The way of the firestarter?

3 graphs showing the design process from start of a project to the end
The way of the firestarter’s design process, treat as alpha version 00.2

I was talking with a colleague in London the other week. One of the great thing about working in the same space face to face is being able to noodle together. (I won’t talk about any endless whiteboarding right now).

Anyway one of the things which was mentioned was the design process being messy before it becomes clearer. (Without going into the number of different design methodologies). While they were drawing the multiple iterations, I started to think about how I work.

This is when I started to draw something like the bottom graph and started thinking to what degrees the existing methodologies are incompatible with a collaborative future. I don’t mean just co-designing together but actually building things which people can take forward in a slightly different direction or space.

When I drew it I thought about how I like to starting and proving the worth through research/experiments but also attracting more people into the project to share ideas and thoughts. Ideally there would be other lines which intersect with lines joining and leaving I guess? My old manager use to describe me as a different type of researcher but I can never remember what he called it.

I got a few examples I was describing when drawing. they mainly come from the Perceptive Media space including the Living room of the future and hopefully Adaptive podcasting soon. But even looking at the BBC Backstage era of creating a platform for others to explore above and beyond.

13 years at the BBC and many more to come…?

Stay wild stylised

Linkedin reminded me that its been 13 years since I joined the BBC.

Time has passed by pretty quickly.

I started in BBC WorldService New Media, as a XSL developer, then moved to BBC Backstage 2 and a bit years later. After 4 years, shut it down as it was adsorbed into BBC R&D.

Leaving card from WSNM

I have seen friends & colleagues come and go. Seen 4 director generals, about the same amount of heads of new media/digital/future media/design and engineering; people I once worked with rise through the ranks and people move forward on to do great things.

Ultimately after 13 years, you would have thought why do I stay?

small crop BBC Ariel article

Well its simple as this…

…the work I do is the kind of thing I would want to do and keep on doing. Retirement seems kinda weird to me right now. My life has always been a blur of leisure, pleasure, work and play. Its where I’m most comfortable and I know work life balance is something people talk about a lot but doesn’t bother me so much.

If that was to change, I would certainly consider elsewhere. Its also not one of those things where I’m super comfortable; far from that. I relish the fact my position requires new challenges, every-time. I still break the rules when its logical in my head much to the ignorance of others. But I also set new ground by doing the unthinkable

Podcast group

I still have a hard time explaining what I do in a few sentences and will keep the title senior firestarter, as long as possible. I won’t lie Brexit has made me really think about leaving the country but another public service broadcaster would be ideal.

Here’s to another 13 years? maybe?

Thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way and all the people I have helped in equal measure.