Belgard Design Studio
Mobile Design Platform Backend: Headless CMS · Secure File Delivery · OAuth-Protected API
Built the headless backend system powering Belgard Design Studio’s mobile companion applications, enabling secure project collaboration, file storage, and cloud synchronization across field and desktop workflows.
- Role:
- Backend Engineer
- Employer:
- IfThen
- Client:
- Belgard
- Team:
- 3 dev, ~5 stakeholders
- Industry:
- Outdoor Living
- Timeline:
- 3 months (2019)
Impact
- Transformed in-field customer conversations into structured project data for design teams
- Reduced friction between site capture, 3D rendering, client review, and approval
- Improved accuracy by preserving photos, sketches, notes, comments, and project status in one secure backend
- Enabled private delivery of customer property images, renderings, flythroughs, and presentation archives
- Created a structured backend data foundation to accurately track project states, material selections, and field velocity.
- Delivered production-ready backend functionality on an accelerated 8-week timeline
My Role
- Built the headless Drupal backend serving Belgard’s mobile and tablet applications
- Designed the project data model for contractors, designers, projects, presentations, comments, media, and private files
- Implemented OAuth-protected REST APIs for project sync, user profiles, media uploads, notes, comments, and presentation workflows
- Created secure private file handling for photos, sketches, 3D renders, videos, and downloadable archives
- Produced detailed API documentation API contracts to support parallel mobile app development
- Supported AWS deployment workflows with Composer, BLT, Jenkins, and environment-specific configuration
Technical Architecture
The platform used Drupal as a headless system of record rather than a traditional website CMS. Mobile clients interacted with a purpose-built REST API while Drupal managed authentication, roles, structured content, media relationships, and private file storage.
- Headless Drupal backend for mobile project data and collaboration workflows
- OAuth-secured REST API supporting authenticated project, media, profile, text, and presentation operations
- Private file storage for customer property photos, sketches, renders, flythroughs, and archives
- Secure download links for app-delivered project and presentation assets
- Structured entity model connecting users, projects, presentations, comments, notes, media, and files
- AWS-hosted infrastructure with application servers, database persistence, shared storage, caching, and deployment automation
This architecture gave Belgard a secure coordination layer between field sales, design production, and customer-facing review.
Stack
Backend
Infrastructure
Security
Integrations & Tooling
Context
Belgard Design Studio is a contractor-facing design platform for outdoor living projects. Contractors use it to document customer properties, collaborate with Belgard designers, and present realistic design concepts that help homeowners move from idea to approval. The system combines desktop design tools, mobile applications, and cloud infrastructure to support project creation, visualization, and client engagement.
The backend handled the secure project data layer behind that workflow. It stored property details, contractor and designer assignments, project status, private notes and comments, uploaded site photos, sketches, renderings, flythroughs, and presentation assets.
The value of the system was not just storage. It connected the moment of sale, standing on-site with a homeowner, to the design team’s production workflow and back to the customer through the app. That reduced handoff friction, improved project accuracy, and gave Belgard better structured insight into its contractor-driven sales pipeline.