Hexa Studios' 2025

29th Dec 2025

What a year for Hexa Studios! From island kiosks to EU platforms, here's a look back at 2025.

2025 marks my second full year running Hexa Studios and what a year it's been. The projects this year took me from the islands of Donegal to EU-funded educational platforms, with plenty of exciting work in between. Here's a run down of Hexa Studios' 2025!

Tory Ferry Self-Service Kiosk

One of the highlights of the year was deploying the Tory Ferry self-service kiosk at Magheroarty Pier. After months of planning and testing with the team, the kiosk went live in August and has been a huge hit with passengers.

The kiosk lets you book your ticket in just five taps - pick your sailing, choose one-way or return, select passengers, enter your email for an e-ticket, and pay contactlessly. It's fast, convenient, and always up to date with the latest timetables.

A special congratulations to Daniel Cullen who became our very first kiosk customer - we hope every journey to Tory Island since has been as seamless as the first!

The Dock - Arranmore's New Guesthouse

In May we launched The Dock, a brand new guesthouse and cafe on Arranmore Island. It was brilliant to work with the team to create a website that captures the warmth of this new addition to the island's hospitality scene.

The website features live booking functionality, payment processing, automated confirmation emails, and a curated guide to the island's best spots. We also had great fun designing the logo which works beautifully in both English and Gaeilge versions.

If you're planning a trip to Arranmore, I can personally recommend their Italian Beef sandwiches - they're delicious!

Inis Oírr Beo - All Ireland GAA Islands Weekend

The Inis Oírr Beo app continued to grow this year, and one of the standout moments was hosting the All Ireland GAA Islands Weekend in May. For the first time, we provided live score updates through the app - over 1,000 viewers followed along throughout the weekend, whether on the islands, the mainland, or further afield.

Since launching last year, the app has seen over 1,700 downloads and continues to be used in ways we hadn't even dreamed up. Congratulations to the Inis Bofin Ladies and the Bere Island Men's teams on their victories - we're already looking forward to next year's tournament on Inis Turk!

GET-AHED: The Green University Toolbox

One of the most ambitious projects this year was building the core digital platform for GET-AHED, an EU-funded initiative helping higher education institutions implement sustainability goals. I wrote about the technical details here, but in short: the platform combines Next.js, Directus CMS, and a custom Express.js API for serving SCORM e-learning content.

Working with the Technology Enhanced Learning team at MTU was brilliant - their expertise in educational technology shaped the platform into something that will serve European higher education's green transition for years to come. The platform officially launches in January 2026 following three years of collaborative development.

MTU Speaking Engagement

I was delighted to be invited back to MTU for another guest speaking spot with the MA in eLearning Design & Development students. This year's talk felt quite different to previous years - AI isn't a future topic anymore, it's fundamentally reshaping how we build digital experiences right now.

The recurring themes across all the speakers were clear: ethical and accessible design isn't optional, digital learning ecosystems must be human-centred and flexible, and AI demands thoughtful integration rather than blind adoption. I always leave these sessions with a new perspective on education and how to educate users throughout any application.

The Arranmore Ferry Turns 10

2025 marked the 10th anniversary of the Arranmore Ferry mobile application! It's been incredible to see how far the platform has come - from a simple timetable app to a full ecosystem with mobile apps, web booking, admin dashboard, self-service kiosks, and POS devices all working together seamlessly.

The team welcomed their new ship "Arranmore Blu" this year too - if you haven't had the chance to sail on her yet, I'd highly recommend it. Here's to another 10 years of island connectivity!

Looking Ahead to 2026

There's a lot to be excited about heading into 2026. I've been working on Bridgit, a platform to help charities save time and money through better systems and smarter workflows - we've got some big news to share early in the new year.

I've also been exploring AI agents with the Mastra framework, building an AI-powered assistant that integrates directly with the ferry platforms. It's early days but the potential is exciting - imagine asking "when's the last boat back?" and getting an instant, context-aware response.

Thank You

It's been another fantastic year for Hexa Studios. A huge thank you to everyone I've worked with throughout 2025 - the ferry teams, the island communities, the EU project partners, and all the clients who trusted me with their ideas. I'm looking forward to sharing more work with you all in 2026!

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