three posts in a year

Christ that's poor isn't it? There was me thinking the new job would allow me more time for personal things like keeping a blog and, erm, having a life.
To be honest I am getting there, sort of. The Intel gig is certainly healthier and I'm working a regular 8 hour day rather than the all day, everyday pattern I had got into this last few years.
The new role is very challenging, a different type of challenge than previously. It's also really exciting to be making something 'real' again. I had forgotten about how good it is to work with developers, especially those that are enthusiastic and want to push the boundaries a bit like the guys from the old openedhand team. I had become quite removed from side of the process.
I also feel that I have a little bit more time now, after years of working in a 'shit or bust' mode of consultancy work where it seemed to be full on all the time, it's a different world to have the opportunity (luxury) to work on different iterations of the same design. It's good to have the time to be concerned about the detail, to hold off until something is finished or just right. But most of all it's good to have time to take pride in my work. I think during the pressures of work over the last few year I stopped being proud of what I was doing, I wanted to be proud, I wanted to do the best work I could. I just felt burned out by the constant pressure of tight deadlines and also the demands I put on myself.
I feel like I've got past that now, having the time to think, breath and take a step back has made me feel a lot more human again.
I'm taking a few baby steps back to humanity!
So to sum up it's going well...I've even opened blogger again...

New horizons

has it really been nearly 6 months since I last posted here? Oh dear...
To be honest this year has been pretty insane, non-stop work and lots of exhaustion. Hopefully that's all going to change in the next few months as I'm just about to move on for a new opportunity.

I've really enjoyed my time at Fjord, although it's been crazy and non-stop work, it's pushed me harder than any other role I've taken on. it's completely changed my portfolio of work, giving me exposure to lots of very interesting projects for the BBC, Orange and Nokia. All of them have challenged me in new ways. It's also left me more confident in my abilities as a visual designer and even as an interactive designer.
Even though the new role is going to be amazing, it's really a sad feeling to be leaving Fjord. The company has changed so much in the last 18 months it's an extremely exciting place right now. Last year Chris Liu took over as MD and has revolutionized the London office. I really owe him a lot. He's been a real inspiration and great to work for.
As I said I'm sad to be leaving as I think they are on the verge of something massive. Still I guess it's good to be leaving somewhere a little sad, knowing you have made a bit of a difference to the direction the company is going while heading onto something new and exciting rather than trying to avoid the door slamming on the way out.
I'll blog about the new job when I have more details to share.