Website redesign
The new Hi Labs website makes the work more visible and updates the overall concept.
I decided to slightly refocus my work and, in the process, renewed the company name, visual identity, and website. The goal was to build a comprehensive site that does not focus on selling a single specific skill, but instead demonstrates how problem-solving and an applied mindset can remain consistent regardless of context or technology.
Until now, the website had very much been a cobbler’s children situation, despite web technologies being one of my core areas of expertise.
Goals
The key goals for the redesign were:
- Content available in both Finnish and English
- A framework that handles trivial concerns out of the box while still enabling more complex pages when needed
- Lightweight maintenance
- Low fixed costs
- Minimal dependency on SaaS services
Technology choices
There are many possible ways to build a website. With a developer background, it was natural for me to retain as much technical control as possible, while ensuring that long-term maintenance would remain lightweight.
I chose the Next.js framework, which combines server-side and client-side rendering and is supported by a strong developer community and ecosystem.
The site does not use a separate content management system. In this case, it is more practical to make changes to both content and source code at the same time, within a single workflow. Content is structured using a combination of JSX components and MDX documents as appropriate.
Personal website
Alongside the renewal I built an entirely new site, henri-inkinen.fi, for my own projects and experiments. It shares the same technical foundation (Next.js and MDX with no separate content management system), but its look, tone and content are its own: the site is in Finnish and tells stories of making rather than focusing on consulting.
Refined details
Both sites are fully responsive and adapt to different device types. Most layout imagery is vector-based and supports both light and dark color schemes based on browser preferences. The visual theme of each site is entirely my own work.
With this foundation, both sites should remain fit for purpose for years to come. Naturally, small refinements and new content will continue to be added over time.
