Front-end product builds
React, Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind, responsive UI, accessibility, performance tuning, and interaction details that make tools feel considered.
About
Creative direction, workflow architecture, and hands-on implementation.
I'm Forrest, a creative technologist focused on the places where brand, operations, and product tooling meet. I build sites, dashboards, media systems, and automation workflows that help small teams look polished and operate with less drag.
My current toolkit blends React, Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind, Google Workspace automations, CMS workflows, and lightweight API integrations. The goal is not just a good-looking launch, but a system people can keep using after the launch day glow wears off.
That shows up in branding work, real estate and mortgage funnels, internal approval dashboards, media generators, and client-ready document libraries. I like turning scattered tools into a working operating layer: data comes in once, assets stay on-brand, and teams know what to do next.
Capabilities
Capabilities that connect brand polish with operational leverage.
Operations dashboards
Role-aware workspaces, approval queues, CRM-style records, asset libraries, calendar pressure, and workflow health surfaced for quick decisions.
Brand systems
Creative direction, visual identity rules, copy kits, campaign templates, media treatments, and reusable assets that keep every touchpoint aligned.
Workspace automation
Google Sheets, Forms, Drive, Gmail, Apps Script, service accounts, Make/Zapier-style handoffs, and CMS bridges that reduce repeated admin work.
Experience
Recent roles and collaborations.
Harristechsolutions · Platform relaunch
End-to-end redesign and build for a tech support agency, blending product storytelling with a modular services catalog tailored to rapid-response teams.
- Crafted a headless CMS architecture so the team can launch service pages in minutes.
- Directed visual language tying together case studies, illustrations, and live data badges.
- Implemented performance budgets that keep the site sub-1s on Core Web Vitals.
Jake Inderman Homes · Boutique brokerage site
Designed and engineered an Aspire Mortgage partner site that balances premium listings with a personable, editorial tone.
- Built a searchable property showcase with CMS-driven filters and saved tour itineraries.
- Established a typography + photo treatment system that matches Jake’s analog brand kit.
- Automated listing imports and newsletter signup workflows to reduce manual upkeep.
44 Realty Group · Sheets-powered lead engine
Built a premium real estate mock-up shell where listing data, service areas, lead prompts, and content blocks can move from Google Sheets into a branded web experience.
- Mapped property records and campaign copy into reusable front-end sections.
- Connected lead capture, content updates, and media assets around one editable source.
- Used the project to show how brand polish and business operations can share the same data layer.
Operations dashboards · Re-themed workflow examples
Designed dashboard patterns for workflow health, asset readiness, approval queues, email activity, calendars, and document libraries. The public dashboard example is re-themed and anonymized so it does not mirror any client environment.
- Built role-aware navigation, queue badges, and approval states for internal teams.
- Modeled asset libraries, upload review flows, and client-ready document handoffs.
- Connected dashboard decisions back to CRM, Workspace, and media-system workflows.
MatttalksMortgage · Content-driven lead engine
Partnered with Aspire Mortgage’s MatttalksMortgage team to launch a content hub and booking funnel that feels more like a media brand.
- Produced a video-first layout system that adapts to long-form guides, shorts, and calculators.
- Integrated Calendly + CRM automations so inquiries route to the right follow-up track instantly.
- Spun up a Notion-to-site publishing workflow so new resources publish without developer help.
Selected work
How brand systems, dashboards, and automations become one operating tool.
Brand-to-media systems
Brand work becomes more powerful when it turns into a reusable production system. I build template libraries where campaign copy, listing data, photos, captions, and compliance notes flow into polished media without rebuilding every asset by hand.
In practice, that means a team can update a Sheet or CMS record once and generate social posts, flyers, emails, video title cards, and campaign variants that still feel like one brand.
- Connects visual identity, copy kits, campaign templates, and render workflows.
- Keeps output consistent while giving teams room to move quickly.
Dashboards and CRM workspaces
A dashboard should not just report what happened. It should show the next action. I design CRM-style workspaces with intake records, workflow stages, approval queues, asset readiness, calendar pressure, and client follow-ups in one place.
The re-themed dashboard example pulls from an internal operations system pattern: role-aware navigation, property or project records, document libraries, admin review, email queues, and workflow health. The public visual is changed enough that it does not mirror a client environment, while the product thinking stays intact.
When dashboards connect to the media and CRM layers, leadership can see what is ready, what is blocked, and which assets or client moments need attention.
- Uses re-themed public examples for portfolio work while preserving the workflow logic.
- Bridges sales, marketing, admin review, and document handoff moments.
Workspace automation layer
The connective tissue is usually automation: Google Sheets, Forms, Drive, Gmail, service accounts, Apps Script, lightweight APIs, and CMS bridges. Those pieces let a small team edit once and let the system route the update everywhere it needs to go.
A lead can create a CRM record, a property update can refresh a landing page, an approved asset can move into a library, and a campaign can queue social copy with the right media attached.
That is where the work becomes a business tool: branding, operations, reporting, and publishing all reinforce each other instead of living in separate tabs.
- Turns Workspace, CMS, CRM, and media tools into one repeatable workflow.
- Builds in review, QA, and handoff moments so teams can trust the system.
Ideas & notes
Working notes from connected systems.
Dashboards as operating systems
A useful dashboard shows ownership, blocked work, asset readiness, review queues, and the next decision. This note explains how I use re-themed public examples to show real product thinking without exposing private brands or data.
Read article →Bundled ops with Google Workspace
Sheets, Drive, Forms, Gmail, and Apps Script can become a practical operating layer before a team needs heavier CRM or CMS structure. This note connects that idea to 44 Realty and dashboard workflows.
Read article →Turning static assets into flexible media
Media automation is the connective layer between brand rules, campaign data, templates, output libraries, and publishing queues. The 44 Studios social-design system is the working reference.
Read article →Aligning brand systems and product workflows
Brand direction gets stronger when it becomes reusable: copy kits, template rules, asset libraries, approval flows, dashboard labels, and publishing cadence all supporting the same promise.
Read article →Contact
Let’s create something deliberate.
Have a product launch, design system, or tooling problem that needs a builder who understands brand? I take on a limited number of collaborations each quarter.
forrestsmithb@gmail.com