RENÉ BLANCO

// WELCOME TO MY HUB

René Blanco.

Thinker, Maker, Builder, Writer.

Featured

STUDIO 2026

Urbimetrics

Design + Code + Urbanism

Transforming complex urban data into intuitive digital platforms for citizens, institutions, and researchers.

The Thesis: We translate technical datasets, isolated files, and institutional research into clear visual interfaces people can understand and use.

Califica Tu Ciudad: A civic perception platform that captures, averages, and visualizes thousands of citizen evaluations into a national ranking.

Buzon Ciudadano: A structured reporting platform for urban issues, service requests, geolocated cases, and response-time tracking.

DataOURBE: A territorial intelligence directory for public-space field research, technical records, and citizen reports.

MAPINSU: A browser-based GIS for soil mechanics, stratigraphic profiles, territorial polygons, and foundation assessments.

[ PLATFORMS: CIVIC DATA, GIS, URBAN INTELLIGENCE ]
AGENCY 2019-PRES

Basicgram

Digital Agency

Functional website systems and operations for small businesses across Canada & the U.S.

The Challenge: Local businesses rely on 'pretty' websites that fail to generate leads or support operations.

My Solution: I build end-to-end operational systems, not just websites. Strategy, automation, and design in one package.

[ STACK: HTML5, STATIC, AUTOMATION ]

The Archive

Click rows to expand
2026
Buzon Ciudadano
Civic Platform
Structured civic reporting and case tracking. [+ INFO]

The Product: A direct platform for civic participation where residents can report urban issues, propose improvements, and track their cases.

The Back Office: For local governments, it works as a centralized management panel that organizes tickets by department, geolocates reports, and measures response times.

2026
DataOURBE
Urban Research
Territorial intelligence for public-space research. [+ INFO]

The Context: Built for the Observatorio Urbano y de Arquitectura Sustentable (OUrbe) at Universidad Veracruzana's Facultad de Arquitectura Poza Rica.

The System: Transforms field research into an interactive directory for public-space condition, equipment, maintenance, technical records, and citizen reports.

2026
MAPINSU
GIS
Interactive soil mechanics map for the browser. [+ INFO]

The Product: A web GIS specialized in soil mechanics, designed with Universidad Veracruzana's Facultad de Arquitectura in Poza Rica.

The Impact: Democratizes complex geotechnical data by letting students, engineers, and urbanists visualize stratigraphic profiles, polygons, and foundation assessments in the browser.

2024
Califica Tu Ciudad
Civic Platform
Civic perception platform and national ranking engine. [+ INFO]

The Build: Designed and programmed a web platform to capture, average, and visualize civic perception across transportation, economy, cleanliness, and other urban indicators.

The Engine: Processes thousands of individual opinions and calculates a national ranking, transforming scattered surveys into a territorial intelligence tool.

2024
PozaRicaLocal
Directory
Local business data structure testbed. [+ INFO]

The Problem: Local information is fragmented and outdated. Google Maps is often wrong in small cities.

The Solution: A centralized, verified directory focused on clarity. Serving as a testbed for local data schemas.

2024
VisitVeracruz
Tourism
Itinerary system based on constraints. [+ INFO]

The Problem: Travel planning is overwhelming. Travelers want pre-vetted options, not infinite lists.

The Solution: A logic-based itinerary generator that offers routes based on real travel constraints (time, budget, location).

2024
Mexivisa
Utility
Visa requirements checker for Mexicans. [+ INFO]

The Problem: Visa info is bureaucratic and scattered across embassies.

The Solution: A clean, searchable database allowing Mexican citizens to verify visa requirements instantly.

2023
iPad para Arquitectos
Digital Product
Resource platform for mobile-first architects. [+ INFO]

The Gap: Architectural tools are desktop-heavy. No resources existed for iPad workflows.

The Build: Created a content-first platform and digital assets shop. From concept to paid product operation.

2023
Rombomag
Editorial
Independent architecture magazine. [+ INFO]

The Vision: Most architecture content is overly academic or just pretty pictures.

The Execution: An independent digital publication focused on spatial thinking and visual storytelling.

--- Client Work ---
Client
Mezontle
Shopify
Custom Shopify site with GSAP animations. [+ INFO]

Client Need: A custom Shopify storefront that felt crafted, fast, and connected to the restaurant's existing reservation flow.

Approach: Built custom GSAP animations, integrated third-party reservation tools, and mapped legacy redirects so printed-menu QR codes and old URLs kept working cleanly.

Result: A polished commerce and brand experience without breaking the real-world links already circulating in thousands of printed menus.

Client
Harrison Chalets
Hospitality
Direct booking platform (BC). [+ INFO]

Client Need: A clear, trustworthy website to present accommodation units and support direct bookings.

Approach: Designed a clean, conversion-focused website emphasizing clarity and ease of navigation.

Client
Global Class Group
Services
Immigration services corporate site. [+ INFO]

Client Need: A professional online presence to structure complex service information.

Approach: Built a clear, readable system focused on trust and accessibility for prospective clients.

Client
CAS Services
Education
Homestay information portal. [+ INFO]

Client Need: A straightforward website to explain homestay services for international students.

Approach: Information-first design optimized for clarity and quick understanding.

The Lab

Experiments & Tools
Exp. 001

TypeMerge

Smart data cleaner for Typeform exports. Solves Excel fragmentation caused by Logic Jumps.

The Problem: Logic jumps create massive, sparse Excel sheets with scattered data columns. Manual cleaning is impossible.

The Solution: A browser-based engine that merges columns dynamically. Processes +100k rows in seconds via SheetJS. Serverless.

[ STACK: SHEETJS, VANILLA JS ]
[ DATA ] [ SHEETJS ]
Launch Tool ↗
Exp. 002

TextoPress

Content rescue tool. Converts WordPress XML backups into clean Word and PDF documents.

The Problem: Creators cannot read their own backups. XML files are illegible without technical parsing skills.

The Solution: Client-side parsing using DOMPurify. Zero data leaves the browser, wrapped in a tactile Moleskine-style UI.

[ STACK: REACT, JS, DOMPURIFY ]
[ RESCUE ] [ REACT ]
Launch Tool ↗
Exp. 003

DepuraList

A free client-side cleaner for Excel and CSV email lists before paying for verification.

The Problem: Email verification can get expensive fast, especially when the list still contains obvious garbage.

The Solution: DepuraList removes duplicates, disposable domains, risky role addresses, and common typos like gmial.com locally in the browser.

The Promise: No upload, no email required. Clean the obvious issues first, then verify what actually matters.

[ STACK: CLIENT-SIDE, EXCEL, CSV ]
[ EMAIL ] [ CSV ]
Launch Tool ↗
Exp. 004

Menugram

A UI experiment challenging standard restaurant websites by mimicking the Instagram interface.

The Problem: Restaurants often depend on Instagram for menus, while their websites remain static and disconnected from user habits.

The Solution: Merging social behavior (stories, feed) with utility (menu data) in a React SPA.

[ STACK: REACT, TAILWIND ]
[ PROTOTYPE ] [ REACT ]
Launch Tool ↗

Writing

Substack / Essays

Thinking Pieces & Essays

Deconstructing the systems that shape our world. Design, tech, and the philosophy of how things work.

Read Essays
Substack / Sci-Fi

Sci-Fi

What happens when the rules break? Exploring anomalies, paradoxes, and the unknown.

Read Sci-Fi
Substack / Lit

Literary Fiction & Thrillers

High stakes in the real world. A focus on perspective, consequence, and human friction.

Read Stories

Contact.

Available for consulting and collaboration.

hello@reneblanco.com