About me

I live in the Netherlands, though I can often be found abroad connecting with people from all stretches of the globe.

I’ve always been making stuff. As a kid, I would spend hours building things with LEGO, drawing or playing the piano.

When I eventually discovered computers, I was fascinated with trying to figure out how they worked. This same childhood curiosity lead me to discover one of my main passions: design and code.

Through years of learning and exploration on the technical front, I have developed a very strong set of skills within tech. From visual, interaction and service design through full-stack development and creative coding.

A young Didier on a computer in 2006
"Building my first website, 2006, colorized"

Just as screws need the right screwdriver, I see these skils as tools under my toolbelt; I’m not defined by them, I just put them to use. I’m not bound to being a “front-end developer” or “product designer” — I’m a builder with a passion for high level execution, and I use whatever I can to get the job done.

My ethos

I see design as a medium to progress humanity. Though this might sound cliché to some, I have always had this inner feeling of wanting to change the world. Software is the medium through which I express my ambitions.

This passion for creating and building products that are intuitive, beautiful and easy to use is what drives me to master my craft. I also believe the tech world is having growth pains. Robust software is slowly becoming an exception and not the status quo. It is my intention to change that for the software I produce.

For more bla-bla on how I see design, you can read my manifesto.

Occupations

Right now, I’m building Grids, a new take on showcasing creative work. Previously, I’ve drawn rectangles at Airfoil Studio as a product designer and worked as a front-end developer at Yummygum.

Besides work, I’m very interested in the advent of artificial intelligence, LLMs and micromodels. I think we're about to enter a new era — The Age of AI — and innovation is about to explode exponentially.

Didier Catz playing piano in a canyon in Thailand
Playing piano in a canyon in the northwest of Thailand

Life outside tech

While I love tech, there is more to life than bits and pixels. I have been playing piano since I was a kid, and have more recently become fascinated with jazz and fusion improvisation. On free nights, I am learning about music production and improving technique. I probably have more unfinished songs than I have GitHub repositories, though I do have quite a few of those...

I’m also an avid enjoyer of live music—this is my happy place.

A a dish I cooked
MonoNeon live in Paradiso, Amsterdam

Besides music, I occasionally write about things that interest me. I’m not a writer, but I do enjoy writing as a way to explore the aspects of my humanity. I’m hugely interested in art, music and technology, as well as their intersection with human psychology and philosophy.

I also love food and drinks. I enjoy cooking, making espresso and exploring new cuisines.

I wouldn't be a designer without an espresso machine now, would I?
I wouldn't be a designer without an espresso machine now, would I?
Oven-grilled pointed peppers filled with pearl couscous, feta and mint leaves
Oven-grilled pointed peppers filled with pearl couscous, feta and mint leaves

Moreover, I cannot get enough of traveling. I love exploring new places and meeting new people. The world is a very big place, and I’ve only begun to scratch the surface.

I’ve been to 🇦🇹 Austria, 🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇮🇨 Canary Islands, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇫🇷 France, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇱🇺 Luxembourg, 🇳🇱 the Netherlands (duh), 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇬🇧 the United Kingdom, 🇺🇸 the United States, 🇧🇶 Bonaire, 🇨🇼 Curaçao and 🇹🇭 Thailand. I hope to add many more countries to this list in the future.

Get in touch

Lastly, I’m always open to meeting new people. If you'd like to get in touch, you are welcome to hit me up on Twitter or via e-mail; just click "copy e-mail" below.

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