Introducing Monograph
Jason Sutter and I have been hard at work for the past two months on Monograph, an on-going documentation project. Head to Monograph.me to learn more.
“I’m going to do a photo project at XO — take a portrait of everyone I hug and then ask them all the same question. I’ll upload the photos to my website afterwards and send it out. I just don’t know what question to ask. Ideas?”
We’re sitting at a bar; it’s the day before XOXO in Portland, OR. I had figured out the mechanic of the project, but not the final question. We’d run through all the generic questions; it was like playing a bad version of Desert Island. Finally, someone asked me a question and it stuck.
“What are you currently struggling with?”
I took a moment to think, had a drink from my beer, and decided to answer honestly.
“I’ve been struggling with returning intention to my work. I recently left a startup that was rudderless and I’m tired of just making things for money. That’s why I want to do this project.”
“Figure out how to phrase that as a question and you’re set.” The question ended up being:
What is it you do or make only for yourself?
“So how long do you think it will take? I want to get it launched as soon as possible.”
It’s a few days after XOXO and I have 81 portraits and interviews that need a home. I’m the proudest I’ve ever been. This is, hands down, the best thing I’ve ever made.
My original plan of uploading them to my photography site in their own album seems woefully inadequate and Jason offered to help.
“Listen, you’ve got all this great content, but you’re going to ruin it if you just upload it to an album. Let’s make something that showcases the work properly instead of just putting it on the internet. This will take more time. That’s okay.”
He’s right and we get to work. About a week later, ForYourself.co is ready and we launch it.
When we launched For Yourself, we included a colophon. It states For Yourself is my project, and thanks Jason for the website. That always bothered me, because by the time we finished the site, it felt like our project.
The interviews and portraits were mine, the site and the randomized answer his. But together, they were greater than the sum of their parts. With a click, you’d get the feeling that you know someone a little more intimately. With a couple of clicks, it felt like you were there.
It’s one of the first sunny days of May. Jason and I grabbed lunch at a taqueria and walked to one of our favorite tea shops — I’ve got an idea and I need his help.
I tell him I want to offer For Yourself style projects to other conferences and events, that I want to do it together, and that I already have a name and URL from a failed magazine concept: Monograph.
He’s in. We agree to start in June.
We’ve been hard at work for the past two months on Monograph, an on-going documentation project. Head to Monograph.me to learn more.
