Ariadne Gomes

I am a web developer, working in the creative industry for 15 years.

I am very excited about the endless potential of the web, with passion for great user experiences. I’ve worked for a few different start-ups and digital agencies and I like being close to the artistic direction to really work as a team.

Questions for Ariadne Gomes:

• What did you do before becoming a developer?

  I was a Digital Design student and worked for a while as IT helpdesk, managing Linux servers.

• Where do you turn for inspiration?

  I think inspiration can come from everywhere. I sometimes look at a lot of websites, sometimes I watch some TED talks, sometimes I run, travel, read, talk to people, watch movies, listen to music, do something different in my day.

• Which are your favorite studios, designers or agencies?

  I like the work of Jam3, North Kingdom, MediaMonks, Resn, F-i, Huge, AQKA. I also like what Matias Duarte and his team are doing with Google's material design, Nicholas Felton's infographics and John Maeda.

• Is your city a good place for designers?

  I think it is one of the best places in Brazil and Latin America.

• Which technologies are you excited about?

  Most new technologies excite me and, of course, HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. Anything that can simplify or improve my life, health and daily needs like mobile, wearable, 3d printing, etc. I enjoy things like the Google VR Cardboard, simple improvements to make an idea cheaper and that still can create a fun experience.

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

  When I need to concentrate, I like to listen to the playlist "Deep Focus" on Spotify.

• Tell us your funniest anecdote related to your work.

  Sometimes we make this "call from the future" to explain to someone why something can go wrong. We make a call to the person and say "Hello, this is from the future. I am calling to say I think {this thing} is going to break {this thing} unless we do {this thing}. What do you think?". It's stupid, I know.

• Have you always had a keen interest in technology since childhood? What sparked your interest?

  I think it may have been sparked when I played with a MSX when I was a child, or playing videogames. As a teenager I was able to use the internet, and this made me choose to take an IT course in High School.

• As a developer, where do you get your inspiration from?

  I like to follow developers like Addy Osmani, Lea Verou, Paul Irish, Brad Frost, Christian Heilmann and look at websites like Awwwards, Smashing Magazine, Codrops, CSS-Tricks, DailyJS, Chrome Experiments, etc. I'm trying to go to more events. When I cannot go, I like to watch some videos from events like FITC, Eyeo and Resonate.

• What essential items are in your developer toolbox?

  Chrome, Sublime Text, Terminal, headphones.

• What programming languages do you use? Which did you learn first?

  I use a lot of JavaScript and PHP. I think the programming languages I learned first in high school, things like Cobol, Pascal, Clipper and JavaScript.

• Where do you see the industry in 5 years?

  I see a continued progress towards making it easier to meet the designers’ and the developer’s expectations, in a better performance and less time. Designers concerning less about what can be done, developers suggesting less alternatives and people knowing more about all kinds of experiences we can achieve using the web.

• Are you working on any personal projects?

  Not currently, I think I like to help people with their personal projects. Sometimes it crosses my mind to work on mine, but, so far, my ideas appear to me as they wouldn't last or are just lame. Maybe I'll try this later in life, when I know things better. :)