An Ambient Glow That Reacts to the Drop
I built a site for my rave DJ friend, and gave its video player a glow that actually reacts to the set instead of guessing.
James Ives
Writing about design systems, web architecture, and everything else I explore along the way.
Latest posts
It's always coming home
Opportunity of a lifetime to watch England play in the World Cup Semi Finals in Atlanta, Georgia.
Figma Config 2026
I went to San Francisco to attend the 2026 Figma Config conference.
Welcome to Mars. Your LCP is 6 Seconds.
Measuring web performance without lying to yourself.
Your Design System Needs An MCP Server
One of the best investments you can make for your design system right now is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. As AI models evolve they are becoming increasingly more capable, but using them effectively comes at a cost.
Gathering Hyrox Race Insights with Python
Using Python to analyse Hyrox race data and gain performance insights.
Headless Storybook with Lit
Using the Component Story Format and the Custom Elements Manifest to mirror Storybook stories in Next.js for server-side rendering validation.
Connecting the Custom Elements Manifest to Figma Code Connect
Automating the generation of Figma Code Connect files using the Custom Elements Manifest and Figma's REST API.
F45 Broke Their Strava Integration So I Wrote My Own
They broke my beloved Strava integration, and I'm not happy about it. Let's fix it.
Documenting Web Components With Storybook
In this article, I want to discuss how you can easily document your Web Components with Storybook so that your documentation provides a good user and developer experience.
Improving Code Quality with Linting
Code linting is a great way to ensure that your codebase is consistent and that you're following best practices.
Figma Config 2024
My experience at the 2024 Figma Config conference and some pictures I took there.
Half-Life Dedicated Server With Docker
Learn how to create a Half-Life Dedicated Server instance using Docker including the ability to add custom configurations, mods and plugins.
Demystifying Web Components
Learn how to build Web Components and why they're a great choice for your next project.
Visual Testing Storybook with Playwright
Learn how to setup visual regression tests with Playwright and Storybook.
Let's Chat About Design System Tokens
This article will focus on Design Tokens, one of the core elements of a design system. The hope is that if you're not familiar with the concept, you'll walk away with a better understanding of what they are and how they can be used.
Syncing Figma Variables and Style Dictionary with GitHub Actions
Supporting your design system with Figma Variables.
Fostering Positive Change with Innovation Week
Innovation Week is a week-long event that brings together teams to work on new ideas and projects to help us grow and improve ourselves and our products.
Add your GitHub Sponsors to your project README with Actions
A simple way to add some value to your GitHub Sponsorship tiers with the help of GitHub Actions.
Virtually Infinite Scrolling with Angular
In this article we will take a look at some common patterns to improve performance when implementing an infinite scroller with Angular.
Engineering Design Systems In 2022
In this article I will break down some of the things I have learned over the years of working with design systems and some tooling you can use to help build your own.
When Package Dependencies Become Problematic
In this article we explore some common security holes caused by npm packages.
Deploying to GitHub Pages using GitHub Actions
Learn how to deploy your web application to GitHub Pages with the help of GitHub Actions.
Rendering 3D Models in the Browser
In this article we'll explore different ways to create 3D models, along with some of the options available when it comes to displaying them in a web browser.
Animating Sprite Sheets with CSS
Sprite Sheets are used in everything from video games, physical devices and even the web. In this post we will explore their use cases on the web.
Generating Last Word Cocktail Variations
A look into how we can use algorithms to generate a list of Last Word cocktail variations.
Programming an Elevator
Join me as I put far too much time into solving a question about programming elevators.
Fetching Authenticated API Data with GitHub Actions
I created a GitHub Action that requests arbitrary authenticated API data on a schedule!
Analysing My Google Music Library
Let's analyse my Google Music library and see what genres I listen to the most without using an API.
Creating the United Income Component Library
This article will cover the process of creating the United Income component library, and the best practices we've introduced along the way.
Google Assistant Action for the DC Metro
Navigating the DC Metro with Google Assistant.
Google I/O 2018
A write up of my experience at Google I/O 2018
Unveiling ArcAds
Learn about ArcAds, a new library that simplifies and standardizes advertisement logic in a way that makes sense in the context of large-scale publishers.
Building a Robot with NodeJS
Apparently you can build robots with NodeJS. Who knew?
AMP Validator Slack Bot
Automating AMP validation with a Slack bot
Google AMPConf 2017
I was in Manhatten for Googles AMPConf on behalf of Alaska Dispatch News.
Steam Dev Days 2016
I attended the Steam Dev Days conference in Seattle, Washington hosted by Valve Software.
Alaska Dispatch News 2.0
A look at the new Alaska Dispatch News website
What I Learned at RenderConf 2016
I got to spend a couple of days in Oxford for the Render Conference. Here's what I learned!
Back to Valve Software to Try the Vive
I was invited back to Valve Software, this time to try the Vive dev kit.
Testing Valves Prototype Steam Hardware
Valve Software sent me a prototype Steam Machine and Controller to test out. Here's what I thought.
Visit to Valve Software
I was invited to Valve for an office tour and to playtest an upcoming update for Team Fortress 2.