Drew Hornbein
Web Developer • Designer • Systems Thinker
drew@dhornbein.com +1 (773) 270-3739
Core Skills & Tools
Frontend
- HTML
- SCSS
- JS
- Vue/Nuxt/React
- Hugo
- Jekyll
- Tailwind
- Email Templates
Backend / Infra
- Node
- PHP
- MySQL
- JSON
- RegEx
- Bash
- GitHub Actions
- Linux servers
- JWT
- OAuth
Platforms
- WordPress Dev
- Airtable
- Shopify
- Webflow
- Squarespace
- Wix
- Django
- RESTful
- Graphql APIs
Design & Content
- Adobe Suite
- Figma
- Branding
- Print layout
- UX/UI strategy
Ethos: I use AI tools fluently but ground every solution in real technical understanding — I debug, I refactor, I build from scratch.
Professional Experience
Protocol Oral History Project – CU Boulder
Frontend Developer (Contract)
Built a performant Hugo site with markdown publishing, open-source infra, and automated graphics. Managed CI/CD and server deployment.
Community Rule – CU Boulder
Lead Designer & Frontend Engineer
Led branding and UX for a governance toolkit. Migrated Jekyll to Vue, integrating collaborative workflows and responsive design.
Shared Ground
Technical Lead & Co-Founder
Developed Airtable-based event system and Nuxt.js site. Created brand identity and aligned tools with community-led, volunteer workflows.
Strategy, Design & Systems
- Full branding → site builds
- Automated content pipelines (social, CMS, etc.)
- Print + digital cohesion (zines, books, companion sites)
- Tech consulting: matching tools to needs
Collaboration & Fit
- Coop founder & long-time freelancer
- Comfortable leading or integrating with teams
- Best fit: 5-10 hrs/week, $80-$150/hr
- Ideal clients: small, mission-aligned teams with complex needs and healthy budgets
Portfolio
Sacred Stacks: The Art of Cyborg Community
I worked with CU Boulder's MEDLab to create an illustrated booklet to highlight their research on community technology use. I hand illustrated and layed out 84 pages and created a website to download the book.
In the second half of 2022, MEDLab guided seven communities in exploring the needs, ethics, and challenges of decentralized technologies. What started as a search for practical tools evolved into an exploration of ritual, relationships, and poetics. This fully illustrated 80-page zine captures reflections from the Sacred Stacks cohort.
Community Rule
I designed a zine outlining core community rule sets, creating a cohesive visual language and style guide. I then applied this to a full website redesign, including UX design for their community rule builder tool. Refactored their Jekyll site into a Vue.js system, ready for open-source collaboration.
CAN Website
A custom WordPress theme built using cutting-edge core block editor technology, along with an advanced custom plugin to display events and projects within the block editor.
Smart Start New Hampshire
Developed a custom WordPress theme with a legislator lookup plugin, using a public data API and user location to display representative information.
Ballots Building Power
Implemented a static design in Webflow. The interactive map was a challenging feature, but the client wanted it, and I successfully delivered.
