Keeping It Moving
I’ve moved around a lot for my career. It’s a great privilege to be able to do this. Moving has made me rich in my perspectives and experiences. It’s challenged my comfort zone both as a person and a designer. It’s added texture to my craft and provided insight and empathy in ways I never could have predicted.
In the moment though, moving is downright hard. Some anecdotes:
Edmonton to Toronto, 2003 (2000 miles)
This was one of the hardest things I’ve done. I’m not sure I would have if I’d known how hard it would be. But futures were a black box back then. We didn’t have social media to give us FOMO and show us what we could have. I had almost no friends in Toronto, no job and no experience. Just a dream. I quickly discovered it doesn’t matter how good your work is; connections are everything, and Toronto is an annoyingly regionalist city where being from anywhere else in Canada is unspeakably uncool. I had an accent I needed to rinse and savings that were quickly running out.
(Thanks to the RGD for their design mentorship program, and Sean Claessen for giving me a chance and letting me cut my teeth on brands in youth culture — this became the bedrock of my career).
Toronto to London, 2006 (3,500 miles)
This was hard too, but not nearly as bad as the first time. I was moving for an exciting job. Through it, I had an instant and incredible network. When a friend and I were commiserating about the drawbacks of London once, she said “The people are the reason to live in London” (People of London, I miss you so much). In my early days in London, money was still tight and I lived in a dodgy ex-council block with kids with knives. Over time, it got easier and I dug in and stayed and loved what the city had to offer. But being a foreigner will always be hard there, London’s not an open place. Design is a clique-y old boys club based on the college you went to. Feminism has yet to truly “happen” there the way it has in North America.
(Good for you North America. Don’t ever forget).
London to New York, 2014 (3,500 miles)
This time, I thought, this should be a bit easier. I’m a pro. I’m moving from another big expensive city. New York is open, direct, and friendly (as long as you don’t waste people’s time). I’d always wanted to try living here. I had a job that looked perfect on paper, and they were moving me. No packing my 5 favorite books in a suitcase this time! Visa paperwork was old hat, and most importantly: I have friends here thanks to the internet, speaking, and traveling. I had some decent work and life experience behind me.
Everyone seems to have a story about moving here: A condemned apartment above an auto body repair shop filled with exhaust. A freezer dripping with animal blood. A landlord who stopped replying to emails because he was murdered. Moving with a girl from San Francisco who didn’t work out. Rat roadkill on your doorstep.
Okay New York, You Got Me
This city is one democratic lady. She’s like, that entitled girl in paragraph five? Screw that! If you wanna live here, prove it. This is New York.
And this is kind of awesome and badass. New York, I am a fan of these punches you throw. It seems like everyone receives some in some way.
Three months into the job that brought me here my boss’ boss left the company, and then my boss did the same. Van and Shannon, follow your unicorn horns; I wish you the best in your next adventures. You’re both true mentors who taught me so much in such a short period of time.
In the wake of this change, I said goodbye to Ripcord and quickly fell into the open arms of Neo, a lovely little product incubation studio full of smart people. I’m grateful they were happy to have me; and I them.
Now that I’ve been initiated by this fair city, I’m looking forward to uncovering its opportunities and meeting its amazing people. Want to get coffee? Say hello! han@hannahdonovan.com
