- Latest project note: Visual storytelling for GAR 2025
- Currently digesting: Why AI can't be debugged like traditional software
Hello.
I am Ken Hawkins.
I transform digital platforms for global impact — bridging executive, technical, and content teams to solve complex challenges and deliver measurable results.
I have 2 decades of experience leading digital strategy for United Nations, international science, and media organizations. My journalism background provides deadline discipline and audience-first clarity that pure technologists often lack.
At UNDRR, I direct a multi-domain ecosystem serving millions with disaster risk intelligence.
Recent blogging
8 Nov 2025
Creating warm, dappled light with CSS and SVG
I added a sunlit ambience effect to this site using pure CSS and SVG — no JavaScript, just gradients and blend modes.
28 Oct 2025
Introducing a "Work" section
A home for evidence-led impact stories documenting measurable outcomes from my work on platforms, performance, and design systems.
23 Sep 2025
The power of the pause: How planning beats prompt tuning
Traditional project planning techniques helps ensure maximal benefits from AI tools.
19 Sep 2025
A stop-gap Drupal module to kill Word Junk in CKEditor 5
A tiny CKEditor 5 plugin for Drupal that strips inline Word-like junk in one click.
14 Sep 2025
Individualism is the flavor AI chatbots can't stomach
The AI experience has drained traffic from reference content, but leaves a path forward of human-centric experiences, interactivity, and better on-site value.
12 Sep 2025
Sacrificing knowledge in the name of data
The goal is not more data, but data to facilitate the story of what we're trying to achieve.
7 Sep 2025
Predictable, token-based filenames with Eleventy Image
How I swapped Eleventy Image’s hashed outputs for readable, stable names — and the trade‑offs.
6 Sep 2025
| Note post
Exposing HTML: The No-JS nudist CSS toggle
A tiny footer checkbox to turns your site styles off with no JavaScript required.
5 Sep 2025
| Note post
Go-go-go … I missed EmbedPDF
It seems a robust, embeddable PDF viewer for on‑page reading already exists.
Read 46 more posts on the blog ↦
Say hello
Open to strategic opportunities — let’s connect.