2011 – A Year in Review
2011 was a year of change for me. It simultaneously marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter in my life and the closing of another. It’s been a busy and exhausting year, but one that has been equally rewarding. Inspired by the musings from three of my colleagues I thought I would present my year in review:
Joining the lab
After three years of study I graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of New Media Arts at the end of December 2010. While studying I had heard of the great work being done by Icelab, a design and development studio (incidentally just down the road from the campus), and hoped to one day join their then three-man team. I was absolutely stoked to do just that in January.
Icelab really is an incredible place to work. Over the past twelve months I’ve learned so much from Michael, Max, Tim and Hugh about how to be a better designer, developer, communicator, thinker, and human being.
In this industry it’s so easy to produce and settle for average work. We see it everywhere. I’m so thrilled that my first foray into the working world is with a group of talented innovators who are exploring and embracing cutting edge web technologies and constantly thinking and rethinking the hows and whys of what they do best.
It’s been a great experience being part of a team that has produced some really inspiring work this year. On a personal level, I’m particularly proud of the responsive build for the Corner Hotel website, my contribution to the mammoth ticketing project we launched in November.
Outside of the office, I travelled to Melbourne in September for the inaugural Swipe Conference (a conference about all aspects of the blossoming world of iOS) where Max spoke. In October I attended Web Directions South in Sydney where Michael and Tim spoke. Icelab was also nominated for the McFarlane Prize for our Flemington on Cup Day interactive.
I also honed my skills as a budding background actor when Icelab received some press for our adoption of the four-day working week.
A red carpet in London
This year marked the release of the final Harry Potter movie and, for me, the end of a crazy adventure that began back in high school. Harry Potter Fan Zone is a website that I started as a thirteen-year-old schoolboy for a bit of fun and something productive to do over the long summer break.
Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of attending and interviewing cast and crew at movie premieres in New York, Los Angeles and London and twice visiting Leavesden Studios to tour the then-working film set where the eight Potter films were shot. Word of the site also reached the desk of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling which was a mind-blowing moment.
In July I headed to London for the world premiere of the final film. It was a bittersweet event, but something that I’ll remember for a long time. Aside from the festivities, I had the chance to do some fantastic sightseeing in the UK and France. (I also squeezed in a bit of press back home.)
In November I participated in a media day for the opening of Harry Potter: The Exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
I was lucky enough to catch up with James and Oliver Phelps, better known as Fred and George Weasley to fans of the series (or those-two-redhead-twins for those who aren’t).
After eight Harry Potter films and eight years steering this little boat through unknown waters, I collected all my various mementos from these events and boxed them up for children and grandchildren to see one day.
On the side
Outside of work I’ve been trying to keep busy. I began an intensive exercise regime this year: a gruelling evening session at the gym after work and running every other day. It made for some very long days which were both physically and mentally exhausting, but it was a great way to unwind and refresh the brain each day.
Much of this year was also devoted to learning new skills: I put the piano aside and began learning the acoustic guitar. A couple of months ago I became the proud owner of a Fender Precision Bass (mainly inspired by a desire to blast out these two riffs) and I’m currently in the process of getting my head around four strings instead of six.
Finally, in November I participated in the first CSIRO Tweetup (along with Michael). The two-day event coincided with the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory. Although it poured with rain (which made telescope viewing a tad difficult) it was a really fun and educational experience which ended with a successful rocket launch (always exciting).
Epilogue: 2012
I’m looking forward to getting back to the lab and continuing to become a better web person. I want to: read more books, watch more movies, become a rockstar, travel, not die and, most of all, enjoy and embrace whatever life throws my way.