Karl Stanton

Karl Stanton (Director, Front End Development) has over 15 years of digital experience. Karl is responsible for overall code quality and sets overall direction for coding a project.

Karl conducts code reviews and ensures that other team members build coding skill. At Huge, Karl has worked on a variety of projects for clients such as Maybelline, Under Armor, USMA, and Comcast. Prior to Huge, Karl worked as a Senior Developer at Fantasy Interactive and as a Senior Technical Manager at BBDO where he has worked with clients such as Fox, EA, Atari, Kontain, Time Warner Cable, Foster’s, National Australia Bank, and Corona. Karl has earned a Diploma of Multimedia from the Technical and Further Education Commission.

10 questions for Karl Stanton:

• What did you do before becoming a designer/developer?

  I got an early start in my career, I actually never went to college and started working straight out of high school. At 17 I was working full-time as a developer, which is pretty crazy to think that I’ve been doing this for almost half my life and I’m still not that good at it. I actually quit the industry when I hit 21 and became a record store manager and full time DJ. I worked in nightclubs every weekend, I had a radio show and produced music. I also built the record store's eCommerce site so I was still coding everyday even while slinging vinyl. When I realized that I’m not going to be able to do that forever, I dropped back into the developer world and here I am today.

• Which developers do you follow or are an inspiration to you?

  This is biased and somewhat corny, but my team @ Huge are my real inspiration… To see the team learn, adapt and grow with new technologies constantly is mind blowing. They are so smart, I wish I was that smart! Outside of Huge, I would say I draw inspiration from my ex-collegues Paul Lewis (@aerotwist) and Hakim El Hattib (@hakimel). Paul is an extraordinarily talented and deep technologist, I wish I had a brain like his. It’s shiny. Hakim is simply one of a kind. That guy is the most creative, passionate and skilled developer I’ve had the pleasure of working with and knowing. I believe that in the future, all children should be Hakim clones.

• Which programming languages do you use on a daily basis?

  My core languages are Javascript and PHP.

• Who do you side with: Team Mac or Team PC?

  Mac!

• Do you usually go to conferences? Which ones do you prefer?

  Yes, I try to kick around at the BrooklynJS and now ManhattanJS meet ups. I was really inspirited by the Google Edge Conference last year. I aim to attend again. Huge also hosts a variety of meet ups and talks as well, so that helps fill my quota.

• Which technologies are you excited about?

  I guess the obvious ones for me are AMD and NodeJS. They’re definitely blowing out the cobwebs on this guy. Having worked “traditionally” (LAMP) for so many years, having to think differently now is challenging and exciting.

• How many hours do you work each week?

  I put in a solid 40 @ Huge, and about 10-12 over the weeks / weekend on personal growth. The NY Rangers are getting in the way of true focus, but I love them so that’s ok.

• Do you listen to music while you work? Describe your playlist.

  I used too! Now I don’t really get to sit and listen / code as much as before. My playlist is all over the place. Given that I spent 7 years of my life focused on 3 styles of music (breakbeat, drum&bass, hip-hop), I missed out on a whole lot of others. I only discovered Led Zeppelin in 2008. Boy did that change my life. Here’s a Spotify Playlist that I created really quickly by scrolling through my other playlists and picking out stuff. Awwards Playlist - though my taste will probably change tomorrow.

• Which books would you recommend as a must-read?

  This book (http://books.google.com/books/about/Refactoring.html?id=HmrDHwgkbPsC) Martin Fowler’s Refactoring - Improving the Design of Existing Code changed my life forever. I give it to all new developers who join my team as a must read.

• What is your favorite sport?

  I’m partial to enjoying some ice hockey once in a while (LET’S GO RANGERS!!!)

• Tell us your funniest anecdote related to your work.

  Oh dear, where do I begin:

  • Once we were trying to get a RC helicopter out of the lights with an axe.

  • We brew our own beer, so our first attempt was not that amazing, and we double-pitched the yeast. Many drunken hazes thanks to that.

  • Actually, most anecdotes relate to either brewing beer, drinking beer or just drinking in general, so I’ll save you the “you had to be there” moments. ;-)