[ image courtesy ]

Week 15 and playing catchup.

Work at Profero continues apace, working on a mix of stuff, including Change4Life, prepping a global strategy workshop for a big FMCG brand, and some brand planning work for a large global financial services new launch. Lots of different stuff, variety is good.

I mentioned before how much I’m enjoying working with a really mixed bunch of people with different skills, and how much I’m learning from working alongside UX designers, creatives, developers, search specialists, media planner/buyers, account managers, producers etc. And in fact the last two are particularly interesting from a very practical point of view – at both PHD and Naked although my role was as a planner/strategist, by the same token we also managed client relationships, ran our respective pieces of business, managed projects we were working on etc. I’ve not worked in teams with account managers and / or project managers & producers, and I have to say it’s a really awesome change! I’m able to spend my time planning, and whilst I work really closely with them, it’s absolutely fantastic to not have to juggle several different roles, and to focus on the bit I really enjoy (and what ultimately my job is supposed to be about). It still feels like quite a luxury to be able to be ‘just’ a planner and not have to worry about writing a scope of work or going through an hours analysis reconciliation to discuss a fee negotiation with a client. I’m really glad I’ve got some experience of partially wearing these different hats, but the one I really want to wear is the planning & strategy hat, so I feel pretty spoiled at the moment!

Another very valued member of the team at Profero is Kahlua, Head Reptile (his official agency headshot, done in the house style):

Yep, he’s the office gecko. He lives in a tank in the office and mostly spends his days sleeping, occasionally grabbing one of the locusts wandering around his tank when he decides it’s dinner time. He does come out for the occasional mooch around the desks and is very friendly. He’s shedding at the moment and got his brand new season’s outfit on:

His last creative brief was so-so, but we’ll bring it up in his next appraisal.

Profero work is Mon-Thu and Fridays are my ‘other stuff’ day, which recently has been more work with the Rattle guys on Southwold, and also a spot of comms strategy for James Wallis’ new company Hypergame, for their v exciting new game that’s in development. All good stuff. Been thinking about future stuff for Jan onwards as well, got some bits hopefully lined up and some most excellent plotting and plan-hatching with the brilliant Thayer Prime, which should all be v. interesting…

So, been busy, but a good busy – feeling stimulated and inspired by the work I’m doing, but also getting a healthy balance and enjoying a life outside work. Which was one of the aims of going freelance, to be able to strike a better balance – and so far, so good.

Since my last weeknote, I attended the really fantastic 2Screen, which explored the wonderful stuff that happens when you mash up telly and the web, featuring Matt Locke talking about Attention Shapes, Margaret Robertson talking about designing for attention, Tim Morgan & Utku Can in a face-off over Picklive & LivePitch and Kevin Slavin introducing Starling.tv. A thoroughly excellent evening, and the fact that the ticket purchases raised £2,540 for Pakistan Flood relief was icing on the cake. Last week I also went to The Future of Mobile at the RSA – usually the RSA events are really good brain-fodder, but this one was a (fortunately rare) real disappointment, being mediocre at best. Simon Kendrick’s written up his thoughts on the evening – I’d say his account was much more useful than the hour or so spent at the RSA!

In other news, it was my birthday, and Simon got me some terrific books he knew I wanted – I’ve had Edward Tufte’s Envisioning Information and Bill Moggridge’s Designing Interactions on my ‘must-read’ list for ages. And I’m hoping that Nancy Duarte’s Slide:ology will help me continue to wage the war against bad Powerpoint & Keynote.

We also saw A Town Called Panic which is the most insanely bonkers crazynuts film I’ve ever seen. I totally bloody loved it. I slightly worry that I might have hallucinated it, but even if I did, it was awesome.

Looking forwards, the fantastic chaps at Pipeline, including my old Naked mucker Dan Burgess, have organised Good for Nothing, a fantastic idea which I’d urge you to support if you can:

We wondered what if there was an event which invited people to do stuff together?

With people who really need some help with live challenges.

And don’t have money.

It’s called good for nothing.

One day.

Some awesome causes.

An open space in EC1.

And hopefully a room full of lovely people.

Doing stuff.

Together.

For nothing.

3 live briefs.

They include running, kids, urban gardening, city business, elderly people, christmas, football and more.

8 hours.

We shall be posting the briefs and more details shortly.

Right now we’re looking for people to attend.

We need strategists, developers, designers, creative sorts, hackers, photographers, writers, film makers, bloggers, getting stuff done folk and that’s just for starters – basically anyone that wants to get stuck in is welcome.

We’ll feed and water everyone.

There’ll be music

And laughter.

Maybe some dancing

You can register here

Hoping lots of you smart folks decide to join in too.