Job Title:
Editor/writer
Place of Work:
Contractor (currently LogRocket & CSS-Tricks)
Industry or specialization:
I specialize in producing content for UX designers, software developers, and product managers
What got you into Web Design/Development/working on the web?
I needed a website for my first business, and enjoyed the process of building it so much that I just pivoted into web development. I was already studying Art & Design at the time, and had a keen interest in UX design, so I’ve been dedicated to UX and code in equal measures from day one.
What does a typical day or week look like for you? What sort of things do you do?
I find it very hard to focus, so my day starts with getting out of the house, away from all distractions, and getting down to work in a café. I start with quick wins like emails or invoices, which helps me to get some momentum. After that I’m either diving into an article that I’m writing or editing somebody else’s article/piece of content, and I’ll either keep ordering or switch to another café. I’m usually traveling, so immersing myself in the local culture and supporting small businesses is just the icing on the cake really.
What types of web technologies do you work with most often?
I’m super vanilla. I hate bloat. Plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are my ride or die’s, although I’ll often use Eleventy for templating and perhaps even throw in some PHP if I need some server-side magic. In terms of content, I’m usually covering cutting-edge stuff such as the latest things in HTML and CSS.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
Definitely the freedom to travel, but also the flexibility to work whenever I want and be as introverted or as extroverted as I want to be on any given day. Also I get to work with so many publishers and businesses on their content — right now I’m writing a lot of developer documentation, editing and formatting podcast transcripts into blog posts, and updating posts for SEO. The content’s always educational, but sometimes there’s a content marketing angle. Every week feels different either way.
What do you wish you could change about your job?
In a grass-is-greener type of way, I’d love to join a single team full-time and perhaps even move somewhere long-term. Other than that, my work is pretty sweet! Probably because of the way that I get to do it.
Where do you see your section of the web development/design/etc industry going?
Oh man, the vanilla web (CSS especially) is evolving faster than I can keep up with. I see us scaling back on the use of frameworks, which’ll hopefully make web development easier and the web itself more performant.
What technology and/or skill do you wish you learned before you entered the industry?
Back in college I wish I had leaned into the art side of my Art & Design course more, but somewhere in the multiverse there’s definitely a version of me that’s a game developer.
What are you looking to learn or what skill are you looking to build next?
For a project that I plan to work on, text-to-audio transcription and web playback. I don’t think I’ve used the Web Audio API before, so that should be fun. But if time permits maybe I’ll just go wild and throw myself into building a game. Wouldn’t that be something?
What questions should I have asked that I didn’t?
When I interview people, I always start with “Tell me about your favorite thing.” It’s fun, it gets people hyped up, and their ‘thing’ typically defines them so profoundly, and provides some really great context for the other answers.
For me it’s gaming. When traveling, I always joke that ‘light packing’ for me means my Xbox and a spare pair of socks. Games are creative and technical — they’re essentially software, so my interest in them is right up there with websites and apps. The gaming community is massive (on Bluesky it’s even pretty welcoming), and that helps me to feel connected while on the road. I could talk for days about my favorite games.
What would you tell someone to do who’s looking to get into the industry? How should they best prepare themselves?
Prioritize learning the fundamentals (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) as well as soft skills that’d make you an asset in a product team, such as how to collaborate with product designers/UX designers and how to align yourself with business goals. And build/ship products. A lot of them!
Anything else you’d like to tell future designers, developers and web people?
If you end up in game development, please ship GTA 7 while I’m still alive!
Is there a link you’d like to promote and/or a way people can get in contact with you to ask questions etc?
https://dxnny.fun
https://bsky.app/profile/dxnny.fun
https://twitter.com/dxnnydotfun
Or some of the places where I write a lot?
https://css-tricks.com/author/danielschwarz
https://blog.logrocket.com/author/danielschwarz
Last Question: If you had to be a zombie and you had to eat someone’s brains, whose would it be and why?
If I get to absorb their knowledge, I’d eat my wife’s brain so I can see what she really thinks of me! If not then I’m probably going for revenge, in which case the TV execs that cancelled Ugly Betty.