2012

The start of a new year is a cliche but it's a cliche for a reason. I think the opportunity to reflect, set your goals, and pull yourself towards them with new energy is powerful motivation.

One of the goals I'm setting myself is to read more. I don't mean the kind of reading where you're standing up, stuck in a sweaty train carriage, and surrounded by thirty people breathing down your neck. I mean the kind of reading where you're sitting comfortably, it's peacefully quiet, and theres a hot drink within arms reach.

One of my other goals is to write more, partly because I feel guilty setting up this site with the intention of pumping it full of content and I've ended up neglecting it. Partly because I enjoy it. What better way is there to start moving forward than by facing backwards and reflecting on the year that has been.

2013, you have a tough act to follow.

I like to think that every year I've had since leaving compulsory education has been an improvement on the last; the Best Year Ever ™. 2012 has been especially sweet, I'm really pleased the things I've learnt and achieved. I'm going to have to step it up a in 2013.

Writing

I wrote a fair few articles, including one published in .net magazine. I also wrote a lot of posts supporting the mobile work I've been doing in Drupal, including one article printed on dead trees! More on that later.

Speaking

Busy year! I presented three times in 2012. I hadn't spoken in front of a large crowd before so talking about Responsive Web Design in a packed out room on the first session slot of Drupalcon Denver was pretty intense. I also presented on Designing for Touch at BADcamp which was tons of fun. I'm so grateful to David Hwang and Jen Lampton for dragging me out to California.

Community

Work continued on the Drupal 8 Mobile Initiative. I spent a lot of free time iterating on prototypes based off the design goals and usability testing. It culminated in this call to action. A lot of the design work I did lives on though the Drupal Spark Distribution which is kicking butts left, right, and center.

I've also contributed code that made its way into Drupal 8! Eleven issues impresses me anyway. I literally had no idea how to even begin to contribute code at the beginning of the year so I'm pleased I've learnt how to help out. Huge props to John Albin and Jeff Burnz who helped me on my way and gave me the confidence to try.

I became heavily involved the initiative to port the Drupal.org theme to Drupal Seven, and while we were at it, making it a bit responsive. I flew out to a sprint in Portland to meet with Rupl and Banghouse to get things sorted! We did a good job of working out what we needed to do and what we needed to do it, which manifested in this post. Hot debate rightly ensued and in the end we decided to go with the SASS grid framework Susy.

I went to seven conferences in total this year including the fantastic Treasure of Front-End Island, Build, and New Adventures in Web Design. Drupalcon Munich and BADcamp were also great because I got to hang out with so many friends.

According to Vizify my most popular tweet of the year was about floppy disks and lassos. I don't know if this is a useful metric but maybe I should consider writing a book on the subject.

Work

I quit full-time employment and set up Lewis Nyman Design ltd. It took a leap of faith but I haven't looked back. The freedom suits me and I've been able to learn a lot more working together with so many smart people.

I started a business venture with two guys I'd never met before, and then subsequently left six months later. I'm not one for quitting and backing out was a tough decision to make. In the end it was the right decision and I hope the best for Jimmy and Stefan with Teamdeal.co. I've definitely learnt a lot about business and about myself that I'll be putting to good use in 2013.

The rest

I fell in love and moved in with my best friend :-)

So Far, So Good

I've a lot of work to do to make 2013 the best year ever. Time to start facing forward.