Love What You Make, Love Who You Are
A conversation with J Reuben, Director of frog Cross Studio Operations, on celebrating Pride, people and love.
As we celebrate a month of LQBTQ+ Pride, we are also thinking about how we can ensure these conversations don’t stop at the end of June — but rather continue to effect change throughout our culture, company and world at large. We sat down with frog veteran of 15 years, J Reuben, to discuss his journey, both personally and professionally, and what it means to keep the conversation going around how we engage and support a culture of real inclusivity.
Tell us a little about your first day at frog.
Well — it was unlike any other first day! I found out that I was 18th hire in the New York studio. Coming from a large organization with 500+ people (this was in the early 2000s in the dot com days) it was nice to bring it back to basics. I had so much experience that I wanted to share, and we needed a lot of help to make the studio great. frog was small back then, and had just gone through a new iteration before I joined. There had been smaller satellite studios around the world, but we decided to focus on the big studios: New York, Munich, San Francisco and Austin.
Even down to the physical space, there was a lot of organization we could use to work better. Getting involved and learning the process, I realized we could use some real streamlining. So, I put together the proposals and made it happen. And it felt really good to come to a place where flexibility and lifestyle were encouraged, where thoughts and ideas were welcome, and you could fail without criticism.
You mentioned the few iterations frog has been through over its 50 years of operation. In your 15 years with frog, what are some of the major culture changes you’ve seen in the studio and in the company at large?
We’ve “grown up,” if you will. When I started, we were kind of like teenagers — small-scale and rebellious, full of idealists. But there was a lot of work to be done! frog wasn’t super process driven at the time. Each studio and discipline had their own way of doing things. Let’s take operations, that’s a process-driven discipline. We needed structure, but there was none. So I said ok, let’s figure it out, what works? what makes sense? From there, we built up a respect for the processes that could then spread out to other areas. It’s like the way your parents create a culture at home, and from there you grow outwards into the world. In that way, frog has always felt like family — a small to big family. It’s always felt super open-minded and smart, not rigid. And that’s all personality driven. You need people for culture. Talent comes in many shapes and forms. You have to be open to all of it.
We can definitely see a link between the culture of a place and the work it produces. As Director of Cross Studio Operations, how do you foster a culture of not only acceptance, but true inclusion?
As a new person, you’re going to encounter a lot when you start a job. No one wants to feel like an outsider, so I try my best to make people feel like they’re included. It’s, ‘come in here and be yourself and do your best work!’ frog is for the most part pretty good about having conversations about diversity and how to foster that inclusion. And as we’re becoming more and more aware, there’s a lot more to consider. It’s always a work in progress, though. I think we’re great in opening up. Being a black gay male, it’s always just been me. But in the last five years, it’s been great to see more folks of color and across the board more diversity. We need to be ready to embrace what comes our way. We need to be able to say, ‘just be you.’
2019 marks a historic year both culturally and for frog — we’re celebrating our 50th anniversary, and it’s been 50 years since the momentous Stonewall uprising. How do you feel we’ve progressed in conversation and action when it comes to being inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community?
I definitely have to say frog has come a long way. Don’t get me wrong, there were lots of efforts before, but recent years have really changed, which is big for me, personally speaking. I don’t think I would be at this point to have this conversation as fully as we do today. It’s great that there’s visibility and people are learning and accepting. But tolerance is not acceptance. Take frog, in our work we push ourselves and don’t stop and keep refining until we have something special. Our motto is “love what you make.” That also has to apply to ourselves. As a gay man, I’m very proud of that. I’ve always been myself, but I feel that I’ve gotten to a point where I can have these conversations more freely. It’s like I don’t have to edit myself. Sadly, in a bigger cultural sense, this acceptance comes in stages. In the gay community, we tackled ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ Now trans folks all over the world that are going through the same things. Which is why it’s so important to remember that people are just people. Not to sound cliché — but love is love.
As we’ve been looking back at the last 50 years, it’s also an opportunity to look forward to the future. What would you like to see in the next 50 years when it comes to creating a better, more inclusive culture for all?
I’ve been very fortunate, as my family was very open when I came out. They know I’ve always been the same person, and as long as I’m safe and happy, they’re happy. Two days ago my mom was wearing a pride t-shirt from a few years back and she called me saying she needed a new one! I want that for everyone.
For the future, I would like to see this change happening not just in conversation, but in the world. I want to be able to wake up and read the news and not see folks struggling to just survive, just to be seen and heard. Sexuality should not be an issue anymore — it’s a fundamental part of our lives. In a perfect world, you will see every spectrum of life represented across the board. There won’t be assumptions made, or questions or obstructions for people who are just trying to live their lives — everyone will have a voice. People fail to realize that this future could be closer than we think. I think it’s possible with education. These conversations start at home. Somewhere we need to teach folks to be more accepting. We need more outlets for communication and conversation. We need less ego, more love. It’s been so challenging for me to watch generations of kids not being accepted for who they are. But if there’s the one common denominator: it’s love.We have to keep reminding ourselves of that.
J Reuben is the Director of Cross Studio Operations at frog Design where he helps guide company-wide quality and culture initiatives through curating frog experiences in the workplace.
