Another great year comes to an end and like every year, I’m going to do a self-review this time too. 2016 has sure changed a lot of things for me. The way I perceive things, the way I strategize and the way I take action has changed, for good. Doing an year review of self is a great way to reflect upon oneself. It’s like a personal diary which others too can benefit from.

So, without much adieu, here are my memorable moments from 2016,

1. Started contributing to Invision’s blog

The big blogging moment came when I was offered to write a blog post for the mighty Invision. Invision is a great tool for designers and their blog is the best one there is focused around Product+Design community. Thanks to Jennifer & Kristin for making this happen.

2. Became a Player on Dribbble

Dribbble is certainly the most prestigious show & tell platform for Designers. I had to do a little hustling till Hon was kind enough to hand me an invite to join the community. Trust me, getting an invite to Dribbble is no child’s game. Ever since my joining, Dribbble has been a great boost for my design improvement. I’ve managed to consistently upload shots and receive critical feedback over the same.

3. Joined Wishberry as a Product Designer

I had a great experience working at BookMyShow, but needed to take this step in order to improve as a design professional. I was and still am very much interested in solving the problems and building products that matter. My role as a Visual Designer at BookMyShow could’t do much justice to it. The story of how I made this switch is rather interesting. You may read it here.

4. More freelance projects

Freelancing is how I learned design in the first place and the process of freelancing is like a gift that keeps on giving. In 2016, I was fortunate enough to work on 13 projects in total, which included logo, illustrations, icons, interaction and UI/UX design. I had a great time collaborating with Indiez and WeAreJanuary for some of these projects.

5. DarshanGajara.com got a new look

It was time I changed the look and feel of my blog. There were many problems with the old look that needed to be solved like missing context, poor showcasing, readability, etc. I’m glad that the shift has been smooth and all my readers have appreciated the change.

You may read the full story about how the new look solved those problems here.

6. Blog milestone of 2,00,000+ views

DarshanGajara.com crossed 2,00,000+ views mark on Oct 17, 2016. That’s exactly 421 days (which is 1 year, 1 month and 24 days) after crossing 1,00,000+ views mark. I’m very thankful to my readers for their constant support. Hoping to cross the 5,00,000 mark in the coming year (Yeah, that’s what I call a resolution).

7. Short stay in Bangalore

My current employer had outsourced the development to an agency in Bangalore, owing to which I was supposed to collaborate and work from their office for 2 & 1/2 weeks.

Bangalore is a fun place to be at. It’s the startup city of India, meaning I got to do a lot of networking when I was in Bangalore. And yeah, I found Bangalorians very humble, they deserve the good weather they’ve in Bangalore.

8. Got a new girlfriend

Just kidding, I’m still very single like ever before. It’s really very difficult for weird people like me to find their weird opposite. What? You know one? Hit me up @WeirdoWizard ,man.

9. Part-time gig for Panda

I’ve always been a big fan of Ahmet and his startup factory, Panda Network. No wonder that I instantly agreed when Ahmet reached out to me for growing the user base of UsePanda (my favorite Chrome extension for inspiration). I’m now working on strategies and content to grow the Panda user base. Yup, more awesomeness coming your way 😉

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So guys and girls, how has 2016 rolled out for you? I’m pretty sure you must be having some great and interesting stories from this year, I’m all ears for it. You can comment down below or simply tweet me at @WeirdWizard with your stories.