About

I started out in front-end development, then gradually moved into information architecture and project management. I still enjoy understanding how something is put together, so even when I’m not writing the code, I’m usually interested in the decisions behind it.

Outside work, that curiosity has found its way into browser games, small tools and experiments with AI and automation. I like having something real to try, even when it isn’t quite right yet. It’s much easier to work out what I think of an idea once I can actually use it.

Usually there’s something I want to try, or a task that feels more complicated than it needs to be. KJ’s Counter came from wanting simpler analytics for my own sites; KJ’s Games began with a few games and gradually became a collection with shared foundations.

I enjoy that progression from a vague idea to something I can use and improve. I’m also quite capable of turning a small requirement into a separate project, as the existence of Counter will confirm.

I like delivery to feel controlled rather than chaotic. For me, that means helping people agree what they’re making, understanding what depends on what, and making sure the next person has enough information to get on with their part.

Depending on the project, I might be scoping a website, mapping a user journey or working through a problem with content, development and QA. My technical background helps me follow those conversations, but I also try to make them useful to people who don’t spend their day thinking about how a website is built.

AI has made it possible for me to take on more of the projects I’d otherwise leave as ideas. I use ChatGPT to think things through and Codex to help build them, with plenty of back and forth once there’s something to look at.

Sometimes I have a very specific change in mind; sometimes I leave the first version more open and steer it after I’ve tried it. Either way, I still need to read the changes, use the result and decide whether it’s any good. A game can pass its tests and still be rather dull.

I tend to gravitate towards strategy games, city builders and anything that lets me spend far too long thinking about a system. I’m very happy managing resources, planning an expansion or discovering that my apparently sensible decision has caused a problem elsewhere.

With films and television, it’s usually sci-fi, thrillers, horror or something with a distinctly British oddness to it. I like atmosphere, sharp dialogue and small details that make a story worth thinking about afterwards. Cooking, walking and learning about something oddly specific fill in some of the gaps.