As a Frontend Developer on this project, I contributed to many of the core React components and login flow, addressed bug fixes after initial product rollout, and led an Accessibility audit and development to reach WCAG AA compliance. This project was my first experience explicitly addressing Accessibility concerns. Including support for highlighting and annotating presented a challenge as it required a unique combination of visual UI and low-level DOM manipulation.
Manifold is a scalable, open-source web application that adds the web to a book publisher's workflow and distribution options. Manifold enables publishing houses of any size create online open-access libraries, centers of collaboration and editing, or publish a new kind of digital book with integrated online media resources. Manifold users include CUNY Graduate Center, University of Minnesota Press, and University of Luxembourg, Melusina Press.
The Manifold platform consists of two primary components—the client application and the API—and a few complimentary microservices. It is offered as a managed OS packages, Docker images, and paid hosting services. The API is Ruby on Rails and the client app is React.
Cast Iron Coding developed the Manifold platform based on designs created by Lael Tyler. Monifold books open in a flexible book reader that can contain media links, interactive notes, and annotations (highlighting and inline commenting). The reader itself is user-customizable; an appearance menu can change the color scheme, font text size, all without losing your place in the book.
