Mark Bowley
Posts
Thoughts on my work focus

Thoughts on my work focus

Mark Bowley
October 30, 2024

Hey everyone,

In my last email I talked about an update on the direction of my work.

This is it, but I have to confess I’ve re-written it a few times now! I ended up with far too much to say for one of these emails, so here we are with draft number 3…which is more of a summary.

Recap: In 2024, I’ve hit 30 years of working.

It’s a number that’s wierd to write, when talking about yourself. Looking back, it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. Maybe that’s because I never liked standing still, so it’s not all been in one place.

(I was going to add a photo here from the start of my career, but we’re talking pre-digital photography! I’m struggling to find them, so I’ll dig one out for another day)

This year is a time full of other changes too, like my kids moving out (one graduated and the other starting university). So you can understand my need to reflect.

My career has been a winding path through design – brand, marketing, digital, web, and UX. Along the way, I taught myself technical skills, building websites, integrations and workflows. But what ties it all together is my curiosity. I’ve always been motivated by solving different problems, never content to do the same thing day after day.

I’ve learned to be adaptable. When I started, we were in the early days of the web – no one even mentioned terms like UX/UI. Through all the changes, I’ve always been creating something. I‘ve never veered far from that.

So what now?

We’re living through some massive changes in work and technology. Everyone’s asking themselves how they can fit in, or adapt. Me too.

I’m realising that I don’t want to specialise in one thing going forward. Instead, I’m starting to embrace my broad knowledge, my knack for figuring things out, and my ability to connect the dots.

As tech evolves (especially with AI), I believe that being a multi-skilled problem-solver will be more valuable than ever. We’re not there yet, however. Right now it feels like most businesses need more convincing we’re at that point.

Even so, some already get it. For a while now I’ve been offering part-time design and digital support to a few clients – using my wealth of experience and capability to help them get things done, or test new ideas.

Moving forward, I’m going to focus more on this. I’m just working out how to package and market it.

What do you think? Is this something you see as a strong future need?

If you’ve made it this far through my email, thank you! If anything stood out, drop me a reply, I’d love to hear your thoughts.