Some updates

I haven’t posted for a while, I know… I have many projects going on at the same time, that’s why… Besides it’s Carnaval here in Brazil and although I don’t go dancing or anything, my sister came here and I’ spending some time with her. She just got engaged (yay!!!) and she came with her fiance. We had a nice dinner together yesterday, watched American Idol and talked.

I have other news too: I’m starting my very first commercial project this week (the 2 projects mentionsed in this entry have been postponed). I will design and code it myself. It’s a simple project, I will not make much money, but it’s definitely a milestone for me. I still have so much to learn, but I probalby won’t be coding every project myself. Instead I will concentrate on designing and and when more complex projects come along I will work with a programmer. I can’t really do everything on my own: sell new projects, take care of the business as a whole, design, code, manage, write documentation. It’s too much. I can handle simple projects. But if I was to be 100% responsible for complex projects, I’d also have to apply some serious time learning php, which I can’t really do right now if I want to sell more projects. My main background and expertise is in web project management and, more recently, designing. This means I am really good at writing documentation, on budgeting, on setting deadlines and making sure everything happens on time, on leading staff, dealing with clients, organizing chaos, defining strategies, setting priorities, understanding and keeping up to date with all technologies, analyzing the project as a whole – design, coding, programming, information architecture, usability, navigation, marketing strategies, media planning, brand-design adequacy, etc, etc, etc… It’s a multidisciplinary work, but it’s management. You don’t actually get to code or design, you lead the team that does these things. I did – however – become a designer nonetheless. This came from personal practice, studying and also from the interaction with professional designers. I feel confident in designing these projects: I think I manage better than I design and I certainly design better than I code – or program for that matter. So I will focus on what I do best and outsource the rest. This will allow me to concentrate on the business, which is, by the way, the priority.

I’m just thinking out loud here, I guess… But anyway, these are the news.