{
  "title": "The same problems, twenty years apart",
  "basis": {
    "declared": "Dates, roles and threads are Colin's own account of his work. Unlike a refinery yield there is no external register to check them against, and the piece says so rather than borrowing an authority it does not have.",
    "derived": "Absences are computed from the declared dates, not asserted."
  },
  "range": {
    "from": 1998,
    "to": 2026
  },
  "finding": {
    "claim": "No thread runs continuously. Every one disappears for at least a decade and returns.",
    "shortest_absence": 11,
    "longest_absence": 24,
    "returning_recently": [
      "R&D labs",
      "argument as deliverable",
      "multi-tenancy",
      "the specification",
      "the wireframe"
    ]
  },
  "entries": [
    {
      "id": "0060-digitas",
      "org": "Digitas",
      "role": "Senior Art Director",
      "place": "Boston",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "1998\u20131999",
      "from": 1998,
      "to": 1999,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [
        "the wireframe",
        "multi-tenancy"
      ],
      "proximity": 2,
      "proximity_note": "Wireframes, process flows, visual design. Others built it.",
      "record": "Led strategy and designed websites for clients, including Dell, FedEx, Unilever, and L.L. Bean.",
      "short": "Digitas"
    },
    {
      "id": "0090-houghton-mifflin",
      "org": "Houghton Mifflin",
      "role": "Design Lead",
      "place": "Boston",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2000\u20132001",
      "from": 2000,
      "to": 2001,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [
        "the wireframe"
      ],
      "proximity": 3,
      "proximity_note": "Wireframes and designs, and a working DHTML prototype.",
      "record": "Led interface design for educational software, managing a team of three designers and overseeing UX strategy, use cases, testing guidelines, and production templates.",
      "short": "Houghton Mifflin"
    },
    {
      "id": "0100-orange-sa",
      "org": "Orange SA",
      "role": "Design Director / Brand Manager",
      "place": "Cambridge, MA",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2001\u20132003",
      "from": 2001,
      "to": 2003,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [
        "data visualization",
        "R&D labs"
      ],
      "proximity": 3,
      "proximity_note": "Phone interfaces and visualizations; the team built the sites and internal tools.",
      "record": "Led UI research and design for a U.S.-based research arm, overseeing branding, market analysis, and prototype development in collaboration with technical teams.",
      "short": "Orange"
    },
    {
      "id": "0110-european-training-foundation",
      "org": "The European Training Foundation",
      "role": "Communications Officer \u00b7 fixed contract",
      "place": "Turin",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2003",
      "from": 2003,
      "to": 2003,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [
        "argument as deliverable"
      ],
      "proximity": 4,
      "proximity_note": "Edited and published the actual pages. Produced the video.",
      "record": "Managed websites and produced a DVD for the European Union's agency.",
      "short": "European Training Fdn"
    },
    {
      "id": "0130-british-telecom",
      "org": "British Telecom",
      "role": "Producer",
      "place": "London",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2004",
      "from": 2004,
      "to": 2004,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [
        "accessibility",
        "the specification"
      ],
      "proximity": 1,
      "proximity_note": "A standards document, written.",
      "record": "Wrote British Telecom's standards and quality assurance process, covering accessibility, in collaboration with internal teams, external vendors, and advisory bodies.",
      "short": "BT standards"
    },
    {
      "id": "0190-national-assessment-agency",
      "org": "The National Assessment Agency (MRM Partners)",
      "role": "Information Architect, Creative Lead",
      "place": "London",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2005",
      "from": 2005,
      "to": 2005,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [
        "the specification"
      ],
      "proximity": 2,
      "proximity_note": "UML use cases, process models, a delivered proof of concept.",
      "record": "Designed and owned a forward deployment demo for the agency overseeing the UK education system. Authored the functional specification and led both design and technical teams.",
      "short": "National Assessment"
    },
    {
      "id": "0200-british-telecom-2006",
      "org": "British Telecom",
      "role": "Project Manager",
      "place": "Boston / London",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2006",
      "from": 2006,
      "to": 2006,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": 1,
      "proximity_note": "Coordinating deliverables across London and India.",
      "record": "Managed UI and brand deliverables for BT.com, coordinating teams in London and India.",
      "short": "BT.com"
    },
    {
      "id": "0225-emerson-college",
      "org": "Emerson College",
      "role": "Lecturer",
      "place": "Boston",
      "kind": "teaching",
      "years": "2006 / 2014",
      "from": 2006,
      "to": 2014,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": null,
      "proximity_note": null,
      "record": "Taught a graduate course in Data Journalism in the Department of Journalism, and a print-based design course in the Publishing and Writing program.",
      "short": "Emerson"
    },
    {
      "id": "0220-lesley-university-college-of-art-and-design",
      "org": "Lesley University College of Art and Design",
      "role": "Lecturer",
      "place": "Cambridge",
      "kind": "teaching",
      "years": "2006\u20132018",
      "from": 2006,
      "to": 2018,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": null,
      "proximity_note": null,
      "record": "Taught graduate and undergraduate courses in interactive media, information architecture, and digital design. Developed a graduate elective on audio and dynamic media.",
      "short": "Lesley"
    },
    {
      "id": "0230-shapemix-music",
      "org": "Shapemix Music",
      "role": "Founder & Chief Product Officer",
      "place": "Boston / NYC",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2007\u20132012",
      "from": 2007,
      "to": 2012,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": 5,
      "proximity_note": "Coded the Java demo, wrote the Objective-C drawing code, architected the engine.",
      "record": "Raised $2M and launched cloud-based music entertainment products on the cross-modal perception thesis that sound has shape. US Patent 20110271186A1.",
      "short": "Shapemix"
    },
    {
      "id": "0240-massachusetts-college-of-art-and-design",
      "org": "Massachusetts College of Art and Design",
      "role": "MFA, Graphic Design",
      "place": "Boston",
      "kind": "school",
      "years": "2009",
      "from": 2009,
      "to": 2009,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": null,
      "proximity_note": null,
      "record": "MFA thesis on synesthesia and cross-modal perception.",
      "short": "MassArt"
    },
    {
      "id": "0250-rhode-island-school-of-design",
      "org": "Rhode Island School of Design",
      "role": "Senior Critic",
      "place": "Providence",
      "kind": "teaching",
      "years": "2009\u20132014",
      "from": 2009,
      "to": 2014,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": null,
      "proximity_note": null,
      "record": "Taught undergraduate graphic design including visual systems, senior studio, and digital media. Designed and led \u201cDesign for Dynamic Media.\u201d",
      "short": "RISD"
    },
    {
      "id": "0260-stackdriver-to-google",
      "org": "Stackdriver \u2192 Google",
      "role": "Designer",
      "place": "Boston / Mountain View",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2014\u20132015",
      "from": 2014,
      "to": 2015,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [
        "data visualization"
      ],
      "proximity": 4,
      "proximity_note": "Shipped a canvas-based rendering method for d3.",
      "record": "Stackdriver was a startup that became Google Cloud Monitoring through acquisition; I was part of the team that pulled it off. Continued at Google on developer tools, designing a data visualization and charting library.",
      "short": "Stackdriver \u2192 Google"
    },
    {
      "id": "0270-pixability",
      "org": "Pixability",
      "role": "Principal Designer",
      "place": "Boston",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2015\u20132016",
      "from": 2015,
      "to": 2016,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": 2,
      "proximity_note": "Redesigned the tools and the brand.",
      "record": "Redesigned and streamlined ad placement, measurement, and analysis tools. Led a brand redesign, improving user flows, dashboards, and data visualization.",
      "short": "Pixability"
    },
    {
      "id": "0280-continuum-managed-services",
      "org": "Continuum Managed Services",
      "role": "Director of User Experience",
      "place": "Boston",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2016\u20132017",
      "from": 2016,
      "to": 2017,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": 3,
      "proximity_note": "Directed the team, reviewed PRs, contributed lightly to code.",
      "record": "Managed a global UX team of seven, overseeing design and front-end development for customer and internal-facing systems.",
      "short": "Continuum"
    },
    {
      "id": "0290-cantina-consulting",
      "org": "Cantina Consulting",
      "role": "Principal Designer",
      "place": "Boston",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2017\u20132018",
      "from": 2017,
      "to": 2018,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": 4,
      "proximity_note": "Coded the prototypes \u2014 Origami and JavaScript, Unity and ARKit.",
      "record": "Led design for client engagements including Bose, John Hancock, Normatec's FDA-approved recovery boot, voice assistant hardware/software integration, and a back-office retirement platform.",
      "short": "Cantina"
    },
    {
      "id": "0300-federal-reserve-bank-of-philadelphia-publicis",
      "org": "Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (Publicis)",
      "role": "Lead Strategist",
      "place": "Philadelphia / Boston",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2018\u20132019",
      "from": 2018,
      "to": 2019,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": 1,
      "proximity_note": "Interviews, audits, information architecture, recommendations.",
      "record": "Conducted stakeholder interviews and experience audits to provide strategic recommendations on data visualization, site structure, content, accessibility, and communication.",
      "short": "Federal Reserve"
    },
    {
      "id": "0310-fidelity-investments",
      "org": "Fidelity Investments",
      "role": "Principal Designer",
      "place": "Smithfield / Boston",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2019\u20132021",
      "from": 2019,
      "to": 2021,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [
        "accessibility"
      ],
      "proximity": 3,
      "proximity_note": "Design system and Swift prototypes; analysed the iOS codebase.",
      "record": "Principal on flagship mobile apps during the pandemic-era shift to digital-first investing. Shipped fractional trading \u2014 ~80% user adoption in launch year \u2014 plus contextual learning and the app-wide navigation reorganization.",
      "short": "Fidelity"
    },
    {
      "id": "0330-meta",
      "org": "Meta",
      "role": "Designer",
      "place": "Boston / New York / Menlo Park",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2022\u20132023",
      "from": 2022,
      "to": 2023,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": 2,
      "proximity_note": "Designed the ML decision workflows and the surfaces over them.",
      "record": "Designed Ads Manager surfaces in the audience-expansion product area where page content and layout were composed at runtime from AI/ML model output.",
      "short": "Meta"
    },
    {
      "id": "0340-cubiq",
      "org": "Cubiq",
      "role": "Design & Build Lead",
      "place": "Boston",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2023\u20132026",
      "from": 2023,
      "to": 2026,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [
        "multi-tenancy",
        "the specification",
        "the wireframe"
      ],
      "proximity": 5,
      "proximity_note": "Sole designer and builder. Ships production TypeScript.",
      "record": "Sole designer and builder of a white-label multi-tenant SaaS platform replacing Cubiq's legacy system \u2014 strategy through shipped code.",
      "short": "Cubiq"
    },
    {
      "id": "0350-aboutface-io",
      "org": "Aboutface IO",
      "role": "Founder & Principal",
      "place": "Boston",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2024\u2013present",
      "from": 2024,
      "to": 2026,
      "ongoing": true,
      "threads": [
        "R&D labs",
        "argument as deliverable"
      ],
      "proximity": 5,
      "proximity_note": "Solo Swift builds, shipped.",
      "record": "A twenty-year inquiry into how humans perceive, trust, and interact with information. Weave, Shuttlecar, Incept, Social Trust Anchors, aihates.me.",
      "short": "Aboutface"
    },
    {
      "id": "0360-tag-dentsu",
      "org": "Tag / Dentsu",
      "role": "Principal Creative Technologist \u00b7 solutions architecture and product ownership",
      "place": "",
      "kind": "work",
      "years": "2026\u2013present",
      "from": 2026,
      "to": 2026,
      "ongoing": true,
      "threads": [
        "the specification"
      ],
      "proximity": 4,
      "proximity_note": "Authored the integration design; built the Figma round trip and the deliverables matrix; ran the agent team.",
      "record": "Product owner for the technology pipeline behind Adobe's global campaign production \u2014 four organizations, four regions, roughly sixteen systems. Reverse engineered a fifty-node localization process into a validated node registry and authored the integration design the team is building. Proved the Figma round trip end to end. Designed and ran an eight-lane multi-agent AI delivery team, in daily use.\n",
      "short": "Tag / Dentsu"
    }
  ],
  "undated": [
    {
      "id": "0900-blade-ventures",
      "org": "Blade Ventures",
      "role": "Designer & Developer \u00b7 side project",
      "place": "",
      "kind": "side",
      "years": "year needed",
      "from": null,
      "to": null,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": null,
      "proximity_note": null,
      "record": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "0910-anmahian-winton",
      "org": "Anmahian Winton Architects",
      "role": "Designer \u00b7 side project",
      "place": "",
      "kind": "side",
      "years": "year needed",
      "from": null,
      "to": null,
      "ongoing": false,
      "threads": [],
      "proximity": null,
      "proximity_note": null,
      "record": ""
    }
  ],
  "threads": [
    {
      "name": "multi-tenancy",
      "entries": [
        "0060-digitas",
        "0340-cubiq"
      ],
      "first": 1998,
      "last": 2026,
      "longest_absence": 24,
      "absences": [
        24
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "the wireframe",
      "entries": [
        "0060-digitas",
        "0090-houghton-mifflin",
        "0340-cubiq"
      ],
      "first": 1998,
      "last": 2026,
      "longest_absence": 22,
      "absences": [
        1,
        22
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "R&D labs",
      "entries": [
        "0100-orange-sa",
        "0350-aboutface-io"
      ],
      "first": 2001,
      "last": 2026,
      "longest_absence": 21,
      "absences": [
        21
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "argument as deliverable",
      "entries": [
        "0110-european-training-foundation",
        "0350-aboutface-io"
      ],
      "first": 2003,
      "last": 2026,
      "longest_absence": 21,
      "absences": [
        21
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "the specification",
      "entries": [
        "0130-british-telecom",
        "0190-national-assessment-agency",
        "0340-cubiq",
        "0360-tag-dentsu"
      ],
      "first": 2004,
      "last": 2026,
      "longest_absence": 18,
      "absences": [
        1,
        18,
        0
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "accessibility",
      "entries": [
        "0130-british-telecom",
        "0310-fidelity-investments"
      ],
      "first": 2004,
      "last": 2021,
      "longest_absence": 15,
      "absences": [
        15
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "data visualization",
      "entries": [
        "0100-orange-sa",
        "0260-stackdriver-to-google"
      ],
      "first": 2001,
      "last": 2015,
      "longest_absence": 11,
      "absences": [
        11
      ]
    }
  ]
}