UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO

atlas archive

Developed a full-stack web platform for showcasing and archiving creative work produced by students in the University of Colorado Boulder Atlas Institute. The platform functions both as a public-facing discovery space and an internal system for cataloging student projects over time.

Role

Fullstack developer, UX researcher, UX designer

Skills

React, Node.js, MongoDB, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, wireframing, prototyping, user testing

Context

University capstone project, completed independently

Overview

Atlas Archive is a full-stack web application designed to help students showcase creative projects and enable the Atlas Institute to maintain a structured archive of student work. The platform supports project discovery, tagging, social interaction, and personal profiles, with a focus on usability and long-term scalability.

Built using React, Node.js, Express, and MongoDB, the application is deployed on Google Cloud infrastructure with MongoDB Atlas and hosted via Heroku.

Process

User research informed the core structure of the platform, emphasizing discovery, inspiration, and social interaction between students. Insights directly shaped features such as project feeds, commenting, tagging systems, and user profiles.

Core Features

Project Discovery

A feed-based interface for browsing student work, designed around continuous discovery and inspiration. Hover interactions reveal summaries, while full project pages support detailed exploration of media, descriptions, and tags.

Search & Tagging System

Dynamic search functionality supports filtering by projects or users. A flexible tagging system enables categorization by medium, tools, and skills, with real-time suggestions during input.

Project Creation Flow

An upload and creation interface allows users to publish projects with images, descriptions, and metadata, supporting structured contribution to the archive.

User Profiles

Each user has a personal profile showcasing their submitted work, with options to edit bios, manage content, and feature selected projects.

View the Atlas Archive repository on GitHub