Architecture
Next.js
Next.js is the application layer and public-facing website. It handles the pages, routing, rendering, and the interface you are reading right now.
Sanity
Sanity is the content management system. TIL entries, research notes, projects, and writing are edited and published through Sanity rather than being hard-coded into the application.
Supabase
Supabase handles structured application data such as newsletter subscriptions, guestbook entries, page views, and site statistics.
Vercel
Vercel hosts and deploys the Next.js application. Code pushed to GitHub can move from the repository to production without a separate server to maintain.
Resend
Resend handles newsletter delivery and subscriber management for The Signal.
GitHub
GitHub is the source repository and version history for the website.
Why This Stack
I wanted the site to stay simple.
Next.js handles the application. Sanity handles content. Supabase handles structured application data. Vercel handles deployment.
Each system has a clear job.
The goal wasn't to build a complicated platform. It was to build a publishing system that can remain maintainable for years.
Content Workflow
The basic workflow is:
Write → Sanity → Publish → Next.js → Vercel
Technical notes, research, projects, and writing can be published without changing application code.
Design
The visual system is deliberately closer to a technical manuscript than a conventional portfolio.
The interface uses warm paper tones, ink-like typography, monospace metadata, thin rules, numbered sections, generous whitespace, and restrained interactions.
Typography
The primary type system uses Space Mono and Crimson Pro. The monospace face handles technical metadata and interface elements, while the serif face provides the editorial character of longer text.
Visual Language
The design takes cues from technical notebooks, research papers, personal archives, old publishing systems, and developer documentation.
The interface is intentionally editorial rather than dashboard-like.
Infrastructure
The site is designed around a small number of services with clear responsibilities instead of a large application stack.
The public website is served through Vercel. Content lives in Sanity. Application data lives in Supabase. Source code and version history live in GitHub. Email infrastructure is handled by Resend.
Cost
The site is designed to run with minimal infrastructure and minimal recurring cost.
At its current scale, the domain is the primary fixed annual expense. The rest of the stack relies largely on free or usage-based infrastructure.
The exact cost can change as traffic, storage, email volume, and usage grow.
Principle
Build it. Test it. Understand it. Publish the result.
This website isn't meant to prove that I know technology.
The code, experiments, papers, projects, and technical writing are the evidence.
The site is simply the system that records them.