What have I learned since I started working in frontend development

Exactly two years ago I wrote something about the mistakes I made while learning to code. Where am I now and what have I learned all this time?

That article brought me a few job offers, a thing that I wasn’t so sure it would happen. In the end, I went to a few interviews until I started working in the e-commerce department of a local company.

I remember going to interviews and with every interview that I flunked I learned something new. That’s what the positive stories sound like, right? But I would be lying if I told you that I wasn’t scared that I might not be a good fit in this field. …

Or what’s behind an expression

A few days ago I was thinking that I always had a problem with the word ‘creative’. It’s something that might be stuck from my advertising days.

When I worked in advertising, I used to hear this word and its many forms being thrown around until it became meaningless.

So I extrapolated to creative coding. When we talk about ‘creative coding’ I feel it creates a false dichotomy between regular coding — something that’s done with a specific, business-oriented purpose — and artistic coding — the type of coding used to develop and/or express an idea.

When I think about creative coding, the first things that pops into my mind is ‘visual results through code’, then generative art, then the demoscene. …

I have been editing this draft a lot. I’ve been changing it, writing more, deleting some stuff, changing words here and there. That’s because I am afraid of writing. And probably I am more afraid of writing the wrong things. My mind comes up with this dichotomy that I sometimes don’t understand. Today something might be good and tip the balance in its favor, tomorrow it might be something bad, because I wrote it in a moment when I was vulnerable or “too open”.

And this applies a lot more to the things I post online. It’s funny that I already have a large digital footprint and I don’t know why I am still bothering with these things. Probably Facebook, Twitter and Google know more about me than I know myself by now. …

A (very) short introduction

My interest in creative coding was sparked when I was looking for new methods to break images, to create “intentional glitches”. I found out about Processing by accident. And what a great accident it was.

While browsing Goodreads, I stumbled upon a book about generative art. Its cover drew my attention and I decided to find out more about this kind of art and about Processing. So I went on processing.org, downloaded Processing 2.1.1, and looked through the exhibition. When you see the amazing things that can be done with it, you are instantly drawn in. …

If you have a story to share or want to say hello, drop us a line at tab.and.space@gmail.com

The publication is now open for collaborations.

In 2014 I was looking for a job, and in a way I was looking for myself. I used to work in advertising for some time, until I felt burnt out and couldn’t do my job right. It was a tedious process, until I realized I could no longer do that and moved on to a more technical field. I ended up doing front-end development, a choice that I am really happy I made.

In 2014 I discovered a new field called “creative coding”. It was new to me, as people were doing crazy things in this field for years. From it I went into generative art, and found out that you could create amazing things by coding, things that you would normally do using design tools. …

As I mentioned in my previous article, I used to work as a copywriter for the last few years. Development was something that I kept as a hobby, something that was left in the background. There was always this feeling that it is the thing I want to do the most, and at this moment I am trying to do just that. I still love writing but I love it more when I do it for writing fiction.

Switching from a non-technical job to a technical one has a few interesting aspects.

You will be asked why you want to do it. I got this question during interviews, and I also got it from people who didn’t know me very well. People seem to find it curious that you want to switch from a non-technical job to coding. I think there are a few things that make people wonder why you are making this change. One such thing could be the idea that if you worked in a non-technical area you are unable to grasp more technical concepts. Another one could be the fact that you’re switching from a mid or senior level to entry level and, automatically, to a lower pay. …

A year ago I started learning to code, focusing on front-end development. This was not completely new to me, as I’ve been doing this learning to code thing for a few years now. Most of the time it was something that I did for fun.

Looking back over the years, and especially over 2015 when I decided to focus on front-end development, I’ve noticed some patterns in the way I was learning and doing things. These patterns lead to a series of mistakes that I am now fixing or got fixed in the past.

Please note that although I am using “you” across this article, I’m referring to my own errors. I am not offering advice to anyone, I don’t think I’m in the position to do so. This is a way for me to make a conscious note of the mistakes I made. I also hope that whoever reads this thing will find it useful and avoid these mistakes. …