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Two sites, one system

2026-06-30

I run two sites. They look different on purpose. They are built from the same parts on purpose.

mattmadonna.com is the portfolio: the work, the case studies, the person. Smoky Mountain Digital is the studio: services, process, hire me. Different audiences. Different jobs.

Why split them

A portfolio that also screams "available for work, here's my resume" undercuts a studio that wants to look established. And a studio storefront buried inside a personal portfolio confuses the business owner who just wants a website. So I separated them. The portfolio is a confident showcase. The studio is a real business. Neither pretends to be the other.

Why unify the system

Both are me. If you click between them and it feels like two unrelated companies, the whole thing falls apart. So they share one design language: DM Sans and JetBrains Mono, one gold, the same // labels, the same buttons, the same 8px corners. The portfolio runs black on near-white. The studio runs blue on cream. Same hand, two rooms.

The seams that hold it together

Every cross-link between them is signposted. It opens in a new tab, carries a small arrow, and names where you are going ("my studio, Smoky Mountain Digital"). A shared ecosystem footer sits on both and names the pair. You always know you are walking between two properties of one person, not getting teleported somewhere random.