Here’s a note to end 2025
I’ll start by talking about this week before talking broadly about the year that has been.
This has been a week of finishing admin tasks. I also planned quite a bit for events with the community next year. Having sessions scheduled for the first few months of the year is always a relief!
Interesting reads
- Beyond translation: Culture and language at the core of digital design
- AI isn’t a writing problem, it’s a governance problem, Content Design London
- [IMHO] The Art of Effective Agile, Matt Jukes
What about the rest of 2025, then?
Highlights of 2025
It was a successful year of events for the Content Design Wales community. I’m grateful to Roland A, Emma L, Emma W, Jenny A, Claire, and especially Dani and Josh for their advice and support throughout the year. The community feels stronger, but it still feels frail sometimes.
Getting Russel Davies to talk to Wales’ Content Design community this summer.
Publishing the Access for All book in August.
Seeing Anweledig at the Eisteddfod, yeah.
Spending the rest of August between Wrexham and southern France.
Publishing a poem in the volume Trysorau’r Nadolig.
Supporting the translators and trying to bring them closer to the field of content design. This has been a challenge, and sometimes I’ve felt like I’m adopting the translation profession. I’ve been quite open that I don’t have the desire or ambition to adopt translation as a field in itself. I’m lucky that Catrin and Iola are happy to learn and try new things.
Seeing intiatives at CDPS begin to bear fruit – the Service Manual, the Pattern Library etc. So many people have put a lot of effort into this and it’s good to see the fruits of the labor.
Attending GovCamp Cymru: there were some great conversations, and good connections with familiar and new people.
The growth of Cymru Ddigidol and the new website. Congratulations and thanks to Nia Campbell, Benjy Stanton and Monika Swiatek for bringing it together.
Challenges of 2025
Role changes
There was constant change. Around April, we were given a clear instruction that the focus was on delivering in the year leading up to the election. That’s all good, of course, but the focus of my role changed as a result. I had built a content profession at CDPS from the start; I was managing, mentoring, mentoring and supporting people; thinking about the ways of working (ops); leading a profession; solving problems across the business with the other senior officers.
I had started to grow into that role. But after that, the internal gravity had clearly shifted toward the delivery squads. Doing the work felt more important than considering consistency, practice and expertise. For quite a while, I wasn’t sure what exactly my ‘content design’ role was at CDPS. I’ve been a part of several great things. But there’s a difference between being a part of something and feeling clear ownership of areas of work. Although there is more clarity now, I still feel a little uncertain.
Peers leaving
Another challenge was seeing people I was close to leave. There were many senior officers in the positions like me. This came soon after the role changes meaning that I had a period this year rebalancing and resettling in my own role.
With luck, I’ve got great new peers too. And I’m grateful for that.
My professional identity
I’ve always felt the need to test my ability in the field of content and avoid being pulled into doing ‘everything Welsh’ just because I’m a Welsh-speaker. In my last role, there I had a focus on Welsh content, but I worked hard to show that I understood as much about the ‘content design’ profession as the next person. It’s easy to feel like you’re finding yourself in a ‘Welsh’ corner cupboard far from the ‘mainstream’ work of an organisation.
But I also understand that expertise is needed in an area like bilingual design. I’m also fully aware of the responsibility I have (of my own volition) to support and promote the Welsh language in my field.
Because of that, the tension is still beneath the surface. Sometimes, I feel that I’m leaning too much towards the Welsh side on behalf of other people who have less interest or sense of responsibility. Sometimes I feel like I should be a stronger ambassador.
I think I’m starting to learn how to pair the two.
What I learned
- Choosing when to put my energy
- Letting some things go, against my instincts, and will
- Embracing identity(s)
- That I can get fed up of working from home. I don’t want to work in an office every day, either, but there are some things that are just better face-to-face.
- Fresh air, fresh air, fresh air.
Onwards to 2026!