Of all the visuals on this site—this has to be my favorite, simply for the reason that it captures the essence of life. We can plan—we certainly improvise, but life ends up being somewhere in the middle.
Today is my last day with Digitas. I planned on staying here longer than a year and eight months—but as the saying goes, "life happens". I have an incredible opportunity ahead of me which I have recently accepted from Critical Mass, an agency based out of Calgary Canada (I will be working out of the Chicago office). Critical Mass has deep roots in user-centered design and excels at architecting the consumer experience across multiple touch points:
I'm thrilled to be joining Critical Mass who continues to be a leader in the space—earning praise and high marks from organizations such as Forrester. I'll be joining Critical Mass in a relatively new role (VP, Experience Design) and could not be more pleased with this, as it is a perfect fit for my background and the way I approach the work. The new position will also allow me to continue developing thought leadership and all of the stuff you've come to expect here.
You've probably got some questions—so I thought it would be best to treat the rest of this post in an FAQ style fashion. But before I do, let me just say that I've had the rare pleasure to work alongside some of the most talented people at Digitas in all capacities. Together we've launched several initiatives under tight deadlines and we've delivered innovative solutions through prototyping concepts and pushing the execution of our ideas. Thank you everyone at Digitas for the experience. And a special thank you to Executive Creative Director Mark Beeching, who accidentally stumbled upon this blog in the early days and embraced it immediately (I never told Digitas about it—I just launched it) . Mark, I won't forget your support. :-)
OK, on to the "FAQ's"
Why am I leaving?
Simply put, Critical Mass presents a unique opportunity to grow in areas that I am truly passionate about (multi-channel consumer experiences). I've had many discussions with the people there, and we posses a shared vision. This opportunity is a perfect fit for me.
How will this affect Logic + Emotion?
It shouldn't. This is still my personal blog, I'll just have a different employer. Theoritically it could get even better as I'll be tapped more often in the thought leadership area. The topics discussed here will probably be pretty much the same. Of course posting could get lighter while I adjust to the new role—but we'll see...
When do I start?
I start on May 30th. And Yes, I'm taking some much needed time off. A little over a week. Not a huge amount of time, but it will be enough to slow down, take a breath and bond with the family. I'll be doing a lot of that. This move comes at a good time as I've been working at a pretty fast pace between Digitas and this blog. So I'm looking forward to a break!
Will I become an honorary citizen of Canada?
If Canada will have me. Over my break, I will be renting large quantities of Hockey DVD's and audiobooks. I plan to know all about Hockey before I begin on my first day. If anyone knows about Hockey, please send me an e-mail directing me to some good resources. ;-)
So as you can tell, I'm very excited and even a bit nervous. This past year has produced amazing professional (and personal) growth for me. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Life—with all of it's planning and improvisation, goes on...
