Hi! Mariano here. You are reading a document outlining my front-end consulting services. It will give you an idea of what I'm about, how I work and what you're in for. No part of this document is set in stone. It's based on the lessons of my past experiences, and it will continue to transform with future ones.
If you or anyone you know might be in need of some front-end development, email me at mariano@mariano.io. Thanks!
Who I work with
My clients are usually startups, agencies and designers who already have finished or nearly-finished designs for a website or application, and need them coded into HTML/CSS/JS or a fully working WordPress website. I also provide code audits & front-end architecture consulting for product teams and companies.
Need an entire creative team?
I'm proud to be part of a tiny design collective called WEIRDO, where we help unique product companies find their market and their brand. So if you're also looking for user experience, illustration, branding, copywriting and/or back-end skills, from people who have worked for the likes of MIT, HubSpot, Amazon, Fidelity Investments and more, this is the place to go.
What I do
My role falls somewhere in between design and engineering:
I have a solid understanding of User Experience and best practices, but I don’t spend my time wireframing or conducting research.
I have a decent eye for design, but for the most part, I leave the color schemes, font pairings, branding and illustration work to other designers. I will however let you know if any part of your design is not accessible or particularly bad for performance.
I can write Javascript, but I don’t usually spend my time writing application-level code or wiring up middleware.
I understand the importance of back-end development, but with the exception of WordPress websites, I don’t spend my time writing any back-end logic.
I’m very good at building solid front-end architectures and giving a crap about your users. I aim to build experiences that are consistent across all types of devices, with a strong focus on scalability, performance and accessibility. If you want specifics, I’m all about:
Pattern libraries & design systems.
Front-end architecture.
Large-scale SASS/CSS.
Code audits & CSS refactoring.
Progressive enhancement.
Front-end automation & testing.
Web performance.
Accessibility.
Most importantly, I treat every project as if it was my own, bringing a strong work ethic to everything I do and putting a strong emphasis on great communication.
What we will do
First, we talk. Send me an email at mariano@mariano.io with some details about your project. My favorite introduction is"Hey Mariano, we have a budget of X for X. What could you do in that budget?”.
Next, we will find out more. I’ll send you a questionnaire covering multiple aspects of our potential engagement. We’ll schedule a meeting to discuss your answers and define our goals for the project.
If we are a good fit, I will price the project and set a schedule, you’ll sign my contract of works and pay the initial deposit, and then I’ll get to work.
How I charge
It has been my experience that beginning a project based on a very detailed spec(or RFP) is the surest path to mutual disappointment. The trouble is that, in the digital world, great strategies are constantly in development. This makes it impossible to predict up front exactly how I’ll spend my time. Eventually, things outside the initial scope will bubble to the top as we work together; they’re certainly not there before you’ve even chosen who to work with. If we tried to predict them at the outset, we'd both just be hoping we were right. And hope isn't a great strategy.
I will work with you in an iterative fashion to deliver the best final product I can. As a result, I schedule projects over several week-long‘sprints’ and charge a flat rate fee per week. I ask for one week’s fee in advance on signing and then one week paid before each sprint begins.
This process has proven to be very effective for delivering high quality work within time and budget, while keeping a good amount of flexibility. If you change your mind about something or introduce a new feature(which the development process should allow you to do) it doesn’t cause a problem. You’ll know that those changes can be rolled into a future week and you’ll know the costs associated with that, so you will be able to make an informed business decision about whether or not to proceed with it. Everything is transparent, everybody knows where they stand and everybody is better off.
Who I work with
What I do
What we will do
How I charge
Selected Client List