Rachel Gertz // August 24, 2011

Passion nGeneered

Last week I went looking for bonnet bees, chasing down the things that make us work hard and even willingly light the candle at both ends. Turns out, there’s a whole bunch of people here at nGen who are dancing around like their hair’s on fire, but it’s actually just those creative bees in their bonnets that have got them dancing. It’s a little thing I like to call passion.

When I look at the nGen team, I see a group that has a collective passion (not that crappy Hallmark variety that makes you feel a little nauseous). They have an intense desire to make and do good things; not just do their work. The cool thing is, nGen has become a place where people can shape their jobs to fit their passions.

Just ask Carl: if you want your job to evolve, all you have to do is let it. I think it’s why we all stay—and why everyone here works their tails off. It’s also why I want to explore our ticking mechanisms by talking with each and every nGeneer.

Well, lo and behold we just so happen to have nGeneers and Friendgeneers with a real talent for personal expression. Here, without further ado are their answers to the question…

Why Do You Do What You Do?

Andrew Maier
I design in a user-centered way because I’m fascinated by the ability we have as interaction designers to help people solve real problems while narrating their own stories. In a way, we’re like half-way poets, or the kind of authors that might write choose-your-own-adventure books (I’m looking at you, R.L. Stine). We’re so many things at the same time. Being a UX designer is kind of like choosing no profession at all other than professing a desire to learn about a medium and care about the people you’re communicating with. That’s me in a nutshell.
For all of these reasons, and plenty more, I identify as an user-centered interaction designer. It’s what I love to do.

Carl Smith
I wanted to work at a place where people were allowed to be themselves and create cool stuff. I couldn’t find that place so I did my best to create it. 

Chris Harrison
In a nutshell, I do what I do because I get paid to play. The internet is a magical place full of rainbows and unicorns and I get to make pixie dust for it. Is there a better job? I think not.

Dave Ditges
I like making things that people will use. Things that are simple, but have a powerful impact in everyday life.

Fred Boyle
It’s my way of solving a problem and since it’s in my nature to solve problems, it’s how I roll. Always asking the why, not just the how. I do all this for the satisfaction of getting things done in a proper way and not just done. I like the challenge of solving a problem as efficiently as I can and doing it in a way that makes sense and serves the client best.
It’s also how I continuously learn new ways to approach a problem or situation, and keep getting better at what I do.

Jeff Croft
For me it’s as simple as this: I like making things. Preferably, really great things that people love.

Justin Voss
I do what I do (software development) because I love working with geeks like me. There aren’t a lot of industries where I can make a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy joke and expect the whole room to get it. I came to write code, but I stay for the culture.

Katy Garrison
I design because it keeps me on my toes. There will always be new technology to learn, styles to try, and problems to solve. Being a designer is never boring, plus I’m really good at it. Right? Guys? 
Also, it beats hook’n.

Lori Averitt
I do what I do because someone has to sweat the small stuff—and I enjoy dealing with the details!

Mary McDonald
I have trouble coloring inside the lines—or working within a narrowly defined job description. So it’s a good thing I can write, because writing does much more than create “content.” It can solve problems, make connections between disparate thoughts, shed new light on old ideas—all of which are facets of the same goal: better understanding. I like explaining things, and I get to do that in all kinds of ways here.

Natalie Greco
Ultimately, I do what I do because I love it. Plain and simple love. I love creating, I love writing code, I love the challenges involved. Every step in the process is vital, with each step having an effect on other steps down the path. Everything needs to be thought out, planned, then well executed in order to work. I enjoy the combination of strategic, creative and technical thinking. Every project is a new puzzle, it never gets old, and it never gets predictable.

Rachel Gertz
I write because I need to make a fundamental connection between the things that matter and the eyes of the people reading my words. I do it because our lives are all just stories, and when they are intertwined, that connection becomes tangible, even for a split second. At the end of it all, when we’re old and grey, our stories become our identity (unless we have dementia, in which case each day is a new day). 
Oh, and I write for nGen because I love teasing Carl. And Jeff.

Travis Gertz
I design because visual communication is still a significant force for social change… and the internet extends that even further by providing greater impact through a reach and interactivity that is accessible to a potentially massive audience.

All In A Day’s Work

And that’s our team. As you can see, we’ve either got a bunch of great liars, or these peeps actually get a kick out of what they’re doing.

It sounds like a punch bowl full of passion to me.

Stay tuned. In the coming weeks I’m gonna grill each nGeneeer even harder to find out things like: how much water they’re made up of, whether they’d eat a grilled cheese with anchovies, and how much of a bribe they’d accept to moon a bus full of nuns. Not that I’d be offering the money. That’s just crass.