The short version
I'm a hybrid digital designer and developer. I've been making digital things since I discovered a room full of BBC Micro computers at school in 1985. It's been a lot of fun for the most part, and I've been very lucky to have been at the forefront of digital media since the early 1990s.
Born in the early 1970s in Brighton, England, I moved to London in 2007 and now live with my partner and young son in Gravesend, Kent.
I make things by combining my interests in books and book design, nature, architecture, art and games. Some of the results are recorded here.
The long version
A little about me
I'm a creative person with myriad outlets: painting, model making, writing fiction, designing book covers, modding video games... the list goes on. I pursue them all with enthusiasm as time permits.
Historic architecture will turn my head: medieval castles, Victorian terraced houses, ancient Egyptian tombs. And time spent in art galleries is never wasted. Maps are another fascination (both real and imagined), while my love of the natural world, birds in particular, finds its way into my creative projects.
In my youth I was a voracious reader, mainly speculative fiction and weird fantasy. Now that my desire for dystopian door-stoppers has diminished to diddly-squat, it's delightful to devour dinkier books. Chonky tomes have no place in my current life: for those I await retirement with excitement! These days I'm reading mostly historical fiction and magical realism, while in non-fiction I've re-discovered my love of illustrated bird books.
I used to cycle a lot and still try to get out on the bike when I can, but these days most of my spare time is spent with my young son: I came late to parenthood and it's proving to be a marvellous adventure.
About my work
After a long and varied digital career, I now work in Government Digital Services. GDS is part of DSIT, the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. I currently work in the Brand team, bringing my years of expertise in front-end web development and user-interface design to the delivery of the GOV.UK Brand Guidelines.
Previously I've been a web designer, user interface designer and eLearning multimedia developer. I've been doing this since 1993 and have contributed to nearly 200 digital projects which is pretty remarkable when you think about it.
About this website
After I became a dad at the start of the pandemic, I took my old site offline as I had no time for it. After successfully raising our baby out of toddler-hood, I had some time and space to think about resurrecting my site. I spent a long time planning a complex site where I could write about and display both my work and my personal projects. But I soon realised I was replaying an old habit: solving problems I didn't yet have. I eventually abandoned the idea and in summer 2026, I started a simple blog hosted with Scribbles.
This site is brand new. There's no legacy content. I'm starting over without much of a plan other than to just write about my interests. I'm curious to see where this leads...
Matt Hill, July 2026