Brian Perry on Decoupled Drupal, Web Components, and Design Systems

Ahead of NEDCamp 2022, The DropTimes spoke with Brian Perry about decoupled Drupal, front-end development, framework-agnostic web components, community-maintained design systems, CKEditor 5, and mentoring through Google Summer of Code. At the camp, he presented “Envisioning a Design System Maintained by the Drupal Community.”

At the time of the conversation, Perry was a senior technology consultant and staff engineer at Pantheon, where he led work on starter projects and open-source tools for decoupled sites. A longtime Drupal front-end contributor, he reflected on the Generic Drupal Web Components project, his involvement with the Decoupled Menus initiative, and the architectural choices available to teams building with Drupal.

This written interview was originally published as part of The DropTimes’ short speaker interview series around NEDCamp 2022.

TDT [1]: Please introduce yourself and your work in Drupal.

Brian Perry: I’ve been part of the Drupal community for over 10 years, primarily focused on the front-end. For many years in the freelance and agency space, and most recently as a Staff Engineer at Pantheon, I have been leading a team working on starter projects and open-source tools for building decoupled sites.

TDT [2]: The Drupal community often says that people “come for the code but stay for the community.” How were you first introduced to the community?

Brian Perry: Tom Wolf (t-dub) was an early mentor who introduced me to the Drupal community and encouraged me to attend my first Drupal event. And then MidCamp in Chicago was a significant factor in me ‘staying’ for the community.

TDT [3]: What are you presenting at NEDCamp 2022, and who should attend your session?

Brian Perry: My talk is “Envisioning a Design System Maintained by the Drupal Community.” I’ll be discussing the Generic Drupal Web Components project and why I think framework-agnostic web components could be a good fit for Drupal. If you’re interested in learning more about web components in general or contributing to a set of Drupal-friendly components, there is something in this talk for you.

TDT [4]: Everyone is waiting for the Drupal 10 release this December. Which feature of Drupal 10 excites you most?

Brian Perry: I’m excited to learn more about what is possible with CKEditor 5, especially from the perspective of embedding custom components.

TDT [5]: Can you share your experience as a Google Summer of Code mentor for Drupal?

Brian Perry: It was a positive experience. Working with a mentee helped move the Generic Drupal Web Components project forward while giving the project some additional visibility in the community. I did find that providing the appropriate level of support and feedback was a larger commitment than I anticipated: a worthwhile commitment but something for mentors to consider.

TDT [6]: You focus on decoupled solutions at Pantheon. Why decoupled? More specifically, do you see monolithic platforms such as Drupal as a dead weight in agile, mobile-first development?

Brian Perry: I’ve always been interested in working with front-end components and Drupal, and I see decoupled as another variation on this problem. As a curious front-end developer, exploring this approach allows me to work with new and exciting front-end tech inside and outside of Drupal.