Introduction
In this issue of Behind the Dev, we're going to be taking a look at the day-to-day of the Full-Stack Developer Caneco.
Caneco is a pillar in the Laravel community and has worked on branding for some huge projects and products such as Laracon Online, PEST, Tinkerwell, and Laravel Shift.
If you don't follow him on Twitter, make sure to check out his profile at: @caneco!
Behind the Dev
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello, Blog! My name is Caneco, and I'm just your typical Full-Stack Developer. I live in Portugal and work at Medicare (the Portuguese one). Happily married; and with my ❤️, we have #Kid1, #Kid2, and #Kid3.
How did you first get into web development?
So, in the very beginning, I started to design a lot, not using Illustrator or Corel Draw, but Macromedia Flash. When I first realized that I could actually use it to make websites too, I got to admit it was a lot easier to center elements in Flash.
Then, when Apple decided to kill Flash, I needed to move on and I landed face-first in PHP, discovering much later the amazing Laravel.
And time took over my appetite. Learning HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, Ajaxing, Servers, Animation, Editing, etc… Whatever the web can give us.
As a developer, what’s your typical day like?
- Get up really early.
- Get some coffee.
- Go to CrossFit and work out.
- Help get kids to school.
- Open Teams.
- Code whatever is on the menu for that day (Livewire, Laravel, Alpine, CSS, JS, scripting, etc…).
- Dinner with fam.
- Get kids to sleep.
- Time with my ❤️.
- Do design work for friends and the community.
- Sleep.
- Repeat.
Are there any tools that you use on a daily basis?
What can a blacksmith do without tools? Nothing… So I'm no different. Here are the top tools in my belt:
- Coffee Mug
- Chrome
- VS Code
- iTerm2
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
Is there anything in particular related to development that you enjoy working on the most?
It's not easy to pick one favorite thing. I think that everything sort of balances it out. When code is stressful, design is my mental escape. When creativity doesn't flow, code is a safe space.
If you could go back in time and give younger Caneco some advice when you were first starting in development, what would it be?
"DUDE!!! Start participating in the Laravel community! Don't just stay as an avid spectator."
Do you have any hobbies outside of web development?
When I'm not dd('ing') or console.log('ing'), I spend time with my family making memories, watching TV shows/movies, and going to CrossFit every morning, unleashing every bit of stress that I have in my daily life.
What are the coolest projects you've worked on?
Fortunately, I had the opportunity to be part of some amazing projects and products out there. Stuff like directing/rebranding Laracon Online, PEST branding, Tinkerwell, NativePHP, WTDiff logos, rebranding SHIFT, NorthMeetsSouth, Saloon, etc., and sooooo many logos for Open Source projects. And recently, I'm very grateful to have both the opportunity and trust to design Laravel's 1st party packages since Sail.