Wietse

What do you do at Wieni?

My role at Wieni is front-end lead. This means I’m responsible for managing the front-end team, help verify pull requests and manage the planning of all front-end developers. I’m a developer at heart, so I like to stay involved in projects as well.

I started my career as a UI designer, so I try to bridge the gap between UX/UI design and how it translates into front-end development.

Apart from that I consider myself a “headless” evangelist. I like to focus on platforms like DatoCMS and Vercel, building front-ends in Next.JS and implementing microservices to streamline development, without reinventing the wheel over and over again. You can read more about this approach in this blog article.

What did you do before Wieni?

I started as a Digital Creative and UI Designer in the advertising industry for agencies like Boondoggle, BBDO and Mortierbrigade. After 4 years I said goodbye to the advertising industry and started working at Wieni as a full-time front-end developer. However during this period I had many philosophical talks with my nephew Mathias, about starting our own company and after 4 years at Wieni we finally made the move to start Kinsmen. With the help of Craftzing Group, we were able to kickstart this company and work as UI designers and front-enders. Since we had no employed back-enders, we went with a full front-end approach and that is how we got introduced and specialized in the headless set-up.

After a while Craftzing decided to also invest in Wieni, and that’s where our paths crossed again and we joined forces.

What do you enjoy most about Wieni? 

Wieni operates like a well-oiled machine, fueled by a cohesive team — something I never found in other agencies.

Just as we approach client projects, we continuously try to refine our own internal processes. This long-term commitment to improvement, guided by our vision, "The Wieni Way," allows us to launch projects while staying true to our passions. Learning and growth are always encouraged.

Many of these principles inspired the founding of Kinsmen, and we've incorporated them into the core of our own business. This shared philosophy and vision facilitated a smooth integration of Kinsmen back into Wieni, where we continue to thrive together.

What do you enjoy doing on your own time? 

I enjoy making an ultra deluxe XL spaghetti bolognese, hanging out with friends or going for a run on the weekends. I’ve already run a half marathon, but would like to run a full marathon as well at some point. In the summertime I also love to play tennis. 

I’m also passionate about everything related to motorsports. Formula 1, karting, rally. I even used to own a racing wheel to compensate for my inability to buy a fancy sports car. This passion started when we used to go karting together with my family, I think.
I’ve already visited Spa Francorchamps 2 times, once even being able to drive on the circuit. A goal would be to one day race on the circuit myself.

Apart from that I am passionate about traveling, whether it’s hiking trips or active travels with friends. I have already visited quite a few countries in South-East Asia, a continent that keeps on amazing me. You can discover so many places in the world, but Asia has really stolen my heart with their cuisine, nature, culture,....

My dream destination is The Philippines. It was the last long-distance trip I took before Covid broke out, and it was truly beautiful. It’s the country of a thousand little islands and many boat trips traveling between them.