The Craft of UI — by Jhey Tompkins

What if you could build anything you see? Not just copy a design, but really understand it. To break it down. To know which tools to reach for. Built it with precision, performance, and accessibility in mind. To make it feel right and make it your own.

Building user interfaces is complex. Even a “simple” sign-up form means making calls about motion, accessibility, performance — and all the finer UX details that most people never see. And too often, education only covers slices of that complexity.

You might learn how to make something look good or move well. But what about making it work right? For everyone? What about building fast, inclusive, resilient interfaces that feel effortless?

The Craft of UI is a course about how to build things well. It’s about learning how to see like a developer who understands design, and code like a developer who cares about users.

It’s about working with the web — not fighting it. Leveraging the power of HTML and CSS. Sprinkling in enough JavaScript when it adds real magic. And reaching for libraries only when they truly help you go further. It’s not about chasing trends or selling you “taste”. It’s about timeless skills that level you up and pay the bills. Tools change. APIs evolve. But the foundations of the web platform are your unfair advantage when mastered.

You don’t need to be “a natural”. You just need the right approach. The right mindset. With practice, you become the person who can build anything. Whether you’re starting out or already the team’s go-to, this course will help you level up and build with confidence.

You’ll learn to:

• Think through UI problems, not just code them
• Use the web platform fully before adding dependencies
• Know when (and why) to reach for libraries or frameworks
• Explore emerging browser APIs so you’re ready when they land
• Build fast, accessible, resilient UIs that make people go “wow”

Over the years, I’ve built a reputation for being able to recreate just about anything passed my way. But the real secret isn’t “tricks”. It’s mindset, curiosity, and knowing how to think through a UI challenge, not just code it. I want to teach you how I do it — how I see a UI, break it down, and bring it to life. This course is everything I’ve learned from over a decade of experience.

If you’ve ever looked at a design and thought, “How would I build that?”, this is for you. It’s about equipping you with the skills to build whatever you need, and the confidence to say, “I’ve got this”.

Because when you can do that, everything changes. You’re not chasing snippets. You’re not limited by tools or libraries. You become the tool. You become the documentation. You move fast and solve problems confidently like it’s second nature.

You bring ideas to life and you make it look easy. It’s not just satisfying, it’s how you 10x your career. You become the person the team turns to when they say: “Can we even build this?”.

Could you become that person? Yes. You could. And I’ll show you how.

Hey – I’m Jhey Tompkins 🤙

I’m a web developer who loves making the web feel magical whilst showing others how to do the same.

Currently, I’m a Design Engineer at Vercel. Before that I worked in Developer Relations at Google as part of the CSS and UI team on Chrome. Along the way, I’ve built for brands like Nike, Uber, Nearform, and Monzo.

Over the years I’ve shared thousands of demos with the community resulting in a following on X of over 120,000 people and 18,000 on CodePen (of which many have asked for this course). It’s given me the opportunity to speak at conferences all over the world about building user interfaces and it’s opened doors to opportunities at companies like Google and Vercel.

People now know me for turning complex challenges into simple, delightful experiences. For building things that make you say “wait, how did you do that?” and for doing it with the web platform and good craft.

This course is my way of sharing everything I’ve learned across my career. From the fundamentals to the fun stuff. Not just how to build things that work, but how to build things that wow. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re the person the team turns to when things get tricky, I want to help you level up your skills and build with confidence.

Let’s go.