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.

Select a system to see how its parts interact.

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.