Hi, I'm Simon

Freelance (Lead) Frontend Developer & Design System Specialist

I help teams build UI foundations and React platforms that scale—so product delivery speeds up rather than slows down as the organization grows. My work sits at the intersection of Design Systems, modern React platforms, and pragmatic team adoption.

With 17+ years of experience in frontend development, I’ve worked on complex products where consistency, accessibility, and maintainability matter. I created Design System 33: a React and Styled Components based foundation and workflow that I use to accelerate audits, roadmap decisions, implementation, and documentation.

Focused on tomorrow’s web and today’s demands, my tools could vary by project and are carefully selected for optimal results. New tools provided by the client are easily picked up; it’s all about patterns and consistency.

I’m based in the Netherlands and available for freelance contracts. Optionally starting with a focused 3‑day Design System workshop and continuing with building, implementation, or support days, depending on your team's needs.

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From snippets to Design Systems

Over the past decade, my work evolved from reusable UI code inside products to component libraries and, eventually, to full Design Systems. As UI complexity increased, inconsistency became costly in multi-team delivery. Also, teams and platforms simply couldn’t scale on “copy-paste consistency”.

Modular thinking helps shift the mindset from developing pages to developing systems.

Early on, I focused on pragmatic reuse—utilities, shared UI components, and conventions that sped delivery without adding process overhead. As component-driven development matured, I moved those patterns into versioned component libraries with predictable APIs, so multiple developers (and later multiple squads) could build without reinventing UI decisions.

CSS frameworks and UI kits then standardized basic UI patterns, but didn’t fully solve scale or brand flexibility. With component-based frameworks, teams could ship real component libraries: versioned packages with encapsulated logic and stable APIs.

Nowadays — Modern Design Systems go beyond components, adding tokens, documentation, governance, adoption practices, and automated quality checks so consistency becomes the default and teams ship faster without drift returning.

I use documentation (typically via Storybook-style workflows) to keep design and development aligned around a single source of truth, not interpretations. Direct communication is also key here.

The result in each of the historic phases is always the same: less design drift, tighter team alignment, and a UI platform that helps teams ship faster with confidence. Let’s see how things evolve this year!

Timeline

Detailed information can be found on my my LinkedIn profile.

Self-employed contractor
2016 - now

DEPT — Lead Frontend Developer
2016

TamTam — Senior Developer
2015

Supersteil — Senior to Lead
2009 - 2015

Private — Learning the basics
2000 - 2008

Also active as
Founder and Manager
33rd Street Coffee
2020 - now

Personal projects

Keep on learning and seeking new adventures.

Design System 33
A React and Styled Components based foundation and workflow that I use to accelerate audits, roadmap decisions, implementation, and documentation.
Check out the case study .

Simon.fyi
This website, built with React and packaged Design System 33, serves as my personal portfolio and contact point.

Sounds.fyi
A music discovery platform that curates personalized playlists and insights. Runs on the Spotify API and gives users more control over their music experience than Spotify’s own platform. Currently offline

33rd Street Coffee
A local coffee shop in my hometown, which I built from scratch. It’s a physical place that holds a special place in my heart and taught me valuable lessons about management, customer service, teamwork, and the importance of a good cup of coffee. Visit the website for more info: 33rdstreet.coffee.

Skills and focus

Design Systems

Scalable design systems are built to enhance team collaboration, efficiency, and consistency. By focusing on essential elements such as design tokens, typography, spacing, color, and theming, alongside robust component architecture and clear documentation, these systems effectively eliminate UI drift. I work by governance, adoption, and versioned releases—built to scale across multiple teams.

React platforms

High-quality user interfaces are built on modern React platforms, such as Next.js, and are most often delivered through a Design System. Design patterns address real product complexities such as routing, performance, accessibility, and component-driven development, resulting in a flexible frontend foundation that is easy to extend and maintain across teams.

TypeScript

The use of TypeScript ensures a reliable, scalable shared codebase through strict typing and predictable component contracts. This approach significantly improves developer experience, enabling faster feature delivery with fewer issues—especially in collaborative environments where multiple teams work in a shared codebase.

Testing

It is part of the workflow, so teams can move fast without introducing UI drift. Unit tests cover component logic, variants, and shared utilities to keep behavior predictable. Integration tests validate real user flows. Visual testing catches layout shifts, spacing/typography changes, theming issues, and responsive breakpoints. Regression testing protects what’s already in production—especially during refactors and migrations.

Dev ~ Des alignment

Bridging the gap between design and engineering leads to practical systems that enhance usability. Implementing shared naming conventions and comprehensive documentation fosters alignment with team workflows. Removing that unintentional “design drift” and focusing on a Design System that inspires trust among designers, encourages adoption among developers, and adapts seamlessly as product teams evolve.

Ready to work together!?

I could be the React / Design System Specialist your team needs.
Connect and discuss how I can help you succeed.

Contact me

Want to know more?

Work

View a selection of my work. More info on request, for confidentiality reasons, I can't share everything online.

Design System 33

A portfolio project turned into product: Design System 33. A complete design system built with React, TypeScript, and Storybook.

Services

Discover my range of services, including consultancy, workshops, and ongoing support for your team's needs.

Contact

Reach out if you have any questions, want to discuss a project, or just want to say hi.
Feel free to visit my LinkedIn profile for more details on my experience and background.