Systems, Explained
Common system designs, explained through real-world constraints — not buzzwords.
Tools change.
Constraints don't.
These are the kinds of systems I design — and how I think about them.
Each system below shows how responsibility, data, and failure move through the architecture.
Hover components to see connections. Click for details.
Content platforms optimize for read performance and editorial workflows. They handle predictable, read-heavy traffic where content changes infrequently compared to views.
This architecture breaks down when content structure changes frequently, when real-time updates are required, or when write operations become as common as reads.
Separate content creation from delivery, and cache aggressively.
Systems don't need to be loud to be effective.