Fusing the Science of Code and the Art of Design: Christopher Kim Breaking Stereotypes

Christopher Kim is a .MEr who proves that science and art go together.

Forgive me, all my software engineer friends, for I have a confession to make. I’ve long thought this profession to be very rigid. Devoid of the kind of fluidness and creativity that gets my mind juices flowing. For me, software engineers were “play-by-the-rules” people, with mathematical minds and an unbending, scientific approach to both work and life.

That is, until I met some of you.

And until Christopher’s work at https://itschris.me/ proved to me that there is much, much more to the story. That there is more to the profession than meets with eye. And that it is, in fact, the perfect blend of art and science.

What’s more, I learned that software engineers don’t play by the rules. Quite on the contrary, they are the ones who create the rules.

Combining Beautiful Code and Beautiful Design

So, Christopher Kim is a software engineer who’s all about fusing the art of design and the science of coding.

This .MEr knows how to blend the best of both worlds, creating final products that stand out.

He had two fruitful years as a Junior Developer at Roth Staffing, creating code to improve overall front end performance. As well as user experience. Furthermore, his commitment and hard work led to improving app maintainability and scalability.

Today, he is a full-time software engineer at NCSOFT, using his expertise to boost productivity and efficiency. Automating critical processes to improve accuracy and efficiency, improving security, enhancing documentation and cooperation, managing API migrations… Chris really does it all.

Put simply, he combines beautiful code with beautiful design, all in an effort to improve overall operations.

Christopher Kim: A Software Engineer Making an Impact

Making an impact in an industry means transforming it. It means using your skills to drive innovation. To create something useful. And to leave a long lasting imprint.

Well, here is a .MEr who gets that!

Let’s see how Chris is managing to leave an imprint in his industry.

Christopher Kim Perfecting Functionality

With numerous projects behind him, Christopher Kim knows what it takes to perfect the apps he’s creating.

From SongBox, an app allowing people to seamlessly update playlists at social gatherings, to SQUPON, allowing users to easily discover coupons and deals, this .MEr operates with functionality in mind.

His apps provide concrete value to the users, while being straightforward, as well as easy to use. So, this is where the mathematical mind really comes to shine, creating useful, to-the-point products.

For example, TripFundR, another one of Chris’s creations, makes trip planning as easy as it gets. And, he created it with that very purpose in mind – making organization easy even for the most unorganized of minds.

So, this member of the .ME community understands the value of functionality. Therefore, he makes it the focal point of all his creations.

Taking User Experience to the Next Level

Functionality without beauty is like life without art. Bland and uninteresting. Tedious and devoid of emotions.

If we were to take beauty out of the equation, imagine what we would be left with. Rooms made up of four grey walls and a mattress. Books lacking ingeniousness, resembling shopping lists. Hectic ballet shows disregarding elegance and gracefulness. Round pieces of metal left over from a construction project serving as wedding rings.

As George Bernard Shaw put it: “Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable”.

Well, Christopher Kim knows better than to strip his creations of beauty. His purposeful codes embellished with captivating designs take user experience to the next level.

Put simply, Chris takes the science of coding, couples it with the art of design, and creates apps that stand out.

Slowly and Steadily Winning the Race

As human beings, we’re constantly taunted by time. By the fear that it’s running out, and that we won’t be able to do everything we’ve planned.

This leads us to wanting everything right away. To yearning for immediate gratification, often without wanting to put in the work.

Few are the ones who realize that slow and steady wins the race. Even fewer are the ones who are willing to put in the work. And, Chris is one of them.

Curious by nature, and aware of the power of knowledge, this .MEr is on a journey of consistent learning. Always working towards improving his code and designs, he is never afraid of taking on a challenging project. In fact, he enjoys challenges, as they push him towards learning new things and mastering new skills.

Clearly, Chris understands that there are no limits to what he can learn. So, he strives to learn as much as he can, slowly and steadily winning the race.

.ME and & Christopher Kim

When you have a good business idea, success will easily follow, right? Well, not if you don’t do what it takes. Especially not if you don’t devote your attention towards building a captivating and a memorable brand. Nowadays, branding is what will make you or break you.

So, take the right steps towards it – the first one being creating an amazing website.

Christopher Kim has undoubtedly done a great job of creating his personal website. A sleek, elegant and to-the-point design is a perfect representation of what he’s all about. Blending functionality and beauty into perfection.

Furthermore, Chris understands the effects of a powerful domain name. So, once again, he opted for a simple, yet effective one. Coupling it with .ME, he further emphasized the importance of creativity in his industry.

In short, with .ME, he created a strong brand identity, telling the story of his creative approach towards software engineering.

Giving a Good Name to Software Engineering

It is people like Christopher Kim that give a good name to software engineering. They break stereotypes and bust myths, showing that this industry is about art as much as it is about science.

This .MEr uses the power of his mathematical mind to create the most functional apps. But, he also relies on his artistic side and his sense of aesthetics to make the designs beautiful. Thus showing us that there’s more to software engineering than meets the eye.

Well done, Chris, for creating your own rules and wiping out deep-rooted prejudices about this industry. And for showing the world just how powerful the results of mixing science and art together are.

Keep it up!