Spotlights
Spotlight on Creativity
June 2008
June's spotlight on creativity is Matthew Fisher, President and Lead Interactive Designer of Night Kitchen Interactive, an interactive design firm located in historic Society Hill in Center City Philadelphia. Matthew founded the company in 1997 in his Old City loft apartment. Night Kitchen Interactive now has over 15 full-and part-time employees.
Matthew consults regularly on the use of interactive storytelling and online collaboration to build audiences and support innovation in museums and non-profits. He recently launched projects including The Art of Storytelling (http://www.artofstorytelling.org) and click! photography changes everything (http://click.si.edu). He actively shares his knowledge by presenting at conferences both in the United States and abroad, such as the American Association of Museums Annual Meeting and the Museums and the Web conference.
Matthew serves on the Advisory Board of The Rosenbach Museum & Library and the Board of Directors for The Philadelphia Area New Media Association (PANMA). He frequently guest lectures in area universities such as the University of the Arts and Temple University. Matthew holds a BA in film from Vassar College. He was born and raised in Powelton Village, one of Philadelphia's many remarkable neighborhoods.
Your name:
Matthew Fisher
Current Location:
Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, PA
Hometown:
Philadelphia, PA
Firm/company:
Night Kitchen Interactive
Occupation:
President / Lead Interactive Designer
Favorite Philadelphia neighborhood:
Northern Liberties, where I currently live, is fantastic. It's a great blend of energetic and laid back, with excellent restaurants and quiet streets. Everything is within walking distance, but you can still park on your street. I especially enjoy the neighborhood's diversity.
Best advice you've ever been given:
Don't be afraid to fail. It sounds obvious, but I've needed to hear it more than once. It doesn't mean "don't be afraid to give up", as some people tend to think. It simply means that things don't always work out the way you expect them to, but if you keep at it and work hard, they will work out.
Your favorite thing about living in the Philadelphia Region:
The great restaurants and cultural events, the Live Arts and Indie Film festivals, the Jersey shore, Philly's great neighborhoods, the farmers' markets, the independent arts scene. I could go on.
Your favorite "Philly moment":
Ed Rendell making a $20 bet at the Eagles-Dallas game that some guy couldn't hit the field with a snowball, leading to an all-out snowball assault that sent Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson running. Ed lost the bet. Eagles won the game.
Your favorite thing about working in the Philadelphia Region:
We have more museums than almost any other city. That means excellent, world-class clients at our doorstep. Also, our regional proximity to NYC and DC increases that number dramatically. And of course, there's my ten minute bike ride to work.
Why own a business/work in Philadelphia?
An affordable cost of living in Philly means affordable salaries. According to salary.com, a $50,000 salary compared to NY or DC equates to only a small (2%-11%) decrease in salary, but a massive (30% - 45%) decrease in the cost of living. So $50,000 translates to $10,000 more disposable income for Philly employees.
Affordable salaries mean we can hire an excellent design team, while maintaining competitive rates, even for our non-profit clients. Our national reach is growing and this factor gives us a competitive edge that firms in other cities just can't match.
How would you market Philadelphia to young professionals outside the region?
In 2006, there was a great ad campaign targeting NYC, which asked something to the affect of "Why stay in that cramped apartment scraping to get by when you can live well in Philly?" A new ad could capture Philly's dramatically lower cost of living, noted above, by showing young Philly hipsters doing all kinds of crazy things with their disposable income. The tagline could be: "What are you going to do with your $10,000 a year?"
What are the challenges of owning a business in the Philadelphia Region?
Taxes
Lowering the Business Privilege Tax is vital to bringing more creative businesses into the region. While I don't advocate for an across the board BPT reduction for all creative businesses, I think it would be a great incentive for small and start-up businesses.
Brain drain
The region's best young talent doesn't tend to stick around very long. There are great opportunities here, but the young and the talented don't know about them or don't consider them as seriously as they do the jobs in some other cities.
What advice would you give to a budding entrepreneur in the Philadelphia Region?
Do what you believe in, everything else will follow.
Our first interactive project was a financial fiasco. But it was very creative and caught the eye of a curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which led to a wonderful working relationship.
Equally important:
Work hard.
In the beginning, being an entrepreneur usually means working harder, and typically for less money. But it's worth it when you succeed.
Night Kitchen Interactive is an award-winning interactive design firm with over 10 years of experience in the arts & cultural heritage. Through close collaboration with curators, marketers, and educators, Night Kitchen creates unique online experiences that inform, engage, and inspire. Clients include The Pew Charitable Trusts, The National Constitution Center, and The Smithsonian Institution.
To learn more about Matthew and his work in the region, visit: http://www.whatscookin.com.