I’m a 33-year-old digital product engineer and designer with a decade of experience in building and delivering successful software products. I have a passion for all things design, trends in mobile computing, electronic vehicles and the art of making coffee. I live in Reykjavík, Iceland, with my wonderful fiancé and two kids.
I ideate, design, and deliver websites and apps, operating at the intersection of high-velocity software development, thoughtful design and strong product thinking. While I might not be immediately available for hire, I love chatting about exciting projects or collaborations. Let me know what you’re up to: hugi@hey.com
Founder · Since 2019
Choosing an electric car is a new experience for most and can be a daunting task. Whether you’re looking for new or pre-owned car, Veldu Rafbíl presents your options in an easy way, highlighting the info that’s most important in this next chapter of automobiles. See code on GitHub.
View veldurafbil.is
Product Engineer · Since 2020
Avo helps teams ship faster without compromising data quality. Coming out of the YC winter batch of 2019 Avo is used by companies like Adobe, Ikea and Sotheby’s. In my role I work with the tight-knit, remote-first team to take ideas to delivery, making the complex world of analytics intuitive.
View avo.app
Web Developer · 2019
Yuzu needed a website for their debut restaurant. Working in close collaboration with designer Júlía Runólfsdóttir I built a website with a user-centric focus on delivering information. Content coming from Prismic CMS allows the chef and owners to easily update the copy and menu on their evolving restaurant. This project is on GitHub.
View yuzu.is archive
Frontend Tech Lead · 2019
Working with my team at Kolibri, joint with a team of experts from the city of Reykjavík, we digitalized their process for financial aid. The two resulting products, Ósk for applicants and Veita for counselors, received 3 nominations at the Icelandic Web Awards in 2019 and won for the best web system. Read more in Kolibri’s case study.
View fjarhagsadstod.reykjavik.is
Product Owner & Engineer · 2017–2018
As a rooted insurance company, TM was looking to digitalise some of their services. Joint with my team at Kolibri, we built an app (iOS, Android) with the users’ insurance overview and an automated claims process with a scripted chatbot that we named Vádís. While we continued to evolve the app we migrated Vádís to the web, this time helping users purchasing general insurance online—a first in Iceland.
View tm.is/kaupa
Product Engineer · 2017–2020
Kolibri helps companies materialize their vision with value-driven product teams. At Kolibri, I took part in product development in multiple interdisciplinary teams consisting of developers, designers and team coaches, using methodologies like Agile development and design thinking.
View kolibri.is
Design & UI Engineer · 2016–2017
Takumi is an influencer marketing platform connecting Instagram users and advertisers. I worked closely with the co-founder and product owner, as well as the small development team, on designing and implementing Takumi’s three products: the mobile app, a public-facing marketing website and an internal and client-facing interface.
View takumi.com
Design & UI Engineer · 2014–2015
Funded by Sequoia Capital, QuizUp became the fastest game ever to reach 1 million downloads. At QuizUp, I had the opportunity to design and be part of the team implementing a fully-featured web version of the trivia app. QuizUp.com was awarded the best web app at the Icelandic Web Awards in 2015, but the company has since been wound down.
CTO · 2014
Blær is an independent web publication with 13 issues to date – and counting. As the sole developer, I worked closely with the core team and the designer to select the tech stack and build the first version. From there, we iterated on the product, incorporating new features and layouts, and onboarded new journalists and photographers to the CMS. Blær has received multiple awards from FÍT and the Icelandic Web Awards.
View blaer.is
Web Developer · 2013
After trying the Icelandic-made vegan sausages for the first time and wanting to buy some more I noticed that they didn’t list sellers anywhere on the web. I contacted their founder and together we designed their new responsive website that I implemented using Wordpress. The seller’s list is up to date to this day.
View bulsur.is