Hi, my name is Hans. I like to build the things that shape tomorrow. Feel free to contact me through your medium of choice. Keep reading if you'd like to learn about my vision and skills.

Build for the Future

You have probably heard the phrase "The future is now". I see its meaning as twofold. One interpretation is a celebration of technology. We humans have come far. The amazing technology we build today was not thought possible for most of humanity's existence. It's an exciting thought.

Another interpretation puts the emphasis on "now". For anything we do to have meaning it is to be experienced by someone in a moment, in a now. If not for the now of today, we build for the now of tomorrow. We should therefore never forget that blind progression, in service of nothing but change itself, is no progression at all. Meaning exists only in the now.

For everything I build I like to reflect on that thought: how can this create both an exciting future and a meaningful now?

The Marble we call Earth

If like me you want to create an exciting tomorrow, you may today feel confronted with a threat to that future. On the one hand you want to be realistic about the environment not doing great, pretty terrible in fact. It is bound to have some nasty effects. At the same time you want to keep your hopes up and feel motivated getting out of bed.

I'm not fooling you: I'm describing my own dilemma. It is because of this dilemma that I am comitted to contribute to a sustanable future for humanity on the marble we call Earth. I find it inspiring to work with people who share this passion. Don't hasitate to contact me if you create sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. I'd love to know what you do.

Designing Experiences

I love design thinking. I have experience in the related fields of game design and user experience (UX) design.

Game Design

Many of the projects displayed on my Projects page are game related. The game industry excites me because it combines high-end technology and the experience a person has within your game. Experiences are powerful things to build. They enable us to learn, to understand, to heal, and to step into another's shoes, gaining new perspectives on ourselves, others, and the world. Working in games means solving technical puzzles, thinking in systems and design, thinking abstractly and outside of the box, all for the goal of an experience.

UX Design

In software the role of design often is more to be functional than entertaining. The goal is to enable people, mostly by getting out of their way. This requires a more humble approach than when designing for games: you've done your job best when no user considers that a job was done at all. Guiding people without them realising does come with a responsibility. I take this responsibility seriously and build products in service of those using them.

Skills

For a detailed view of my working experience and skills, you can download my CV.

Working Skills

I have worked primarily in agile teams and on a freelance basis. I enjoy working in close relation with customers/users and have done so in many projects, from out-sourced customer support to my own company. Again the creation of an experience is important, which for customers requires being representative, reliable, and understanding of their domain and wishes. As programmer I am experienced in web development (React, HTML, (S)CSS, JavaScript, PHP), game development (Unity3D, HLSL), and other languages including C++, C#, CUDA, and Python.

Academic Skills

At the Utrecht University I obtained a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. I graduated with a project on AI in applied gaming. Academic schooling helped me develop strong analytical skills and autonomy in learning and problem solving. It provided a solid basis for many programming languages, models, and paradigms.

During my Bachelor's I specialised in Game Technology. Wishing to learn more about design and user experience I did a minor in Game Design, taking courses at the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht.

I completed a Master's in Game Technology at the NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences.

Contact

I am always interested to hear and learn from passionate, talented people. Feel free to get in touch for questions or if my skills and connections can be of use to you. You can reach me through the media listed at the top of this page.

Download my Curriculum Vitae (PDF).