Presenting a #TBT series marking a decade of digital distortion and deletion by Yours Truly on the insidious Instagram app. Beginning in July 2021, I used this series as an excuse to delete everything I over-shared for ten years, as part of a gradual mental divestment from social media.
This crassly yet carefully curated chronicle begins in 2011, my 7th full year as a designer and developer at BBM&D in Ventura. I sometimes biked the short distance to work, but not really for exercise, racking up only 196 total miles. My bands released two quickie, digital-only EPs (one each for Honey White and Radblaster) but our rehearsals tapered off to only four with full lineups. The Keir & Em Baseball Tour went to Arizona (our 7th stop overall), but I visited no new states beyond the 9 I’d seen already. I joined AIGA via the local SB chapter. I was my brother’s best man. I turned 35.
2012 was my 8th full year designing at BBM&D (as “Chief Creative Officer,” a title I neither wanted nor enjoyed) and my first on the all-volunteer AIGA SB board (as Communications Director). I biked a bit less, for only 145 miles. I acquired my first new instrument in 6 years, another Fender jazz bass (which is now the oldest one I own). That year’s Keir & Em Baseball Tour stops were in DC and Baltimore (our 8th & 9th overall), so I visited Virginia, DC, and Maryland for the first time. I self-published a novel that was five years in the making. I turned 36.
My 2013 in the local design biz was split almost halfway between BBM&D in Ventura and Oniracom in Santa Barbara (where I started as a web developer). I re-upped for a second year as AIGA SB Communications Director, and landed in Philadelphia for my first AIGA Leadership Retreat (and 10th Keir & Em Baseball Tour stop), visiting Pennsylvania for the first time. Em and I flew to Bend for our second snowy Christmas in 4 years. I acquired a fourth bass guitar, a Fender Jaguar (now only the second of two I own). I began biking seriously for exercise, with 36 rides for 492 miles. I began wearing eyeglasses. I turned 37.
2014 was my first full year at Oniracom (now as a designer and developer) and third year as AIGA SB Communications Director, and I even combined both groups twice for design events. I went to Denver for my second AIGA Leadership Retreat. I visited Wisconsin and Illinois for the first time, where the Keir & Em Baseball Tour made its 11th, 12th, and 13th stops at Milwaukee and both Chicago stadiums. Em and I looked good at other peoples’ weddings and saw tons of live concerts, though I myself made only a little music. I spoke about design at SBCC. I biked 43 rides for 591 total miles. I became an uncle. I turned 38.
2015 was my second full year at Oniracom (as a designer-developer-strategist) and fourth year on the AIGA SB board (my first as President, overseeing eleven design events). I traveled to my third AIGA Leadership Retreat, this time in Grand Rapids, visiting Michigan for the first time. The Keir & Em Baseball Tour made its 15th stop, in Denver, sandwiched by two Red Rocks concerts. I attended my 20-year high school class reunion and actually enjoyed it. I recorded and released a seven song EP under my own name. I spoke about design at SBCC again. I biked 64 rides for 918 total miles. I turned 39.
2016 was my third and final full year at Oniracom (as a senior designer). It was my fifth and most intense year on the AIGA SB board (and second as President, overseeing thirteen design events). I traveled to North Carolina for the first time, attending my fourth AIGA Leadership Retreat in Raleigh, and went to Vegas for the AIGA Design Conference. The Keir & Em Baseball Tour made its 16th stop in Minneapolis, bringing us to Minnesota for the first time. I returned to UCSB for my first Daily Nexus alumni reunion. I biked 81 rides for 1113 total miles. I turned 40 on the day the Cubs won the World Series.
In 2017 I saw Louisiana for the first time, launching my first business, Tight Ship Design, with my co-captain Julia during New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. I went to a second Daily Nexus reunion. Em and I saw out-of-state, semi-pro baseball in Portland. I tempted fate with a sixth year on the AIGA SB board (my third as President), and visited Texas for the first time to attend my fifth and final AIGA Leadership Retreat in Dallas. I oversaw ten design events, including portfolio reviews at SBCC, CLU, Cal Poly SLO, and Allan Hancock. I spoke about design at CSUN. I had a weird health scare but still biked 98 rides for 1268 total miles. I watched my city catch on fire. I turned 41.
2018 was my second (and highest-grossing) full year as Designer/Co-Owner at Tight Ship, and I returned to New Orleans for a second Co-Captain Summit. I spoke about design at Cal Poly SLO and at Loyola in NOLA. I attended my third UCSB Daily Nexus alumni reunion. I stepped down from the AIGA SB board after my seventh full year (and fourth as President, overseeing seven design events), and helped transform it into AIGA Central Coast. I began Le Tour DuBois, driving to bike in other, further-away cities, which helped me log 116 rides for 1704 total miles. I saw tons of concerts with Em and we marked two decades together. I turned 42.
2019 was my third and final full year as designer/co-owner of Tight Ship, and I returned to New Orleans for a third and final Co-Captain Summit. I drove to Pasadena for my second AIGA Design Conference, but after that and one other local event, I let AIGA go. I continued Le Tour DuBois and biked in fewer faraway cities, but still logged 118 rides for 1834 total miles. I attended my fourth UCSB Daily Nexus reunion. I spoke about design at UCSB and Tulane. I briefly co-hosted a design podcast. I traveled with Em to Nashville for her birthday, visiting Tennessee for the first time. I saw a handful of concerts, mostly with Em. I turned 43.
In 2020 I lacked a full-time job for the first time in 16 years when quarantine forced Tight Ship’s closure, but I also launched Keirtography, my map design side-hustle. I had to cancel a planned Keir & Em Baseball Tour revival in Dallas, but before the pandemic shut everything down we did see one concert and I made one road trip. Despite a scary wipeout, I never stopped biking (masked or unmasked), logging a best-to-date 130 rides for 2081 total miles. I spoke about design on a virtual dataviz panel and as a guest on two podcasts. I recorded and released a second seven-song solo EP. I acquired a custom mandocello. I ran a virtual D&D campaign. I turned 44.
I spent most of 2021 inside my own head. I couldn’t land a “real” design job, despite my prior 17-year career, striking out with in-house applications at companies both local and remote. However, I did score some freelance work and @keirtography map-art projects. The national Keir & Em Baseball Tour didn’t resume, but we did hit all three SoCal stadiums, briefly visited family all over California, and caught one fall concert. I produced @mybandrockspod, a 12-episode podcast about my 25 years of amateur musicianship. I was a guest Adobe Creative Jam judge. I continued running a virtual D&D campaign. I biked 128 rides for a personal best 2103 miles. I turned 45.
My main creative impulse is to compile and purge, so in the spirit of everything fake and curated on Instagram, the delete-and-montage spasms will continue yearly until morale improves (and probably after that). Happy New Year, y’all. Be well and stay safe.
Update 12/30/22:
In 2022 I was still dipping in and out of my own head, mostly when I foolishly let judgmental social media noise define reality, but the year got better as it went. I kinda gave up on finding a “real job” after being declined for a few more local positions, but I kept the side-hustle running as a published map artist with several cartographic–illustration projects, plus some other freelance design work from very kind friends. I released a fantasy-map atlas, self-publishing for the first time since releasing a novel 10 years ago, and talked about Keirtography on a virtual panel with folks from Europe and Africa. The DuBois Baseball tour didn’t resume, but Em and I did see lots of little league and some local semi-pro ball, as well as catching the Padres twice in San Diego during their improbable yet ultimately unsuccessful playoff run. I drove up and down the state again to see family, and still biked a lot, but in the 10th year of “Keir By Bike,” I rode 137 times for 1800.80 miles—less miles, but more rides, than 2021, 2020, and 2019—failing to meet or exceed a prior year’s totals for the first time, but I’m fine with that. I continued running a virtual D&D campaign. I saw two live concerts (one more than last year). I turned 46.
Update 12/31/23:
In 2023 I was more of a house-spouse than a freelance designer and I was mostly fine with that, because while I landed almost as many good freelance and @Keirtography projects as last year I still had plenty of time for personal projects. I paused my virtual D&D campaign but self-published a print version of last year’s fantasy-map atlas and then recorded and released a third seven-song solo EP under my own name. Em and I finally restarted the DuBois Baseball Tour, visiting Kansas City (for our 16th stadium), Missouri (my 21st state), then caught 3 Padres home games, 1 local semi-pro game in TO, and scores of Santa Paula little league games. I drove up and down the state again to see family, and still biked a lot, but in the 11th year of “Keir By Bike” I rode 136 times for a measly 1558 miles (about as many rides as 2022, but the lowest overall mileage since 2018), and I blame frequent repairs, bad weather, Covid, and Baldur’s Gate 3. I saw only 3 live concerts (but that’s 1 more than last year). I attended my 5th UCSB Daily Nexus reunion. I turned 47.
Update 12/30/24:
Let’s forego the massive collage this time and just do a conventional 9 snaps from 2024, because this year I didn’t get out as much and wasn’t too snappy with the camera when I did. As for some stats: it was my busiest/most successful freelance year yet for @keirtography, but one of the least successful Keir-By-Bike years since 2017 (only 129 rides for 1400.57 miles). Our baseball tour revival landed in Boston for stadium 17 and two games of Padres/Red Sox (plus stops on the minor/collegiate/little league levels). We saw one (1) concert—a LOUD Explosions in the Sky at the Ventura Theatre. I self-released a compilation of 25 years’ worth of my solo tunes (see @mybandrockspod), which landed quietly by design but still felt validating. Instagram has become mostly unusable for me so I’m not here much, which (considering my past decade of wild oversharing) is probably a good thing. If I come up with a useful way to stick around, you all will see it first.
