Contemplations
2023 has been a year of two halves. I was an employee in the first six months and a freelancer in the latter half.
I am looking for new freelance project gigs in early 2024, so contact me if you’ve got something cooking. I would love to chat.
The goal was to publish 24 posts this year, but I am ending the year with 20 posts, which isn’t too far from the mark.
I also changed the format of the blog mid-year to what you are reading now – Contemplations & Consumptions. This new format allows me to review and share interesting content I’ve consumed recently.
I was also able to finally break free from a creative rut that lasted for a few years, allowing me to pitch, develop, and launch a public creative project. See past projects here.
Some key 2023 highlights:
- Neeto feature
I worked on several products as a user researcher at Satchel. One of the last products I worked on was a spin-off product called Neeto. This is a free educational quiz-creation tool.
The tool came out early in 2022 and was worked on by a small team. I collaborated on every feature on Neeto until the time I left the company. There was, however, one Neeto feature released this year which I had almost total ownership over – from conception to launch.
One of the biggest user pain points for non-Satchel teachers who used Neeto was that they couldn’t export their Neeto quizzes to either Google Forms or MS Forms. This meant we were failing to retain many of these users.
We couldn’t do much for them because Google and Microsoft didn’t provide an API integration that would enable seamless transfer of quizzes from Neeto to these products.
I spent a year monitoring Google and Microsoft Forms feature development for any relevant news of API releases. Early this year, I discovered that Microsoft had released an import Word/PDF quiz feature for MS Forms. This was the workaround we needed without an MS Forms API integration feature.
We already enabled users to export their Neeto quizzes as worksheets (Word or PDF). I tested this workflow and then got some power users to prototype the workflow based on my emailed instructions. They managed to do it but provided some feedback on ways to improve the workflow.
I pitched the Neeto product manager based on user feedback insights and made some recommendations on how we could implement this feature. He agreed with the insights and recommendations, and the final release was almost identical to my original vision and recommendation.
I even fleshed out my original prototype email instructions into the public instructional content on the Neeto help pages.
- Black Design Guild Retreat
Attending the Black Design Guild retreat in June was the biggest catalyst for what occurred in the second half of 2023. I was made redundant a week after I came back from this three-day retreat, but the connections I made at the retreat and the ideas I generated were impactful. You can read more about the retreat here.
- Black Lionesses Bookmark Project
One of the ideas I generated at the Black Design Guild retreat was for a Black History Month bookmark project. I would later pivot my original design idea to the Black Lionesses concept to align with the 2023 Black History Month theme – celebrating/saluting our sisters.
I collaborated with Kent Libraries, and 4900 Black Lionesses bookmarks were designed and distributed across its 99 libraries. I also created a customised bookmark version for Knowsley Town Council. Kerry Davies, the first Black female to play for the England national team, contacted me to provide positive feedback about the bookmarks. Read more about the project here.
- Nuffield Foundation Project
The second benefit of attending the Black Design Guild retreat was the connection I made with the organisers (Tayo Medupin and Amelia Woods). I approached them after I was made redundant to get their advice about freelancing, given their expertise in the area. They encouraged me to take the plunge and invited me to collaborate with them on a pitch for a freelance project, which we won.
I got to work with both of them on an “engaging Black researchers” project for the Nuffield Foundation. It was a fun project, and the Foundation was pleased with the final output, as were the Black researchers who participated in the focus groups.
Consumptions
A list of my favourite consumptions in 2023.
📺 (Movies)
- The Killer (2023)
- Cocaine Bear (2023)
- The Blackening (2022)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
- The Creator (2023)
- Leave the World Behind (2023)
- The Menu (2022)
- The Big Short (2015)
- They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
- Wendell & Wild (2022)
📺 (TV shows)
📚 (Books)
- How to Know a Person by David Brooks
- The Practice by Seth Godin
- The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
- Excellent Advice for Living by Kevin Kelly
- Smart Brevity by Jim Vandehei, Mike Allen & Roy Schwartz
- Game of Edges by Bruce Schoenfeld
- Psychology of Money by Morgan Hounsel
- Seeing What Others Don’t See by Gary Klein
- Fall in Love with the Problem not the Solution by Uri Levine
- Look: How to Pay Attention in a Distracted World by Christian Madsbjerg
🎧 (Podcasts)
Football
Business/Technology
Thanks a lot for reading my posts this year and I wish you a great Christmas break. See you in 2024!
