Daniel Martínez UIX Architect/Consultant
Profile
I’m a UIX Developer/Consultant, with broad experience running training courses/workshops for web design and development teams.
I understand CSS and its importance for projects scalability, I code it, I design frameworks for it, I create the best possible web performance along the most optimal code. I help companies write better quality, more manageable, more scalable user interfaces.
Working with clients including ADCV, OCU, Televisa Colombia, and the Banco Santander, I provide front-end architecture consultancy to large organisations and teams working on large products. I work internationally, consulting, advising, running workshops, speaking, training, and more.
I also offer development services to companies of all sizes looking to establish solid foundations on which to build and grow their products. My main focus is on front-end architecture and performance, specialising in maintainable, scalable CSS.
What can I do for you?
- Write the most optimal, robust and scalable CSS code.
- Write an accesible, semantic and SEO friendly HTML
- Train your team - Online or InHouse - on the best methods to optimize your company web design workflow.
- Run a workshop for your company on CSS workflow: preprocessors, scalability, SMACSS and consistency.
Language Skills
- Spanish: Native
- English: Fluent both Oral & Written
- Italian: lower intermediate level (still studying)
Knowledge
Coding Tools:
- Sublime Text
- Codekit
- Ghostlab
- Git
Skills and Working Methods:
- CSS Architecture
- Responsive design
- Design courses and workshops
- Improve companies design process
UI
User Experience starts in the code, an optimal - fast loading website is the base for every website. I keep a semantic HTML through CSS, working with meta-data, pseudo-elements and many css features to maintain HTML as semantic as it can be, always focusing on accessibility.
That means test-test-test-&-test. I love having as much devices as I can to test crossbrowser code and test User Interfaces. That’s why I use Ghostlab (or similar: Codekit IP browsing) as one of my main tools.
I study and evaluate how users feel about a system, looking at such things as ease of use, perception of the value of the system, utility, efficiency in performing tasks and so forth.
CSS
I create scalable and robust CSS, focusing in maintainability. I Apply DRY rules and some OOCSS (Not every time, CSS is still cascade) and I always comment my CSS with BEM comments.
I usually attach myself to these rules and guidelines when coding CSS.
I use CSS frameworks, (not design frameworks like Bootstrap/Foundation or similar). I believe a framework should do your work easier, it is not meant to do ALL the work: Every project evolves in a different way and depending on its path the CSS is one way or another. Design Frameworks like Bootstrap/Foundation comes with all solutions and you end up having a lot of crap in your code, not forgetting you have to adapt to others way to write code.
Therefore I created my own CSS framework in Sass - it was in Less but it had evolved -.
This framework comes with a pretty good style guide which I’m developing and converting to adapt to an Atomic Design. Such style guide is very handful when Developers (or myself) adapts the front HTML/CSS code to backend templates. I like to go as quick as I can to code when we have an early visual design and then use Styleguides to provide both consistency and a backend adaptation tool.
Consulting / Training
I’ve always been passionate about sharing knowledge, thanks to others doing that I could learn all I know about frontend and web design. I run a lot of courses online in Escuela.It and offline with several organizations like ADCV or OCU or Televisa Colombia. I run courses and workshops for companies from basic to expert/professional in-house, training their teams in Sass, Design Workflow or CSS methodologies.
Weakness
Even when I can handle myself with a lot of code, I’m not a programmer. I don’t develop JavaScript Apps or .NET/ASP handlers (but I know what they are). I can write basic PHP loops/conditionals or MySQL queries.
This means I can understand code, deal with it and know what to do with my frontend code to adapt it to the backend.
Publications and Speeches:
- Introducing display:table-cell to RWD (In spanish)
- Styleguides and Photoshop speech at #DeswebIO Conference
- Less course at Udemy and Youtube (In Spanish)
- Responsive Images at [Frontenders](Responsive Images: problemas y soluciones actuales): Current problems and solutions
- Youtube #DesignIO Channel: I host a weekly hangout to show the spanish community the best way to create websites.
- And my own Youtube Channel where I record some screencast to teach CSS tips.
Latest Experience
Senior UI Developer
- 05/2015 - Currently working
-
Built the front-ends—and their respective frameworks—for several of Banco Santander’s most trafficked and profitable online products.
Hard work (As usual with old banks): CSS Architecture for IE8 and modern browsers for the Cuenta 1 | 2 | 3 site.
Currently working on modernizing workflows and CSS architecture for the upcoming projects: I'm developing a huge style guide for all the Santander Group products.
Web Instructor
- 02/2012 - Currently working
Escuela.It - Online
When I started to be part of EscuelaIt they had dull video curses and I changed everything and made real interactive courses in realtime. I also started as an instructor on the Web Design, Responsive Web Design, advanced CSS, Web Workflow, CSS Preprocessors and Design for Wordpress courses and workshops, which are actually a real success on the Spanish and Latin America developers / designers community. I’ve given more than 20 courses with them.
Senior Frontend - UI Consultant
- 09/2013 - 07/2014
ThinkandCloud - Valencia, Spain
ThinkAndCloud is a startup incubator: We help ideas to come true. I was responsible for the front end process, working together with the existing team of Designers, Developers and Creatives developing solutions to improve the users experience and set up the optimal workflow to the project requirements.
I created all the webs code in CSS, HTML and JavaScript using a CSS framework created by myself, plan the UX/UI features and behaviors in different resolutions and devices, I also adapt my code to ASP.NET.
UI Developer - Consultant
- 10/2012 - 02/2013
GTechG2 - Gibraltar
I worked along their design team in Gibraltar planning better and more optimized workflows and tools. I implemented Bootstrap and 320andUp frameworks/template to the rest of the team along with LESS into their whitelabel branch.
Workshops and courses I had run
- HTML and CSS course at Platzi
- WordPress theme creation at Platzi
- Full day CSS Workshop at Ironhack
- Developing Wordpress Themes at Televisa Colombia
- Responsive Design Workshop at EscuelaIt
- Web Design for Graphic Designers at ADVC
- CSS and Sass workflow and syntax at OCU
- (Web) Design workflow at Spielo GTech