mesonprojekt Turns 2

Posted: 25 January 2010

Is it that time already? The year flies by so fast, it scares me sometimes. So happy birthday to my dear mesonprojekt! This second year has been very eventful, and I'm pretty pleased with the way things turned out.
I will remember 2009 as the year I decided that I was going to make websites for a living. The year I created my most cherished work to date. The year I established myself professionally, and was recognized for it. Sigh! Good times. I would like to rewind to the beginning of last year, and briefly review the year that was 2009.

The Plan

It was January. I had only a few months left to graduate, so I had already begun planning for life after college. The plan was to transform my old site into something killer, and have it up and running by August, so that I could request some work. Because I didn't have any portfolio to show, the only real convincing I could give potential clients would be my personal site itself. Research began in earnest: I needed inspiration. That was the time I discovered my heroes: Jason Santa Maria, Nick La, Dan Cederholm et al. Their personal sites were masterpieces.

I really connected with the retro/grunge/collage/worn style making the rounds of the Web at the time. I loved the textures, the doodles, the wood and paper: the way everything mixes together like sugar in hot tea. How real-world everything looked, just like a photo.

With ideas flooding my brain, I spared no pains. I worked on mesonprojekt for nearly 3 whole months: after my graduation from June to August. Everything had to be perfect, so days were spent redoing things I wasn't entirely happy with. I think I was pretty pleased with the end-result. The site was quietly re-launched at midnight on 17 August 2009.

 

Things Start Moving

One week passed by uneventfully. Then, I was featured for the first time in a CSS/design gallery (Design Expanse) during the same month. I got featured in about 5 galleries that week. In the weeks that followed, the 5 turned to 10, then 20, then 40. I've lost count of how many galleries feature mesonprojekt today.

In what was perhaps the most important achievement of the year for mesonprojekt, it was first nominated, and then voted as winner of the UniqueCSS design honor for the month of September, in a multi-national showdown of creative might.

More accolades beckoned in the months to follow. I was featured three times on Smashing Magazine between November 2009 and January 2010, which I took as a sign from heaven about my career and future. Projects began to flood in: I was so full up I had to turn a couple of them down. Some I have finished, some I am still working on. I took up a job as web developer at AIIG, where I do 9-5. My Google PR jumped from N/A to 4 in January this year. I even collaborated with Moving Pixel, Canada for a ski chalet project.

 

The Year Ahead

In retrospect, 2009 - the second year of mesonprojekt, broke all my expectations. I have nothing but high hopes for 2010. So cheers to mesonprojekt! Oh yeah, happy birthday two!

Announcement: As part of the celebrations, I will be making a minor re-alignment of the site during the coming week, mainly to the portfolio. It's time to take out the trash. Stay tuned.

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