SWWS CMS — Design Philosophy
SWWS is not building a traditional portfolio.
The objective is to create a living digital ecosystem capable of documenting, organizing, publishing and preserving an evolving body of work.
Projects are not isolated objects. They belong to larger research series that evolve over time through prototypes, experiments, commissions and built works.
The CMS should reflect this way of working.
Notion is the editorial workspace where ideas are developed and documented.
The website is the public publication platform where projects are presented in an optimized, curated and accessible way.
Shopify is the commercial platform for products.
Each platform has a single responsibility and remains the source of truth for its own domain.
The system should minimize duplicated work.
Content should be written once and published everywhere through synchronization.
The architecture should remain modular, scalable and technology-independent.
The long-term objective is not only to publish projects, but to build the digital memory of the studio.
This infrastructure should eventually support:
- Portfolio
- Research
- Products
- Publications
- Exhibitions
- Awards
- Competitions
- PDF generation
- AI assistants
- Future digital tools
Technology should support the creative process, never replace it.
The CMS is therefore designed as a long-term tool for documenting, sharing and developing the work of SWWS.
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SWWS CMS – Product Specification
Vision
The SWWS website is more than a portfolio.
It is the digital infrastructure of my design studio.
The goal is to build a long-term system to document, organize, publish and maintain all my work.
The CMS must be scalable, maintainable and independent from any specific technology.
Core Principles
- One source of truth for each type of content.
- No duplicated data.
- Modular architecture.
- Long-term maintainability.
- Automation whenever possible.
- Editorial content stays under my control.
Content Sources
Notion
Editorial source of truth.
Contains:
- Projects
- Research
- Documentation
- Texts
- Metadata
Website Database (TiDB)
Optimized database for the website.
Contains:
- Optimized data
- Website navigation
- SEO
- Relationships
- Cached content
Shopify
Commercial source of truth.
Contains:
- Products
- Prices
- Variants
- Inventory
- Orders
Products are never managed from Notion.
General Architecture
Notion
↓
Notion API
↓
Synchronization Engine
↓
TiDB
↓
SWWS Website
Shopify
↓
Product Sync
↓
SWWS WebsiteMain Objects
Projects
Portfolio projects.
Series
- Panels
- Public Furniture
- OnSite
- Craftlab
- Explorations
- Proposals
- R&D
Images
Every image is stored independently.
Products
Managed only by Shopify.
Research
Future development.
Workflow
Create
↓
Document in Notion
↓
Synchronize
↓
Publish
↓
Update
Synchronization
Every project must have a permanent
Notion Page ID
Synchronization must be:
- idempotent
- safe
- reversible
Rules:
If project does not exist
→ Create
If project exists
→ Update
Never create duplicates.
Import Pipeline
Importer
↓
Normalizer
↓
Image Downloader
↓
Image Optimizer
↓
SEO Filename Generator
↓
Asset Uploader
↓
Database Synchronizer
↓
Website
Image Workflow
Images are downloaded from Notion.
Images are optimized.
Images are converted to WebP.
Images receive SEO filenames.
Images are uploaded to the website.
The website never depends on temporary Notion URLs.
SEO
Filename format:
series-project-description-sebastien-wierinck.webpExample:
panels-pa08-draped-console-overview-sebastien-wierinck.webpRules:
- lowercase
- hyphens only
- no accents
- descriptive names
- preserve numbering
Taxonomy
Series
- Panels
- Public Furniture
- OnSite
- Craftlab
- Explorations
- Proposals
- R&D
Editorial Collections
- Curated
Interface Filters
- All
Shopify
Shopify remains the commercial source of truth.
Do not import products from Notion.
Craftlab pages describe:
- research
- prototypes
- models
- documentation
Shopify manages:
- products
- pricing
- variants
- inventory
Long-Term Vision
The CMS should eventually support:
- Portfolio
- Research
- Products
- Exhibitions
- Publications
- Awards
- Competitions
- PDF generation
- Shopify
- AI assistants
Architecture Decisions
Date | Decision | Reason |
2026-07-01 | Notion is the editorial source of truth | One source of truth |
2026-07-01 | Shopify is the commercial source of truth | Avoid duplicated products |
2026-07-01 | Hero = first project image | Simpler architecture |
2026-07-01 | Notion Page ID is the permanent identifier | Reliable synchronization |
Roadmap
Phase 1
Architecture
Phase 2
Notion Synchronization
Phase 3
Portfolio
Phase 4
Series
Phase 5
Research
Phase 6
Shopify
Phase 7
AI Automation