Noob Mistakes, Still a Pain in The Arse

Back in 2002 I started working on small websites for local musicians. My work was amateurish and I have no shame in saying so. Although there was one thing that stood out about those first few websites. They were my most creatively freeing projects since I started designing websites.

3 years later I founded 1M Media and focused on working with associations and start-ups to develop and maintain their online presence.

At some point, I downloaded the wrong piece of freeware and found my computer out of order. In a rush to get it up amd running as soon as possible, I wiped the drives. Completely. Only after install my needed software and setting my email up did I realize what I had done.

3 years of design, code, and miscellaneous notes were deleted. Actually worse than deleted. You see, those early sites were no longer live. Artists stopped making music or never renewed their hosting accounts, the start ups folded and didn’t hold on to any of the source files I delivered to them.

Some of the sites were flash and others were poorly marketed and linked to and didn’t get sufficiently index by the Way Back Machine. They were gone, wiped from the surface of the earth.

Now in 2008 with much of my work being front-end development and working for conservative clients needing problem solving solutions more than they needed graphicly-intense presentations, I find myself in a bind.

What does every employer, potential customer and client want to see from a designer? A portfolio. And here I am with barely anything to represent the first 3 years of my career.

It’s fustrating, at times, because a potential customer will want to see portfolio and that alone will make or beak the deal. In the end, I opted to rebrand and launch 1M Creative and Bunnyux to emphasise my creative side. Still leaning towards the business to business market though, as it was the most I could do without alienating my current client and customer base.

My point? I have none. I just wanted express out loud my fustration. But there’s a lesson learned. I back up files every month and if it’s a big project files are collocated in 3 locations minimum. Online, work computer, and a back drive.

I got a nice healthy dose of paranoia now. Thanks freeware!