Matt McCue
Matt McCue is the Editor-in-Chief of 99U. He lives in New York City, but he is willing to travel long distances for a good meal. Find him @mattmccuewriter or email him at mccue@adobe.com.
Scott Belsky: How to Navigate the Messy Middle of a Creative Venture
The starts and finishes of a project seem to get all the headlines and press, but they don’t adequately reflect the extreme swings that occur during the middle section of a journey. In his new book, The Messy Middle, 99U Founder Scott Belsky shares lessons in entrepreneurship around the crucial, but overlooked part of a creative endeavor.
By Matt McCue
Does Your Company Need a Chief Storyteller?
From a hobby blogger to the head of storytelling at Microsoft, Steve Clayton charts his unlikely career rise and shares how stories about people can bring real value to a company.
By Matt McCue
Perfecting Your Sales Pitch to Get Your Ideas the Green Light
As designers strive to build businesses and brands of their own, many find they need to be fluent in more than Photoshop to spark the interest of the investment community. And for those looking to launch a company or clearly articulate a new business idea, veteran investor Tige Savage, Managing Partner at Revolution Ventures, offers his best advice on how to craft a winning pitch.
By Matt McCue
Bleak Time, Bold Moves: The State of the Digital Nation 2020
Jules Ehrhardt’s provocative observations on the state of digital consultancies comes with a message of hope for those in the industry.
By Matt McCue
Tax Tips for Freelance Creatives: Debunking Common Myths
We debunk common myths and set the record straight.
By Matt McCue
Pentagram’s Natasha Jen on Pseudo Feminism, the Power of Passive Activism, and “Alien Stuff”
“We can choose not to participate in the consumption and production of [certain] brands and their products. I still believe that the choice of not participating is a kind of activism.”
By Matt McCue
Jenny Arden: Look for Dark Horses and Misfits
The Airbnb user experience design manager unpacks how Airbnb is designing for the superhost, what her team is learning offline that they are applying online, and how the line between design and business is so blurry these days she can’t even see it anymore.
By Matt McCue
Ian Spalter: Find the Grind that is Your Personal Fairytale
Instagram's head of design, Ian Spalter, has numerous management tools in his belt to get the best work out of his team—from Monopoly brainstorm sessions to timeboxing. But, for Spalter, the most important tool is obsession. In an interview with 99U, he remembers learning early that the things you're willing to waste time and energy on might just be the key to ultimate success.
By Matt McCue
Hector Ouilhet: Making Technology Human
In teaching computers how to communicate with people, Hector Ouilhet, Google's head of design for Search sees in the technology the same 'painful yet interesting' learning phases that a young person goes through when becoming an adult. To train computers in the art of questions, Ouilhet looks to the questing period of his own youth and to his four-year-old daughter for models of both simple and complicated questions that he wants computers of the future to understand.
By Matt McCue
Erik Spiekermann: No Free Pitches
German font god Erik Spiekermann doesn't plan to retire anytime soon. In fact, the 70-year-old doesn't plan on retiring at all. Consider the following the rules according to Spiekermann, a primer on design, entrepreneurship, business, culture, and aging gracefully, as told through his stories.
By Matt McCue
How to Tell Your Story
A five-step guide for how to build and develop a compelling narrative, that can be adapted to your preferred storytelling medium.
By Matt McCue
An Abbreviated History of Design in Silicon Valley
Make it New author Barry Katz discusses what led to Silicon Valley’s awakening as a design hub.
By Matt McCue
