On Fatherhood and Authorship
My first book, Cultivating a Creative Culture, will hit shelves June 13th. The material discusses how empathy, humility, and an endless fountain of inspiration augments our work — and work lives.
There’s something so much larger at stake when the world doesn’t revolve around you anymore.
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Some of the book was written in coffee shops. Some, written with my toddler son on my knee, or silently typed during his nap time (if he napped, that is). And some was written while my wife selflessly entertained him. The specific intent: giving me time in silence to get into my own head, and to simply put thoughts to paper.
On Legacy
In primarily working in the digital space in my career, much of the creative work I do — visually, experientially, programmatically — has a lack of permanence. Web sites evolve and retire to the Internet Archive. Software releases iterate away previous interfaces and interactions into a version number.
Once my boy was born, a deep sense of wanting to leave something behind for him welled up inside of me. Something positive. Something palpable. Being raised by a single mother, I never had a bond with my father. So, being a loving father to my own son is leaving him with something positive I never had. It’s a driving force that permeates every interaction, every decision. There’s something so much larger at stake when the world doesn’t revolve around you anymore.
Though Cultivating a Creative Culture is primarily written for designers and developers, I’ve cited that the themes are applicable to anyone, in any line of work. Humility, respect, and dedication toward employees growing their skill sets are themes that transcend industry.
And just as the book was penned for a mass audience, it was also written for a single person. I wanted to leave something behind for my son that he could point to in a bookstore, hold, appreciate, and hopefully learn from. Something tangible. Perhaps when he’s of age to pursue his own career path, the book’s message and themes will have made his place of employment a humility driven, energized, and supportive atmosphere. One can dream of such grandiose impact.
On Dedication
For Emmett, who fills my heart with so much love, often I don’t know what to do with it.
The book’s dedication may be some of the best writing within; with perfect clarity and accuracy it captures the gift my son has given me.
Being a father means there’s always a smile, laugh, or embrace that’s a fond thought away. I wrote this article over a week between flights from Chicago, to Miami, to New York, and back again. The varied legs of the journey, inclusive of recording an interview on the book for The Reflex Blue Show in a HOW Design Live media room, and talking UX vision at the bswift Idea Exchange. Through red eyes and economy class leg room, the notion of when fond thoughts meet reality was the fuel I needed.
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