The Egotist Interviews: Joshua Hirsch of Big Spaceship

Shortly after retiring from rock stardom, Joshua Hirsch became digital agency Big Spaceship’s Minister of Technology in 2002. Once the agency’s sole coder, he is now a mentor and leader of the development team responsible for building numerous award-winning digital projects. Overseeing R&D efforts, he is a continual supplier of technical solutions and innovations. Josh is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences and a long-standing adviser on Adobe product launches. He shares his expertise at industry conferences, instructional workshops and awards panels throughout the world. He is also a video game aficionado.

Q: Give us a little background on yourself and how you ended up as Minister of Technology at Big Spaceship.

A: I started at Big Spaceship in summer 2002 as the sole coder. There were six of us at the time. As the team grew I started referring to myself as Minister of Technology, and now it’s on my business card. Not sure how far back you want me to go, so stop me when you are bored… Before BSS I was a designer and developer at Asymptote and Guggenheim.com. Before that I was a working musician in Chicago, doing print and web design gigs on the side. Before that I was getting an Art History degree at Northwestern University. Before that I was growing up in Atlanta, Georgia.

Q: Minister of Technology is an interesting job title. Describe your average day at work.

A: Read some email. Evaluate tech feasibility of a potential project. Write code. Help out a developer with a code problem. Get help from a developer on a code problem. Call or meeting with a client. Punish someone at ping pong. Brainstorm with the crew on a new project. Research new technology.

Q: It’s 2019. How is your job different today than it was back in 2009?

A: I commute to my office on the moon in my rocket car.

Things change so fast in this industry, I don’t make predictions for what is going to be going on in 6 months, let alone 10 years.

Q: What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now that you can actually talk about?

A: Unfortunately, I’m not able to talk about any of the cool stuff we are working on presently. But a couple of cool recent launches are Packland for Lands’ End and a site for Alienware’s new laptop. ).

Q: What’s the most inspiring digital project you’ve run across over the past year and why?

A: The single most inspiring thing I’ve seen this year is Kutiman’s Thru-You project. If anyone reading this hasn’t seen it, check it immediately if not sooner.

Specifically in the realm of digital marketing, I really liked the European campaign called Banner Concerts, for a financial institution trying to attract younger customers. It was a competition of independent bands. Videos were shot of the finalists performing a song while crammed in a banner shaped box. The performances then showed up in banner spots on sites, and viewers could vote for their favorites. You can see some of the videos here.

Q: What are three websites, other than ours, that you can’t live without on a daily basis?

A: There are a handful of sites I visit everyday, which are all pretty obvious – Google, ESPN, MacUpdate, YouTube – but I don’t think there are any I couldn’t live without.

Q: Not to sound crass, but why does a stellar digital agency such as yours have a templatized website that looks like an average blog? Shouldn’t you guys be setting an example with something functional yet cool and funky?

A: We approached the redesign of our website as we would any project for any client. We always start by figuring out what the ultimate goal is. From there we work to come up with the most appropriate strategy, design and technology to serve that goal. We do our best not to make any decisions about execution until we have a clear idea of what we are trying to do. If a client comes to us and says “We need a website” the first thing we ask is “Are you sure?”

Sometimes the highest priority is to evoke a mood, sometimes it is to entertain, and sometimes it is to provide information. These are severely simplified examples, but hopefully you get the idea.

In the case of our own site, we spent a lot of time thinking about the audience we wanted to reach, and how they would be using the site. Without going into specifics of where we arrived, the site we ended up building best serves the needs of the people viewing it, and allows us to communicate with them in the way we want.

I personally think the Big Spaceship site looks decidedly above average, is functional, cool and funky, and sets an example of the choosing the right design and technology for the job.

Q: Will traditional ad agencies ever understand digital well enough to take digital agencies out of the picture?

A: I don’t think digital agencies will ever be “out of the picture.” There will always be big agencies that claim to do everything and “boutique” agencies who specialize in certain areas. The big change traditionally minded agencies need to make, in my opinion, is understanding how the execution of digital content is closely tied to the strategy and concept. In an effort to explain this to clients, we often use the process of creating a television spot as an example. Once an idea for a spot is decided on, the execution is typically a known quantity. This is not the case in digital. With the vast spectrum of deployment options and technology platforms, we believe the only way to arrive at the best ideas is having some understanding of the possibilities of all of these options.

Q: There’s been an obvious return to function over form/entertainment on the Internet. Web 3.0 is about communication and immediate access to information. How can an entertainment-based development program like Flash adapt to that model and philosophy?

A: I continue to see just as much “entertainment” content on the Internet as I see “function over form” content. I would categorize what you are referring to as a continued maturation of digital content creators in regards to how the content is presented. Just as we did with our site, I like to think that others are putting more thought into choosing the right technology and design for the goals they are trying to achieve.

At the risk of going against my earlier stated policy of not making predictions, I think Flash will continue to be a huge part of the Internet landscape for a while anyway. It is the perfect platform for online games, immersive experiences, it is the leader in video delivery, and it will always be a viable choice for creating expressive online apps.

Q: What’s your take on the massive shortage of digital talent in today’s market, and what does Big Spaceship do to try to make it a non-issue for your firm?

A: We make a big effort to reach out to educational institutions and students in the hopes of helping the curriculum stay up-to-date, and give the students a real idea of how the skills they are learning will translate into the real world. Members of our crew are often visiting schools to give guest lectures, we often have students visiting the studio, and we have a robust internship program.

Q: SoDA (the Society of Digital Agencies) is a big partner in Boulder Digital Works – the heavily lauded new digital school at the University of Colorado. With the CEO of Big Spaceship being a founder (and obvious proponent) of SoDA, what’s your perspective on the school and what they’re hoping to achieve this October when everything goes live?

A: I actually just learned about BDW very recently. SoDA put out a call to all of the member agencies for folks who would be interested in offering expertise as guest instructors. A number of people from Big Spaceship, including myself, submitted our names for consideration, so hopefully I will be spending some time out there soon.

Q: Mac or PC?

A: BSS is 99.9% Mac.

Q: Harvard Business School studied Big Spaceship’s “multi-disciplinary, team-based approach” and produced a case study earlier this year that posed the question of how Big Spaceship will continue to grow while maintaining the culture that has sustained the firm’s success. Are you guys proving those Harvard geeks right or wrong?

A: First off, it is an absolute honor to have the HBS think we were worth spending some time on, and to know that we are now part of the coursework up there. Growth has never really been a high priority of ours, as much as it has been a bi-product of our success. We grew from 6 to around 60 in only a few years, and then leveled out around the 40-50 mark. This size feels right and is manageable for the culture we want and the work we want to do. Our culture is very important to us.

Q: You’ll be here in Denver speaking on behalf of AIGA’s speaker series. What value has AIGA provided to you during your career?

A: Honestly, I can’t really think of any way it has directly affected my career to this point. But I have spoken at one AIGA event before here in New York, and it was great.

Q: What will be the topic of your presentation while in Denver?

A: I will be talking about our general process and philosophy, how we keep the creativity flowing and keep the crew fresh, our culture, some techniques, taking a close look at some recent client projects and potentially lesser known internal projects, all while making jokes.

Q: Why should we spend our Wednesday night at your lecture instead of at the office working late like every other night?

A: I hear the museum is nice. And did I mention I’ll be making jokes?

Joshua Hirsch speaks tomorrow night as part of AIGA Colorado’s Speaker Series
Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Denver Art Museum – Frederic C. Hamiliton Building, Sharpe Auditorium
Get Tickets