When I was 10, I had to get over the disappointment of not getting an Atari. Instead, we were given a rather rubbish computer. My brother Andrew and I soon discovered that the best game of all was the BASIC programming cartridge. We had great fun trying to make our wild ideas come to life.
I've been doing some version of that ever since.
My career began as a lecturer in the School of Computing Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney. For a while I flirted with becoming a barrister specialising in intellectual property, before life took me to London, where I met my wife and started my first IT business.
Since then, the work has taken me through software, products, and new ventures in all sorts of settings. What has always mattered most is the same basic thing: taking an idea, working out the shape of it, and building something that people can actually use.
These days, most of my time goes into designing and building software, shaping products, and helping turn ideas into things people can actually use. Clear systems, good naming, calm interfaces, and things that stay understandable as they grow still matter a lot to me.
I also help run Honey Willow, our family jewellery business, named after my two daughters.
There are also a couple of new ventures in the works, including 123.do and wh.ax, both shaped by a long-standing interest in making useful internet tools feel simpler, calmer, and more trustworthy.
Along the way, I've also contributed to the Perl and Raku communities through talks, writing, and branding work, including involvement in the naming process for Raku.
If we've worked together in the past, feel free to get back in touch. I'm always glad to hear from old colleagues and clients, and always open to offering help, being a sounding board, or mentoring when it's useful.
Email: nige@nigelhamilton.com
LinkedIn: Nigel Hamilton