snook

Jonathan Snook is a designer and a developer by trade, and a community contributor by way of his writing. He regularly writes about tips, tricks, and bookmarks on his blog at Snook.ca. Lately, he’s put his focus on the line between designer and developer, working on design implementation. “Maybe Design Steward would be a good title,” said Snook. “I implement and manage design systems to ensure consistency and clarity in product design.”

We caught with Jonathan to learn more about him and what to expect at his upcoming Web Unleashed session, The Future is in Pieces.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

I like solving problems. Whether I’m developing or designing, I enjoy thinking about how to elegantly get a task done. 

What are you working on lately?

At this very moment, I’m actually transitioning between things and have no idea what I’m working on! Most recently, at Shopify, I’m quite proud of building a team of great front-end developers and shifting the core product to be responsive. The team did a fantastic job.

How do you stay on top of your field?

I read a lot. On Twitter and Facebook, I’ll follow links to articles on all the latest tips and tricks. I also like to do my own personal projects, like a one-person hack day. I’ll build something using a particular framework and see what comes out of it. It’s always a great learning experience. 

Why should people attend your session at Web Unleashed?

I’m sharing my approach to design and development. It’s my current thinking on how we can approach them in a manageable and sane way while also keeping the applications we develop performant and, the best part, keep the user happy.

What’s your fav TV show lately?

This is a hard question! I rarely watch much TV but you caught me at a good time. I just finished the second season of Silicon Valley and it was great. I laughed heartily through it. I’m now in the midst of watching Orphan Black. It takes place in Toronto and so there’s a bit of that Canadian pride. 

You can find Jonathan Snook on Twitter @snookca, on GitHub and on Instagram.