One day in 1984, when I was ten years old, my parents purchased our first computer and changed the course of my life. — The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was a wildly popular home computer in the UK. Invented by Sir Clive Sinclair, it launched in the early 1980s; some even later trumpeted it as being responsible for “launching the UK IT industry.” It certainly launched me on a (admittedly circuitous) path to my current…

This article has been edited by the author (Dec 14). When I started working at Booking.com, almost twelve years ago, I’m certain that my CV was less than perfect, and my portfolio could have been better. …

What are you thinking about, tram driver? …

The Conversions@Google conference, an annual event hosted at their Dublin HQ, is aimed at advertisers — but that doesn’t mean you can’t sneak a little design in there as well. Booking.com’s Director of Design, Stuart Frisby, shared what we have learned over the years about building a culture focused on…

When I look back over the last year, one area in particular stands out as needing improvement. Both at work, where I’d let a wide range of extra-curricular activity slowly drift away until I was doing little beyond my immediate team’s scope; and at home, when after six months of…

As I grow older, I increasingly often find myself indulging in nostalgic reminiscences, reliving periods of my life and reflecting on the multitude of decisions that led me to my present situation. …

When one arrives into Edinburgh from the west, the city slowly grows out of the ground before you. Squat houses with flat roofs cluster in ones and twos along the roadway, numbers nailed to their lintels, as if they aspire to one day grow taller. The populated land here is…

Everyone who starts working at Booking.com gets the technology talk. “We don’t want to hold you back,” they say. “We don’t want to restrict your creativity. You’re free to use whatever software you need to get the job done — we’re so relaxed about your technology choices we’ll even let you choose between a MacBook and a Dell!” — So there you are, on your first day, sitting at your new desk and clutching a brand new MacBook (what? I prefer shiny things), trying to decide what to install first. Because it’s true — we don’t care what code editor you prefer, whether you’re an Outlook person or a…

It started with an earthquake. “Oh, that’s great,” said Clem, spreading out her arms as if she could pin down the great tectonic plate below us with a full body slam. We were sitting, the four of us, on the field of grass next to the 101, Crissy Field spread…