It's been a while since my last blog and a lot has happened! I've moved across the country from New York City to San Francisco for a position as a Designer at Adaptive Path. At AP I will work as a design consultant for industries such as healthcare, finance, and hospitality. The great thing about working in a consulting firm is the exposure to many different industries - you learn something new about the world on each project :)
Between leaving NYC and moving to SF I went home to Toronto for Christmas and vacationed in Turkey.
After new years I went to Turkey and spent a few days in Istanbul before travelling south to the Aegean Sea. Istanbul is a city of complexity, beauty and change. The history is incredible and it's a place where East meets West.
I learned a lot about the local culture and what most surprised me was the women's role in society. I noticed this the most when traveling outside Istanbul, I stuck out because women are not usually outside alone and mostly men were out after dark. Women tend to stay at home and have traditional roles within the home. This was fascinating and often made me wonder what it might be like to grow up in such a society. The younger generation of women are leaving home to pursue higher education and move to larger cities, you could say they are Westernizing.
One other adventure I had while on the Mediterranean was Paragliding! My pilot and I ran off the mountain side and soared for 20 minutes up around the mountainside and the beach! It was spectacular :D
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Upon returning from Turkey, I attended my first IxD Conference (interaction design) in Toronto - I'd like to thank Adaptive Path for sending me! It was a delight to get together with the design community and hear the latest thoughts in the industry. The theme of this year's conference was Social Change and there were many presentations about the impact of interaction designers on society, the internet of things, data visualization, and ethics related to how design effects human behaviour. I think attending the conference was a great introduction and a kick off to my new role in San Francisco. Nearly 50% of the people I met are designers in the Bay Area! I guess that's where it's all happening!
A few days after that I moved to SF and started my new job! Moving made me realize how much I have collected over the last few years, most of the things I own are from travel adventures or are pretty and well designed items. These things I have are inspiring, hold fond memories and remind me of who I am and my values.
I'm really excited for my new position at AP, I will be doing a mix of design research, strategy, interaction and service design. Life is pretty exciting - new job, new city, new coast, new friends, so delightful~ :)