Today begins my last full week as an Experience Architect at Organic and the only word I can think of to describe how I feel is bittersweet.
As blessed as I have been with great jobs in my life, this has been the best one yet. In fact, let me count the ways:
- Sandy Cumming was my boss, and to say she was a great mentor is the understatement of the year. She coached me when I needed it, and left me to figure it out the rest of the time, which is my management sweet spot.
- I met my UX BFF’s in Alice Coleman, Rebecca Carter, Maureen Honore, and Casey Riggleman. Not seeing their faces everyday is going to be the hardest part of leaving Organic.
- The Organic Creative team is the most talented bunch of folks I’ve ever met–and not just in regards to the work we do. They are illustrators and filmmakers, singers and font makers, musicians and actors… and damn good at it, too.
- I was able to progressively increase my responsibility over the 15 months I’ve been here… from IA to usability testing, content strategy to interaction design. Every project grew my understanding of the UX practice and how best to deliver digital experiences that people love to use.
The only saving grace is that this goodbye gives way to a new hello. I’ll be joining the team at Empirical User Experience Design & Research in Portland, Oregon as a User Experience Designer in September. Perhaps by then my tears will have dried and I’ll be ready to make some new friends.
