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I’m leaving Carsonified

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I think most of you have heard the news by now: I’m leaving Carsonified and going solo. Before I go any further, thanks so much for all of your encouraging emails, comments, and Twitter messages that came through after the official announcement.

It’s a move that has / will come as a huge surprise to most people, and some of you may be rather puzzled: Carsonified is so well known in the industry, it might seem like a strange move to leave so soon and risk stepping out of the spotlight that hovers around the company’s movements. Well, yes, it is a risk, but one I think is worth taking. I won’t actually be leaving the company until Friday 18th April, but I thought it was best to give Ryan and Gill as long a notice period as possible because they have a baby on the way. My last day also happens to be the final day of FOWD London, so I’m hoping many of you will be able to join me for the biggest leaving party I’ll probably ever have! Woo hoo!

But why?

There are a variety of reasons why I made the decision, and I’m not going to go into them all here, but a large part of it comes down to timing. I’m now doing lots of writing work (primarily for .net / Practical Web Design magazine) and a book is also on the horizon, but all that writing in my spare time (i.e: evenings and weekends) doesn’t equate to much fun, so it’s time to make it a staple part of my ‘daytime’ work. Also, it’s just the right time to go and do my own thing… to experience the freedom of being my own boss… to do things my way… to take five hour luncbreaks. ;)

One of the other time-related reasons is to do with traveling. My girlfriend is off to the far east for a couple of months from the end of April, and I decided it would be the perfect opportunity for me to have a little adventure of my own…

… so I’m moving to Trondheim, Norway

Well, why do things by halves, eh? ;) One of my closest friends lives there and is in the process of creating an independent record label, for which I’ll be handling all design duties. He’s working with members of Jaga Jazzist (one of Norway’s biggest bands) so it should be something quite special. Trondheim is also a beautiful place and full of very friendly people ( I was there last summer), so it’ll be a great temporary home, and after all, I only need my laptop and an internet connection! I’ll be in Norway from the first week of May and will return to England in the first week of July.

The future

I want to make it clear that I have no plans to start my own giant design agency. I have no desire to employ people and I certainly don’t want to end up just doing management: I am a do-er, and I’d go mad if I stopped doing design on a daily basis. Financially, I’d probably be better off if I ended up doing nothing more than overseeing the company, but that’s not my style. I’m going to be fashioning my business in the mould of friends and peers like Andy, Snook, Drew, Shaun, Jon, Bryan, Dan, etc.

That’s not to say that I’d rule out the possibility of working for another company as an employee again. Who knows? It depends what I’m doing, where I’m doing it, and if the opportunity is right. Although I’ve freelanced on the side for years, I’ve never done it full time, so I’m prepared to accept that it may not be the thing for me. Tax return, for instance, is something that terrifies me. One thing’s for sure: I’ll be blogging about it here, so you can all be kept up to date with my tedious endeavors. ;) Oh, and this site will be changing dramatically in the coming months. More on that soon!

I’d like to thank Ryan and my fellow Carsonites for having me. I’m really proud of the work we’ve done together and I hope that we might collaborate again in the future.

One last thing

The place where I was going to stay in Trondheim has fallen through, so if anyone lives there – or has friends who do – please email me! “Will design for food.”