After seven and a half years I’ve left Veer.

When we started the company, I believe we all wanted to create something special and I still believe that it was. We wanted to be part of something different and how we created the business reflected that – even down to the name. It wasn’t simply a cool name or a tiny URL – it was a philosophy about how we believed we needed to approach every part of the business. While we hoped (and occasionally prayed) that it would resonate with customers it was a philosophy that kept us excited to come in to work. We questioned everything we did – what was the motive? What did it say about us? What story did it tell? Sometimes the discussions were fiery and exciting, other times they were draining. Sometimes they simply felt annoying – but not often. It was a great time.

It was also fabulously hard work. When I got the call to help out I honestly worked 6-7 days a week, 10 – 16 hours a day. There was a stint of 33 consecutive days – my best stretch at neglecting the rest of my life :) And therein lies a truth for me – business is intensely personal for me and therefore extremely difficult to balance. Some people don’t like that and others do. Personally, I’m fine with it. But with any venture there’s a cost – and Veer was no different. I invested everything I had into my part of starting the company – my talent, my limited resources, my tireless energy and *all* of my time. In the end, the focus (perhaps misguided) cost me my marriage – though I wasn’t the only one who suffered through that experience. Still, I was growing & learning things – things I had no idea existed. It was exhilarating to feel like Veer was growing into something I’d be proud of. Somehow, everything seemed worth it.

I’ve had some amazing moments at Veer. One night, just as we hit 150 or so people, I walked through the office and what we had accomplished suddenly hit me. The families we supported, all the stuff in the office – it was all the outcome of an idea that started with a small group of people and was elevated beyond our own imagining by every new person who joined the family. It was unimaginable to me that so much could have come from so little.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to meet some amazing people – some of whom I’m lucky enough to call friends. Now, when I travel to Chicago, Berlin, London, NYC, Austin, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Toronto and San Francisco I have people I can share dinner, drinks (sometimes) and some great conversation with. Some of these people were my heroes before I started at Veer – how cool is that? Sometimes this life presents opportunities that simply leave me speechless.

Then there are the people I work with. I feel like I’m surrounded by some incredibly talented people – they’re always teaching me something and do so with grace and humility. For them I’m eternally grateful.

It’s going to be strange not having Veer to wake up to everyday but, to be honest, I’m happy for the change. As the old standard goes – I’ve grown accustomed to her face – and the time is right for me to move onto something new. We don’t get along as well as we did – she’s comfortable and I’m feeling the need for adventure. Staying would be easy and I don’t seem to do well with easy. So, thank you Veer, you’ve been fantastic – but now, it’s time to take a break, recharge, then build something new that I can be proud of.

If we believe the experience of most innovators then we understand that innovation is typically born from failure. In my experience differentiation is a response to pressure – usually panic, induced by shifting economic or industrial paradigms. As we begin to see financial successes in our businesses, we tend to add more operational tiers to support the project *as it is*. We move away from envisioning an evolving business and begin to see it as a growing – yet singular – entity, where the endpoint is a larger version of the present. As a companies structure flexes under the pressures of bloating operational expenses and increasingly savvy competitors, the natural tendency (other than cost-cutting measures) is to look for ways to continue differentiating yourself from your competitors.

The problem with differentiation is that it’s uniqueness in not sustainable, and that it rarely offers *lasting* value back to the customer. Rather, it’s often a temporary solution to a much greater problem. In many cases, companies spend more time pondering how to extend (read: differentiate) the business as-is, rather than the bolder step of asking if they’re even playing the right game. I remember at one meeting, a group of people I truly respected asked a very brave question: “If we were to start this company right now, what would it look like?” The answer revealed something quite different from where they were. The question was a starting point – but for it to have meaning, it required action. Unfortunately, that question was left undone.

Another problem with differentiation is that temporary “wins” remove the space – the urgency – for substantial change (read: innovation).

Successful companies continue to evolve – they continue to reinvent themselves. They look to the future and don’t see a destination that comfortably resembles the present. They look to the future, embrace the unknown and revel in the opportunity it presents.

Why I’m writing these…
On one of my trips to Seattle to spend time at the mothership’s corporate office, I caught up with good friend Kelly Smith of Curious Office fame. Over a beer and some food we talked about the experience of starting-up a company – and the various lessons we’ve learned having gone through the process. I thought it would be worthwhile to put pen to paper to share the experiences and lessons I’ve learned starting-up Veer with you, and to keep them available as a reminder to myself as I look forward.

I hope you find it worthwhile.
ib.

Image copyright © 2008 Grant Hutchinson

On Wednesday night, I was asked to introduce Stefan Sagmeister at TypeCon in Buffalo, NY. I have to admit I was nervous introducing a man who’s left a strong impression on myself and design in general. Rather than spending time trying to write a pseudo-CV of his (many) accomplishments, I thought I’d address the general sense I had of the man and, specifically, the quandary that makes him both appealing and fear-inducing. I think the result was what I had hoped it would be. After meeting him, I was surprised at how easy-going and genuinely *good* he seemed to be. Everything we asked of him was met with a laid back “Sure.” It was a real treat.

Image copyright © 2008 Grant Hutchinson

A snippet from the introduction:

“We feel that Stefan’s work truly embodies the meaning behind the idea of creativity – his work constantly changes within varying contexts, his processes adds greater depth to the final piece and whatever the outcome he challenges and moves us along the way.

Inspired and opinionated, Stefan is often as critical of himself as he is of the icons that surround us. Perhaps it’s this open self-analysis and willingness to comment on the world that makes him appear both approachable and unreachable at the same moment. However he may be viewed, Stefan shares his thoughts and processes through his work, speaking engagements and his books and we are truly richer for it.”

“It’s the behavior of leaders and managers that determines how innovative a group is, and most of what enables creativity is entirely free. You can spend a zillion dollars on creativity efforts, but if the basic behavior of managers doesn’t change, you’re wasting your money.”

He’s in my head. Hat tip to Ms. Danzico.

Well it’s out. It’s been a long, hard slog and the work is far from done but I’m so happy to have it out. Since September of last year my team’s been working away at revamping the ideas section of Veer.com. We previously worked on features from all the other parts of Veer.com – from design to usability to functionality. This time we took a little detour – deviating from the previously mandated .net environment to a new Ruby on Rails platform. Booyah is all I’ve gotsta say.

We’ve included all the usual suspects – portfolios, profiles, interconnected-goodness and of course the Skinny – but what I’m really excited about is the focus on content with new sections like The Fat – and on continuing to explore the ideas that inspire us. Inspiration is all around us and sometimes we just need a moment to let it happen. I’m hoping the new ideas section will be a moment that allows creatives the room to feel inspired.

Enjoy our work at ideas.veer.com

Muhammad Ali may have said it best: “Me. We.” Talking about today’s web is really a conversation about re-humanizing the experience and understanding the opportunities that are available to us when we replace control with cooperation. Today was presentation day at the Alberta Magazines Conference and our presentation went well with a packed room and an inspiring audience. I’d like to take a moment to thank Colleen Seto for organizing everything, Karen Neudorf for facilitating our session and Milena Radzikowska for being a great co-presenter. Also, a big thanks to the audience who were asking great questions throughout the session.

Attendees are encouraged to download the presentation below for future reference. The presentation is password protected, so just drop me a line for access.

+ Download the presentation 1.8MB PDF
+ Beyond Magazine blog post about the session

This presentation by Issa Breibish + Milena Radzikowska is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Yes, it’s a little self-promoting to dwell on work-related stories, but I like this one. The idea the creativity never sleeps is a thread I see daily with friends and co-workers. The impetus to get up in the middle of the night to jot down ideas that have plagued us throughout the day to the all-nighter that allows us to follow through on the execution of a fully flushed idea. It’s in us all – designers and artists all the way through to engineers and the like. As long as there’s passion with all that we do, there will always be an opportunity to forego sleep for the realization of a dream.

Event Abstract:

March 6 & 7, 2008, Red & White Club, Calgary
Recharge your editorial, spice up your design, pump up your ad sales, and develop a plan to harmonize online and print. Join us at Western Canada’s largest magazine conference with keynote speaker, Jason Brightman, director of web design for PC World and MacWorld. Come rub shoulders with industry experts.

Other confirmed speakers include: Charlene Rooke, editor of Western Living magazine; Kim Machado, General Manager of CanadianBusiness.com; Mary Newberry, former manager editor for Descant magazine; Malcolm Brown, art director of Unlimited magazine; Glenn Mielke, art director for BlackFlash magazine; Kevin Menshik, director of the agency Mediactive among others.

Come rub shoulders with industry experts. More details to come. Stay tuned! or email ampa@albertamagazines.com

Mark it in your calendars & I hope to see you there!

Design-wunderkind Rian Hughes is set to bring a new level of English-ness to NYC this November with evening of tea, buscuits and a healthy dose of design talk at the ADC. Saying that Rian is prolific would be an understatement – numerous typfaces, design work and creative consulting describes a typical month in this creative tour de force’s life.

Taking a day out to chat with a few fine folks in NYC should be a sufficient breather for some rich discussion. Hosted by Veer, it should be a great time. Come on down and spend an evening with us.

[UPDATE] All in all the show was a great success. The ADC was filled to capacity and Rian gave a great talk even while fighting the flu. I hope that all who attended enjoyed themselves.

+ My pictures are here.
+ More information can be found at Veer.

Image copyright © 2007 Armin Vit

This weeks presentation of Layer Tennis over at Coudal Partners was simply fab. I’m a huge fan of both designers – Marians scripty-goodness and Armins no-nonsense aesthetic both move me.

The match played out in a very interesting fashion – Marian sending volley after aggressive volley over to the net which may have caught Armin on his heels. His returns were beautiful but definitely seemed to promote making amends over sinking the opponent. Philosophically I think I’d be more Armin than Marian – but she definitely wrapped up the win with some powerful conviction.

Congrats to Marian on the win and thanks to Armin for pulling through some beautiful retorts. You guys are fab.