Journal

This is the archive of my Now Page's 2024 Year. Check out the current year for the most updated news.

July 3, 2024

I've great news! I've been hired as a UX/UI web designer at a Belgian web agency in Belgium!!! In our day and age, I'm seeing so many junior designers struggling to get their first job in the industry, I'm really lucky to have found one. I'm also happy because it means my career switch is complete. I did indeed pivot from digital marketing to web design. There were times where I thought about going back to marketing, because I couldn't even land an interview. I'm glad I didn't.

I'm currently taking the W3C web accessibility certification. I think it's incredibly important that accessibility is at the centre of our designs. Everyone should be able to access the web, it shouldn't just be accessible to a few of us.

Thinking about leaving YouTube because I don't have time anymore, but at the same time, I still want to write and publish books. It's a bummer to know that, without social media, my books won't probably sell. So I keep my Instagram, I keep my YouTube, because I know I'll need them at some point. But I don't have time... and I'm a make or break person. It means that if I don't use something, I can't just let it sit. The temptation to delete the account is strong.

Today (yes, that's how thorough I am in telling things, lol), I've recorded a podcast episode for the Rebel Author Podcast. I met the extraordinary Sacha Black through the camera. It was an amazing experience, but also a scary one. Hopefully, it hasn't gone too bad...

May 15, 2024

Current design projects:

• Chess Club's website -> About to present the desktop redesign in a few days for feedback. I'll then tackle the mobile version and the custom CMS for updating content on the website.
• Nursery Finder platform -> Currently in the discovery phase of this new platform, gathering interviews with stakeholders.
• My website -> The purpose is to make my portfolio more attractive and easier to get information from. I'm starting with the homepage, which I'll redesign with my old portfolio pieces. Then I'll add more updated cases.

Current read: Just Enough Research by Erika Hall.

Updates on the books: The Londoners is finally sold in a physical bookshop, I'm over the moon!

April 17, 2024

I feel like I've got too many things I want to do, and not much time to accomplish them. Trying my best to prioritise.

Among the projects I'm working on at the moment is the redesign of a Chess Club's website. They wanted to have a better way to organise their events, so that's what I'm doing. I'll add it to my portfolio when it will be completed.

Currently reading: Just Enough Research by Erika Hall and Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher.

And currently taking the Design Thinking Specialization on Coursera.

April 7, 2024

Current projects:

• Designing a website for a client;
• Finding a product design job;
• Working on improving my existing portfolio;
• Finding out a new product idea;
• Writing the second draft of a book on my experience as a mum.

Latest video released on YouTube: How I got an internship as a UX/UI web designer.

I'm currently reading: Just Enough Research by Erika Hall

And I'm currently taking the Design Thinking Specialization on Coursera.

March 12, 2024

I'm more and more interested in the IndieWeb. It's the idea of owning your own content via a personal blog/website, instead of relying on someone else's platform to host your thoughts. I'm planning on adding a blog space here on this website, and I want to be free of writing in any language I'd want to, without thinking about SEO or anything marketing. I've already made some improvements in terms of accessibility here. I've still a lot of things to do to improve the website's performance and responsitivity.

I've been sick with a strong sinusitis recently. Two weeks in the void. I couldn't do anything except sleep and taking painkillers. Oh, and I watched the first four seasons of Grey's Anatomy... Seriously, what's wrong with those characters after four seasons? They're so boring... But then, the series has never been intended for binge watching, hasn't it?

Two weeks ago I've released a YouTube video in which I say goodbye to AuthorTube. It's a community of authors that are active on YouTube, that's why it's called AuthorTube. I think it was a good decision to make, so I can focus more on design. But a part of me still thinks I made a mistake. We'll see with time what's the outcome. I've got three video scripts ready, but as I was sick I didn't have the opportunity to record them yet. Hope I'll find the energy somewhere soon.

On the author side, nothing much happened. SEO for Authors was free for a week, because I wanted to boost the reviews. We'll see how many I get from the campaign. I've also resumed querying my middle-grade, but it's hard to find agents I haven't queried yet who are opened for queries. I think I've sent two this month...

On the reading side, I received "Generating Product Ideas" by Artiom Dashinsky but I'm currently reading "King of Scars" by Leigh Bardugo. Not a ton of energy to resume reading at this point, because the simple fact of having my eyes opened is a bit painful at this very moment, due to the sinusitis. However, I'm happy to come back to the Grishaverse. Also, if you're familiar with the universe, don't you imagine a young Matt Czuchry as Nikolai Lantsov? To me, he's the best actor for the role, haha.

February 12, 2024

There we are: I've completed my web design internship at Diplo Studio. I'm a bit sad this is over, and even sadder to leave such an amazing team of creatives. Now the job hunting starts, and I do hope to find THE design job of my dreams. I know I still have a long way to go, but I'm more than ready to tackle it.

On the books side, I do hope that in between applications I'll be able to work on the second draft of my next non-fiction book. I'm also continuing to query my middle-grade novel, hoping to get a trad pub contract. However, I already know that if it doesn't work out, I'll end up self-publishing it. I've worked too hard on it not to release it in a way or another.

January 2, 2024

It's actually been a while since I updated this Now page. I guess I'd like to revive it, so let's get down to business.

2023 hasn't been that bad, all things considered.

• My husband and I bought a house;
• I spent 4 months as a stay-at-home mum. I took care of our son while he had not entered the nursery yet, and I saw him change and grow;
• I enrolled into a UX/UI bootcamp at Cepegra, in Belgium;
• I started a design internship at Diplo Studio, in Belgium;
• I self-published a book, called SEO for Authors, gathering parts of my knowledge on SEO to pass on to indie authors;

As I'm entering this new year, here is what I'd like to achieve in 2024:

• Find a great design job;
• Release my next book.

I'm thinking a lot about career and family life, about books, about my YouTube channel. It's crazy how people seem to find it easy to balance everything in their lives. I'm still looking at how to keep being productive while putting my well-being first and not burn out.

Up until now, I'm enjoying every single day :) Hope it will continue.