It's been a month of rather intense change for me. The biggest change has been a decision to quit my current full-time job and begin freelancing full-time. This hasn't been an easy decision for me—as you might imagine—with the job market being pretty poor and a lot of people still out of work. There are a few reasons why I decided to make a move, but I'll only get into a few of them here.

A Rolling Stone…

…gathers no moss, or so they say. It became abundantly clear to me, especially over the past 9–12 months, that I wasn't growing. I felt like my skillset was stagnating, and I could read articles and self-educate all I wanted, but the types of projects that I wanted to work on just weren't coming in. I wanted to work on a project that would challenge me and really push the limits of what I felt comfortable doing creatively. I wanted to think big and I wanted to get crazy. None of these things would happen at my previous job.

Some designers, especially these days, take this opportunity to create their own projects. This is great, and some amazing stuff has come of these kinds of ventures. For me, at this point in my life, I find the external stimulus far more motivating than self-defined projects. I'm not great at defining constraints for myself, so I find client work more rewarding.

One More Time, With More Focus

Some of the clarity that I've gained over the past 18 months relates to the type of work that I want to do. I realized that at some point, I got away from what I want to be doing. My first passion in design is Branding. The thrill of connecting with people and (positively) impacting their lives through my work is exciting. Branding is one of the things that I do best, but I want to do more of it, in a different way and bigger.

I'm also really excited with Interaction design. I've always loved technology, but I think that we're getting to a point where the technology is starting to disappear. By this, I mean that designers (and engineers, programmers, etc.) are creating systems that people can interact with on a complex level with minimal interference. This dove-tails with wanting to relate to people through my work, as well as engage them in a shared experience. All exciting stuff that I want to do more of.

In Which a Garden Analogy is Used

Even though I've had the pleasure of working with some really great folks over the past nine years, I realize now that I've hoed a pretty narrow row. I have worked primarily in small firms for much of my career, and so the type of work that I've done has been small firm work. That's not to say that there are benefits to the small firm environment. The relationships with clients, the accessibility to your boss, the ability to have some say in the direction of the company; these are all great things. For my immediate future, however, it's not what I want. I want bigger and I want different.

As a freelancer/sole-proprietor, I want to work as part of a large campaign or bring my services to a company that might not be able to use them otherwise. I want to do important work and meet a bunch of different people. All-in-all, I just want to get out there and see what's available to me.

So What Now?

Well, I'm not entirely sure. I suppose that I will more or less figure that out as I go along. What I do know is that I will feel a lot more in-control than I have in a while, and it's exhilarating. Sure, there is the possibility for failure. I know it's a risky move, but part of this move is having enough faith in myself that I can do it.

Of course, if you have any suggestions, words of wisdom or even a project that you might be interested in working with me on, feel free to drop a line. I'd love to chat more.