January 4, 2022
Happy New Year! We’re kicking off 2022 by meeting our
new team members and giving you a glimpse into the
Fanatic Christmas celebrations ?
In December, Kai and Oscar made their monthly pilgrimage to Bristol to join in with the Fanatic Christmas celebrations in person. It was great to have the team together, and we fit in a lot – a table tennis tournament (more on that later), a Christmas song competition (congrats to Alex for winning with Shakin’ Stevens – a classic), festive games (where we all fought over the coveted Le Mans print) and a great Christmas meal at Côte in Clifton.
We also got to have a proper celebration for the belated Fanatic 20th anniversary. There was cake and Champagne, and the unveiling of Sam’s long-awaited animation – watch it below!
How have you found life at Fanatic so far?
It’s been challenging but really exciting! I have loved meeting all of the team and being introduced to clients as well as getting stuck into projects. Everyone has been super welcoming and made me feel like a part of the team from my first day.
What were you doing before Fanatic and what made you get into Design and Illustration?
I was working as a Graphic Designer at a print centre in Bristol and as a freelance illustrator in my spare time. I graduated in Illustration in 2020 right as the pandemic hit and although not ideal, it gave me loads of time to focus on my illustration work and presented lots of opportunities to enter competitions and look for potential freelance work. I have pretty much always known I wanted to be in a creative career (I just didn’t quite know where it would take me) so kept an open mind and my options open.
What made you choose Fanatic?
Apart from the opportunity to work on really exciting projects that would push my skills as a designer, it was the great team of people that I had the chance to work with. I felt like it was really important to Ian and Milly to work with people who cared about their work and each other – so I was obviously thrilled when I got the job!
What have you enjoyed most so far?
Generally just feeling like every week I am learning new skills and working on a variety of projects – and also mine and Thomas’ in-depth discussions about our Spotify Wrapped (which no one else is interested in).
What are you looking forward to learning more about?
To learn how to animate my illustrations and implement these into projects.
What’s an interesting fact about you?
I was once pranked by the ITV show Off Their Rockers a few years ago – it was a very bizarre experience involving two ‘long lost twins’.
How have you found life at Fanatic so far?
It’s been great! Everyone has been very welcoming and I feel like I’ve fitted straight in.
What were you doing before Fanatic and what made you get into Web Development?
Technology has always interested me from a young age, particularly computers. My education allowed me to try many different subjects relating to computing/IT, and it wasn’t until university that I felt Web Development was the right choice for me.
Before joining Fanatic, I was working for a tech SaaS company working within the logistics industry. Prior to that I have worked for web/marketing agencies.
What made you choose Fanatic?
There was a big opportunity to work on many, varied projects with interesting clients. There was also an emphasis on a strong, positive workplace culture.
What have you enjoyed most so far?
The biscuit tin. Having an endless supply of biscuits in the office has been both enjoyable and dangerous!
What are you looking forward to learning more about?
I’m looking forward to learning about areas in which I can help streamline the team and ensure we’re delivering the best possible work for our clients.
What’s an interesting fact about you?
I love mint chocolate chip ice cream, blue cheese, brussels sprouts (even raw ones!) and pineapple on pizzas.
When we had the majority of the team together from their various bases around the country, we found time to fit in a few rounds of table tennis in the Tobacco Factory. It quickly descended into a cutthroat competition, with several rounds culminating in Kai being crowned Fanatic Table Tennis Champion. Here is his unabridged victory speech:
“I’d like to thank my family for believing in me and the Digital team for supporting me, without them, this trophy is meaningless. Oh, and Thomas: eat my dust.”
In honour of Fanatic’s 20th Anniversary in 2021, our Senior Designer Sam has been hard at work creating an animation that shows how we’ve changed and evolved over the last two decades.
He brought together iterations of the Fanatic logo, team shots, client testimonials, portfolio pieces and behind-the-scenes footage of the Studio to create something that captures the dynamic and exciting nature of Fanatic. We’re excited to see what 2022 brings!
