enhancement” - ensuring that content is accessible and functional even without JavaScript, then layering interactivity for browsers that support it.
Information
The interactive elements in this platform are built with a “load on demand” approach to maintain fast initial page loads.
The Ethical Considerations
As I build this platform, I’m constantly thinking about the ethical dimensions of digital publishing:
- Privacy: Minimizing data collection and being transparent about what’s collected.
- Accessibility: Ensuring content is accessible to all readers, regardless of ability.
- Sustainability: Building a platform with minimal environmental impact through efficient code and assets.
- Vibecoding: Exploring the balance between technical optimization and human-centered design.
Visual Design Evolution
One of the key aspects of this platform is the visual design. I wanted to create a clean, distraction-free reading experience that still allows for interactive elements when needed. After experimenting with various approaches, I settled on:
- SVG-based graphics - Vector graphics provide crisp visuals at any resolution while keeping file sizes small
- Custom author images - Designed with integrated social media links to GitHub and LinkedIn
- Visual hierarchy - Typography scales and spacing to guide the reader through content
- Interactive charts - Data visualization that enhances written content without overwhelming it
- Subtle animations - Used sparingly to provide feedback and draw attention where appropriate
Design Philosophy
The platform’s design aims to prioritize content readability above all else. Interactive components should enhance the narrative, not distract from it. This philosophy guides all design decisions from typography to component behaviors.
Technical Implementation Highlights
Some of the more interesting technical aspects of this implementation include:
- Astro’s Islands Architecture - Allows me to ship minimal JavaScript while still enabling interactive components
- Astro Components - Using Astro’s native component system for clean organization and reusability
- Future MDX Integration - Planning to explore a more markdown-native approach while maintaining component capabilities
- Dynamic Chart Rendering - Asynchronously loads Chart.js only when needed to optimize page performance
- Responsive Typography - Scales beautifully across device sizes using Tailwind’s responsive utilities
- Build-time SEO Optimization - Leverages Astro’s static generation for optimal search visibility
Changelog
2025-05-21 08:58 - Project initialized with Astro and TypeScript configuration #setup #astro
2025-05-21 20:30 - Created basic component structure #components #structure
2025-05-21 21:15 - Implemented initial page layouts #layout #structure
2025-05-21 22:00 - Set up navigation and basic routing #navigation #structure
2025-05-21 22:45 - Created placeholder content for main pages #content #structure
2025-05-21 23:15 - Added base styling with Tailwind CSS integration #styling #tailwind
2025-05-21 23:40 - Established project organization and folder structure #structure #organization
2025-05-22 00:34 - Updated package dependencies and configuration #setup #dependencies
2025-05-22 00:52 - Configured Astro with MDX support #setup #integration
2025-05-22 04:00 - Updated BaseLayout with metadata and SEO improvements #layout #seo
2025-05-22 04:45 - Implemented ChartComponent for data visualization #components #interactive
2025-05-22 15:55 - Added initial image assets for articles and profiles #assets #media
2025-05-22 16:00 - Created high-quality SVG versions of all site graphics #assets #svg
2025-05-22 16:15 - Updated README with comprehensive project documentation #docs
2025-05-22 16:46 - Created first devlog article documenting platform setup #content #devlog
2025-05-22 16:48 - Enhanced Footer and AuthorBio components #components #navigation
2025-05-22 18:30 - Updated navigation with consistent site structure #navigation #uxWhat’s Next
This is just the beginning. In the next devlog entry, I’ll dive deeper into the implementation details of the components I’ve created, particularly focusing on the interactive elements and how they enhance content. Here’s a preview of what’s coming:
Development Principles
For every future development step, I will adhere to these core principles:
- Detailed Documentation: Always update the CHANGELOG.md and devlog with specific details for each change
- Component Awareness: Reference and update COMPONENTS.md as I develop to maintain a consistent component library
- Minimalism: Focus on essential functionality without feature bloat
- Performance: Optimize for speed and efficiency across all devices
- Cutting-Edge Practices: Stay current with web development best practices
- Component Reuse: Prefer enhancing existing components over creating new ones
Upcoming Features
- Interactive Components Deep Dive - A closer look at Chart.js integration and dynamic content
- Enhanced Code Syntax Highlighting - Adding better code blocks with language support
- Dark Mode Implementation - Creating a toggleable dark theme with consistent styling
- MDX Integration Exploration - Evaluating how to add MDX support while maintaining my component system
- Search Functionality - Adding client-side search capabilities
Vibecoding: A New Development Approach
“Vibe coding” is a term used to describe a new approach to software development that leverages AI to automate parts of the coding process. It’s characterized by focusing on the overall intent of the project and allowing AI tools to handle the syntax and structure. Essentially, developers describe what they want to achieve in natural language, and AI tools generate the code.
This approach aims to balance technical excellence with emotional resonance, creating systems that not only function well but also feel good to use. Through Signals & Systems, I’ll explore how vibecoding can be applied to create more intuitive, human-centered digital experiences.
References
JELL is an innovator, educator, and technologist exploring the confluence of AI, higher education, and ethical technology. Through Signals & Systems, JELL shares insights, experiments, and reflections on building meaningful digital experiences, and other random things.