Julia Norton

I build tools across product, dev, and design.

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Game

The Runner

A geometric take on the classic offline T-Rex runner, rebuilt with custom characters, biomes, powerups, and increasingly questionable speeds.

All games & sandboxes →
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Projects

Selected work

All projects →

Object oriented notepad

An object-oriented notepad with several ways into the same document

A notepad that brings structured blocks, Markdown editing, a rendered preview, and JSON inspection into one workspace, with a small command interface for changing the document.

HTMLCSSJavaScript

Unified

Design, component data, and specification connected through one model

Four synchronized panels connect a component's design, editable React/JSX, specification, and architecture. Edit any panel and watch the shared model update the others.

HTMLCSSJavaScript

Spatial Canvas Engine

A visual node editor with an animated canvas preview

An interactive graph prototype for arranging nodes, connecting ports, and exploring preset visual systems. A Canvas 2D preview illustrates selected graph states alongside an editable parameter inspector.

ReactTypeScriptCanvas 2D

Dopamine Tasks

Turning everyday tasks into visible game progress

A playable task manager that turns completed chores and work into XP, coins, and boss damage. Custom quests, short sprints, and collectible rewards explore a more playful way to show progress.

ReactTypeScriptCanvas 2D
Stenofer

How are you feeling?

Pick a spot on the pad and Stenofer finds songs to match. Drag the grid to turn it around.

SadValenceHappyHypedEnergyCalm
RebelWorkoutPartyEnergeticDramaticHappyRoad TripConfidentFocusHeartbrokenNostalgicMelancholicRomanticChillCozySleep
Nearest moodCozyDrag to rotate · Tap to pick · Double-click to reset
Philosophy

Guiding philosophy

Good technology makes complexity easier to understand. I design systems around how people actually think, work, make decisions, and adapt when things change.

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Build What's Missing

Most of my projects started as a gap

A lot of what I've built exists because the tool I wanted didn't. A calculator that didn't exist yet. A PDF workflow that should have supported more languages. A way to move between code and spec without losing either.

“If the tool doesn't exist yet, that's usually where the project starts.”
01 · Build What's Missing
About

Thinking beyond the technology

I’m interested in how technology decisions shape organisations: what gets built, what gets changed, where investment is worthwhile, and how individual systems contribute to something larger.

My background spans psychology, business, digital transformation, and software development. I have an MBA in digital transformation, alongside hands-on experience building software and technical systems. It means I tend to approach technology from several levels at once: the technical reality, the people using it, the business need, and the longer-term implications of the decisions being made.

Julia NortonNew Zealand & Remote
How I work
  • Understand the problem before choosing the technology
  • Connect technical decisions to business priorities
  • Keep the wider system in view
  • Design for the people who will actually use it
  • Treat errors and bugs as information about the system

Get in touch

I'm interested in how systems fit together, how technology decisions get made, and what could work better. That's what I spend a lot of my time building and writing about here.

If something here connects with what you're working on, or you have a question about a project or a piece of writing, I'd be glad to hear from you.

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Julia Norton

© 2026 Julia Norton.