What green means to me
Right around when my book came out, 40% of my company was laid off. For me, the hardest part was losing my team. I worked on a team of 3 product designers, 2 marketing designers, a design lead, and a director of UX and design — a real dream team.
Yes, these are exceptionally talented professionals, but they are also exceptional people and that’s what makes it so hard. We so genuinely care about each other and are authentically excited for each other’s successes, that it’s only natural that we support each other in every way we can. One of the many ways that’s manifested was in choosing the color of my book.
The book is based on a series of talks, masterclasses, and thoughts about the return on investment (ROI) of UX writing… so ya know… ROI… money… green. When I said I was thinking, for that reason, the book should be green, the publisher’s designer gave me the following choices:
“Money (or grass!) green; or a vibrant green that reminds me of limes; or a teal-ish green — still very lush and maybe stops a couple steps before getting to day-glo. Take a look and see if any of these are speaking to you.”
WHAT?! I don’t do colors. I do words. Of course, I made a bee line for my team. Specifically, I asked Michal, who designed the images in the book and also designs the decks for all of my conference talks. HELP! What color do I want for my book??
Noa and Sonia were also there and the committee commenced. This was a serious decision and they deliberated accordingly. This was time and energy they could have used to do anything else. They didn’t owe me anything. They weren’t getting anything. They took it on for the sake of enjoying the task and supporting me. That’s what I see when I look at my book cover now.
It’s not the green of money anymore; it’s the green of caring and support. It reminds me of the days the 8 of us spent in our office together, laughing more than working but also working together to build amazing things. And the time we spent over Zoom during the pandemic crying together, organizing care packages for each other, and also finding the silver linings, and meeting each other’s kids and pets. That’s what I see when I see my green book.
