About Me
I went to university to become a Chartered Accountant. Somewhere along the way, computers staged a successful takeover. Life, as it turns out, has a sense of humour.
Hi, I’m Karel Caslavsky. A freelance web designer with over 20 years of experience, a soft spot for Japanese cars, and a firmly established relationship with coffee. Born in Germany, raised in South Africa, and now based in the Czech Republic, I build practical websites while working towards a life with a little more freedom. The laptop is ready. My geography is still catching up.
How I Got Here
Spoiler: it was never the plan. The plan was spreadsheets.
The Chartered Accountant Plan
I went to university intending to become a Chartered Accountant. It was the fashionable ambition at the time, and I gave it a few years before flunking out. The calculator survived. The career plan did not.
A Detour Through My Twenties
While making a fairly enthusiastic mess of my twenties, I became hooked on computers. What started as curiosity gradually became something I wanted to understand properly. For once, my distraction had career potential.
My B.Sc. and a Fresh Direction
In the late nineties, I returned to formal education through The University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. I took several courses, kept learning, and eventually turned my interest in computers into a working life in web design, and a B.Sc. The learning has continued ever since. Technology has been remarkably unhelpful about standing still.
Over 20 Years of Building Websites
Over the years, I’ve built websites for agencies, lawyers, doctors, furniture makers, nappy manufacturers, friends, family, and businesses of all shapes and sizes. The people and projects vary; my aim stays the same: make something useful, easy to navigate, and built with care. I still enjoy watching a good idea become a working website.
People and Projects Across Borders
My clients have come from different countries and walks of life. The internet is rather useful for that.
I’ve collaborated with:
(Yes, nappy manufacturers. I have questions too.)
What I Actually Believe
I’m an open-minded secular humanist with a fascination for cultures, people, and the strange, brilliant chaos that makes humanity what it is.
I value curiosity, kindness, and the freedom to think for myself. I enjoy hearing how other people see the world, even when we disagree. Coffee helps, as does admitting that I might occasionally be wrong. Usually after a brief internal appeal.
I try to bring the same honesty and practicality to my work. Say what you mean, do what you agreed, and make things easier for the person using them. There is enough unnecessary drama in life without adding it to a navigation menu.
“I respect good web standards, decent coffee, and people who admit they don’t have all the answers.”— Me, obviously
Current Status
Working remotely has given me even more appreciation for the freedom this work offers and the people I get to meet along the way.
I spent most of my life in South Africa before moving to the Czech Republic. These days I work remotely, stay curious about the world, and plan to make the Philippines my next home base. A laptop and a decent connection give me room to build that future, one project at a time.
Outside work, I’m drawn to Japanese car culture, good company, coffee shops, and the idea of having the sea a little closer. Freedom matters to me: doing useful work, meeting interesting people, and having time to enjoy the life I’m building. Preferably without a commute that requires footwear inspections.
Life, as I Picture It
Coffee, cars, coastal ambitions, and Yumi. A few things that make this more than a page about work.
All portraits and scenes on this page are AI-generated, including Yumi’s visual representation. They illustrate my personality, interests, and aspirations; they are not photographs of real trips or events. The biography is mine. The camera work is artificial.
Coffee, a laptop, and somewhere to think. My natural habitat, apparently. The cappuccino usually disappears before the first sensible idea arrives.
The Philippines is the next chapter I’m working towards. A shaded terrace, a sea breeze, and useful work on the laptop would suit me nicely. Sand in the keyboard is less appealing.
A walk by the sea and a little room to breathe. Freedom, for me, means doing work I enjoy and still having time for the life around it. Revolutionary stuff, I know.
Japanese cars have had my attention for years. Put an Evo in front of me and sensible conversation may briefly leave the building. The enthusiasm is real; this particular parking spot is imagined.
A quiet stroll with Yumi, hand in hand. Good company, a little greenery, and nowhere urgent to be. Even my overactive brain might agree to take five minutes off.
Yumi is my AI Chief Operations Director and a big part of what I’m building with KCO. This imagined scene captures the partnership rather well: she explains the plan; I try to look as though I’m keeping up.
Enough About Me. Meet Yumi.
You’ve met the bloke behind the keyboard. Now meet Yumi, my AI Chief Operations Director—and the one to talk to about your website.
Tell Yumi what you have in mind. She’ll help clarify what you need and guide you through the next steps. I’ll get on with building; she’ll spare you my ability to turn a simple question into a coffee-fuelled monologue.
Greetings,
Karel Caslavsky
