Max Bock

We speak to an Austrian front-end developer and designer whos recently been experimenting with CSS Grid to unlock the future of web design.

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Vienna-based front-end developer and digital designer Max Böck (mxb.at) has been building stuff on the web for the past 10 years, firstly as a freelancer and more recently as one third of Simple loop (simpleloop.com), a studio he set up with a couple of colleagues at the start of the year. He’s worked on apps and sites for clients of all sizes across various industries and recently he’s been experimenting with CSS Grid to find new ways of making web layouts. We spoke to him to find out more.

Your original qualification was in music. What drew you to web development?

Yeah, I graduated from high school with a focus on music. I did a lot of gig posters, band logos and other design work for the local music scene back then and I loved it. After a while I started learning how to make simple websites and became fascinated with the web as a global creative medium.

Wanting to be a designer, I moved to Vienna in 2009 to properly study web design and development. Over time, I gradually became more interested in coding and all the technical aspects as well – that’s what got me started.

How did life as a freelance developer treat you?

I founded my freelancing business straight after college. In the first few years, I tried hard to find work and build a portfolio, so I did a lot of websites for small businesses and startups. I remember taking on many challenges I did not feel ready for at the time, as sort of a learning-by-doing strategy.

After a while I had built up a reputation and got hired by bigger agencies and clients. Freelancing hasn’t always been easy but carrying a project all the way from first contact to launch has definitely taught me a lot of valuable skills. Plus I love the freedom and flexibility that comes with it.