Stuart Romanek

Design & Code

Open to new projects, people, and ideas

Hey, I'm Stuart Romanek, a digital designer and developer focusing on intuitive user experiences, durable interfaces, and seamlessly blending strategy and aesthetics.

I aim to create expressive brands and software systems that are honest, resilient, and self-evident.

I am the founding designer for ApostropheCMS, an open source content management system that aims to marry an unopinionated, developer-first application framework with a rich in-context editing interface.
Think Rails + Squarespace in JavaScript.

Select Works

Apostrophe is a globally-minded technology company focused on creating incredible open source content management tools for organizations—from small businesses to the enterprise.

Born out of the hard-won experience of building hundreds of websites at Philadelphia digital agency P'unk Avenue (aquired), ApostropheCMS was built as a reaction to the clunky UX of traditional content management systems and a want to make a mark on the emerging Node.js scene.

As Apostrophe's internal visual and user experience designer at P'unk, it was a natural fit for me to join Apostrophe Technologies as the founding product and brand designer when we struck out to form a new open core company.

Role

Lead designer, engineering

Area

Web, product, brand

Period

2019+

Live

apostrophecms.com

An open source content management system with a beautiful editing experience.

Content management systems typically come in one of two flavors: Sleek, intuitive editing experiences inside rigid, closed-source SaaS products or a developer-centric, we-can-do-anything approach that forces editors down unnecessary paths of manual linking, endless CRUD forms, and other processes that feel divorced from the end experience.

Balancing an intuitive, in-context, beautiful editing experience while staying true to Apostrophe's core mission of being a robust, DX-forward app framework is a constant challenge of constraints. Each part of Apostrophe must be overridable, configurable by both developers and editors, and have plenty of hooks and escape hatches that allow the thing you're building to feel purpose-built, rather than fitting a square peg in a round hole.

In-context text and image editing. Apostrophe lets you put editable strings anywhere on the page. Configure them as stylable rich text containers or bake the styles in behind the scenes and let the editor rip.

Layout editing with keyboard shortcuts. Cut, copy, duplicate, and delete content with a tap.

Sort, filter, and search your content database. Configure logical content groupings, customize manager tables to include media or other specialized fields. Create custom form fields using simple Vue composables.

Intuitively manage media tagging. Extend tagging to any other content type.

Enhance fields with AI. Pick your service provider, provide base prompts, and let editors refine as they work.

Manage complex, nested content simply. Watch the page respond to your changes in real time. A constant feedback loop.

Wire any CSS properties to an in-context styler interface. Pull options from your site configuration, read and write CSS Variables, include media queries. Configure the stack navigation as makes sense.

Configure and understand user roles.

Other brand, web, and marketing work for Apostrophe Technologies

In addition to the design, UX, and engineering of ApostropheCMS the software I am also responsible for the design and maintenance of the Apostrophe Technologies brand family, marketing material, and other web presences. Here are a few snapshots.

apostrophecms-home-2 — The homepage of apostrophecms.com

Miscellaneous design and development work

A few other projects.

BLK MTN is a LA-based production & talent company with a global network working across film, music and photography. I worked with team on their refreshed identity and first major web release.

BLK MTN's Director listing.

WRT is a team of planners, urban designers, architects, and landscape architects with offices in Philadelphia and San Francisco. A P'unk Avenue project.

The Center City District (CCD) and Central Philadelphia Development Corporation (CPDC) work to enhance the vitality of Center City Philadelphia as a thriving 24-hour downtown and a great place to work, live, and have fun. A P'unk Avenue project.

image.png

Select graphic experiments done in the margins. No context, no clients.

Experience

Company	Title	Workplace	Active
Apostrophe Technologies	Founding designer, engineering	Open Source, SaaS	2019 - Present
P'unk Avenue	Design lead, engineering	Agency	2013 - 2019
GHI Design	Designer, engineering	Studio	2011 - 2013
La Salle University	Design, web, online learning platforms	University	2010 - 2011