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Hello, I’m Justin. I’m an independent researcher and editor, readily nerd-sniped by edge cases and emerging phenomena.

From a home base in the haunted, flood-prone city of York, I combine ethnographic observation and experimental methods to understand how people make sense of the world. Emphasising careful observation and documentation, I move between ground-level details and broader patterns to reveal hidden connections and meanings.

Approach

I work through writing, observation, and making – using each to complicate and enhance the others. My practice unfolds through different collaborative configurations, from research partnerships to team ethnography, creating spaces where approaches can cross-pollinate. Rather than fixed methods, I develop approaches that can flex with the work at hand, combining different forms of sensing and validation.

Based in Yorkshire since 2017, I maintain connections across the north of England, particularly through networks of researchers and creative technologists in Manchester and Leeds. This positioning supports my engagement with different rhythms and perspectives, alongside ongoing collaborations across Europe – most recently exploring overlaps of ethnography and computing with colleagues in Catalonia.

Core interests

Area	Focus
Improvised worlds	How people work within and around complex situations through practical action. Tracking informal innovations and creative responses to constraint, particularly in changing urban environments and community contexts.
Knowledge in practice	How different groups develop and share practical understanding. Exploring different approaches to collective sense-making and documentation. Particular interest in how technologies mediate cultural transmission.
Experimental methods	Combining ethnographic observation with prototyping and emerging computational approaches. Developing new tools for documentation and analysis.

Current work

I’m developing ways to expand ethnographic practice through tool-making, software development, and fieldwork. This involves crafting prototypes, situated software, and experimental protocols that serve both as instruments of inquiry and objects of study. Working with other researchers, artists, and designers, I explore how different forms of documentation and analysis can generate fresh insights and understanding.

Recent activities include coordinating a team ethnography of a political festival, crafting “tiny software tools” for taking field notes, and exploring how different groups organise and access collective knowledge. Whether working with knowledge graphs or generative language models, I remain focused on creating conditions for sustained attention and shared discovery.