Meet Merix: Marcin - Frontend Developer

Marcin, known as Wasyl, is so invested in integration with his coworkers, that he was probably the most roughed up person after our latest visit at Jump Arena. Our whole office also knows that he is the biggest fan of “Back to the Future” and that he is really fascinated by 3D graphics. We believe that Marcin will soon become famous thanks to his blog about traveling in his red van. In the summer you might meet him at Woodstock - he always has the best location (on the campsite right in front of the stage).

• Tell us something about yourself.
  I think that I have two faces. For those people who don’t know me very well, I might see quiet and boring, but my friends know that I’m a silly guy with a healthy distance from myself.
• What are your main responsibilities at Merxistudio?
  I revive inanimate ideas of Designers or Project Managers and provide work for QA and Back-end teams. ;)
• How do you work? What is important to you while working?
  I think that a great atmosphere is the most important. Work is much better when you have a smile on your face ;)
• Tell us something about your beginnings in the company.
  I work here since July 2014 (wow, it’s that long?!), and I have to admit that at the beginning I wasn’t really happy. Before I came here, I was working on both front and back sides of projects. In Merix, I was hired as a Front-end Developer, what I thought might be quite monotonous, boring and only about cutting templates. I was also afraid that I won’t learn anything new here. It turns out I was really wrong! :)
• What have you learned while working at Merixstudio?
  A lot of things. First of all, I understood JavaScript. I learn new things all the time.
• What do you like most about working at Merixstudio?
  First of all the variety of projects. Sometimes I cut templates, the other times I deal with animations or create applications for touch screens. I can’t complain about the lack of challenges, thanks to what I’m never bored, even if I’m stressed at the beginnings and worried whether I will be up for the task.
• What was the biggest challenge you faced while working at the Merixstudio?
  Apart from the one that really got on my nerves it has to be Polish Christmas Guide, a game in which we educated people about Christmas traditions. That was a first time for me to work on a game - it required entirely different approach. Besides, I decided to create it in pure JavaScript without using for instance jQuery. I felt honored that I was chosen to work on our Guide, and I consider it to be a test, which I think I passed. ;)
• Which project do you like the most from the ones you worked on in Merixstudio?
  Back To The Frontend because I’m a big fan of the “Back to the Future” trilogy. As soon as I saw that our designer works with the theme of this films, I knew that I had to be involved in its development process. Not only I had an impact on how the project turned out, but also I had a great time during my work.
• What was your first contact with web technologies? When did you make a decision that you want to work in IT?
  It was in elementary school when I was editing free templates in Microsoft FrontPage and adding ready-made scripts to web sites. Originally I wanted to be a 3D graphics designer, and I was getting better and better at it, but constant requests to create a website for someone influenced what I’m currently doing. ;) Although I hope that soon I'll merge both of my skills!
• What do you think is most difficult (and most interesting) in your work as a Frontend Developer?
  The hardest thing is to keep up with all the innovations that are happening in the world of the frontend. This dynamic makes current frameworks (that you are learning about and using in your work) useless after one year and replaced with different solutions. Besides, we have it a lot harder than backend. Our code can behave differently on different computers, and we always have to work with this thought in mind. Also, nowadays from time to time, we have to take care of the whole backend - it can be quite linked with our work.
• First thing you do when you arrive at the office.
  I shake hands with colleagues that already came to work - waking up this early is really admirable. :)
• iOS or Android?
  Definitely Android.
• What do you do in your free time after work?
  I usually spend my free time outdoors. Whether I can, I play electric guitar. Last year I bought an old VW Transporter, and right now I use it to travel with my girlfriend or to attend gatherings of people who share our passion for those cars. Our car still requires a few more repairs and because of that we didn’t have the opportunity to travel very far, but we are planning to change that this summer. We created a RudyBus blog, where we write about our traveling adventures.
• Your favorite childhood hero is...
  Marty McFly from Back to the Future and Donald Duck.
• Favorite place in Poznań.
  It doesn’t matter where you are; it matters with whom! But I am born and raised in Poznań, so I like the whole city.
• Beer or vodka?
  Beer, but only with the company.
• Favorite sport.
  Sometimes I like to follow the achievements of Lech Poznań, even if I’m not interested in football. They are promoting our city, so I’m happy when their successes are known not only in Poznań.
• Dog or cat?
  Dog. Regarding cats...
  

• Which website do you visit the most?
  It seems that it has to be Facebook, where I have everything in one place.
• Favorite app
  I wouldn’t call it my favorite because I don’t have one, but I think that it will be the client of Facebook.
• What is your New Year resolution?
  New Year resolutions are overrated.
• If you could only visit one website for the rest of your life, what site would that be?
  Stroboskop.pl with disco polo in the background.
• If you could have your dream job, what would it be?
  3D Designer, a car mechanic or a CEO of a software house. :D

You will find other interviews with our employees in the people&events section on our blog.