Back, Back, and Back.

I’ve had an amazing time at Google Creative Lab. It’s been like 10 years crammed into 2. I’ve learned more about more things than any human of my meagre capacity could ever have dreamed.

I’d worried that Google would be full of a certain type of person – but at the Creative Lab there are many kinds of people. Academically brilliant people, instinctively brilliant people, brilliant writers, brilliant designers, brilliant producers, brilliant hackers, brilliant filmmakers, brilliant people who I’m still not quite sure what they do but are brilliant nonetheless. Maybe you’re spotting a thread?

Every day I question how I managed to bluff my way into such great company.

I could single out specific people who’ve been amazing. Incredible collaborators, friends, supporters, and mentors. But I’d do that cack-handed thing of leaving someone really important out and spend 3 months waking up in the middle of the night feeling guilty. So I’m going to lame out and say; “You know who you are you wonderful people. I owe you more than you think”. And some of the people who might not suspect I mean them, really I do mean you.

Having said all that it feels odd to say I’m leaving. But leaving I am.

It’s time for the Taits to go / come back to the UK (to save this getting awkward I’ll talk about coming back to the UK as, today, I’m writing this from London). We’ve been away in the US for just over 4 years. And it’s time.

Our children’s excitement at eating the packet of Hula Hoops I bought Sophie for her birthday was the straw that broke the camel’s back. In that moment of salty ringed fingers it struck me – we’ve denied them too much for too long! That and the fact that they don’t get to see their grandparents enough. And they’re starting to develop really strange accents. And we won’t be able to help them with Math homework, the singular nature of it simply eludes us. And we miss people, specific actual people, as well as the general reassuring familiarity of wonderful miserable British folk. And we miss strange cultural things, British TV, music, and of course Hula Hoops, Monster Munch, Frazzles, and all of that junk.

We’d always set ourselves a break-point to our American adventure. When the girls went to ‘big school’ felt like a time to think about coming back – boy has that come around fast! And we’ve had a couple of other personal things that have made us think about what it means to be ‘home’.

So we’re coming back to the UK soon. Not just yet, but soon.

So what am I going to do? Well I’m excited to say that I’m going to be joining W+K London as ECD. Where I’ll get to partner with the wonderful Tony Davidson and Neil Christie. In many ways you couldn’t get three more different people, but that’s why I think it’s going to be amazingly fun and interesting.

I’m not someone who pays much attention to astrology and things like that, but I guess factually it is possible for stars to align. And this is one of those times when things just fell into place as if the universe meant it to be so. We were thinking about coming back to the UK and a dream job, working back at a place that I love became available at exactly the right moment in time. I don’t know if it’s luck or fate, or someone did an unspeakable deal with a dark underlord. All I know is that it’s almost too good to be true.

As anyone who’s ever worked there will tell you there’s nowhere quite like W+K, and the more I spoke with them the more I realized this is exactly the right thing for me to do right now. Especially in the London office which is full of great talent, exciting clients, and a load of positive momentum.

So that’s it, I’m coming back. Back to the UK and back to W+K. Never has going back felt like such a positive move forward. In all respects this feels like an awesome homecoming.

I’m not starting back at Wieden until September which means I’ve got the time and space to move back properly rather than rushing the whole thing. It means I get to take some time off and hopefully do some of the things I forgot to do because I was working. Things like getting a driving license. Learning how to play the lute. And just taking a summer to spend some quality time with the family. I watched Sagmeister’s TED talk about sabbaticals again the other day. And I don’t think I’ll be doing anything quite as productive, but I hope to be able to shut down enough to be able to open my eyes to some new things.

Of course I’ll be sad to leave Google, and Creative Lab, and all the great friends we’ve made in the US. But more than anything I’m excited to be on my way back.

And maybe I’ll also use this as a chance to get back to blogging too…