It's all Helvetica's fault

I am watching the movie Helvetica...again. Yes, a movie about a font. I think it's pretty interesting, actually. Helvetica has just blended into our daily lives and we barely notice it anymore. It is a neutral font that is somehow quite polarizing among designers. I could elaborate, but then you would probably stop reading right about...here, and I have more to talk about.

I watched this movie for the first time at Momentum. They showed it during (a catered) lunch. It's just another reminder of why I loved my job. Sure, everyone knows I worked my ass off (well, almost everyone), but I still feel like I was spoiled by the opportunities that I had there: all my co-workers were design veterans, we had a fancy new building, I got tons of paid time-off (23 days my first year), had a lot of responsibility on national projects, was the only junior art director ever allowed to travel...the list goes on. I refuse to believe that my career peaked in the first two years, but I have to admit, that was a very promising start. Design students, especially, have enough trouble getting a job out of college, let alone a job that they really want. My luck (initially) with Momentum has become both a blessing and a curse.

I am finding that just about everything after that seems less challenging and therefore, rather boring. Granted, my definition of "challenging" might push the limits a little...or a lot. Like, if I'm not on the verge of making myself sick, staying late, scrutinizing the minutia of every aspect of the design, or doing 4 projects simultaneously, is it even worth it? That was just status quo at Momentum, honestly, and I loved pushing my limits. I just needed to show myself what I could do, and my ambition got the best of me.

Of course, that ambition did not disappear with the job, it is just more subdued and maybe more mature. After Momentum, I am pretty confident that I can handle whatever another design job throws my way. It's not the same, but maybe it never will be...and maybe that's okay. That job was not all fun and games. Right now, though, anything after Momentum feels like a step down; however, it could be that I just don't know enough about my other options. My current situation does not seem like such a great fit, but I definitely like certain aspects of it. Plus, it is helping me narrow in on what I would like to have in my ideal job...if there is such a thing.