heltering with Benjamin Mosse

I like Khoi Vinh. I may not always agree with him but he’s one of the few designers or thinkers who’s had a tremendous impact on me over the years. I used his work as a model for my work with The Associated Press. I listened to him a few times in New York and Austin discussing the NY Times organization as well as reaching back into the past and comparing differences between generations at The Times. Both performances were understated, modest and entertaining. He has a finely-honed sense of appropriateness in his work that has instilled itself into the team he brought together at the NY Times.

He once likened his work to turning the steamship around. It’s hard work, best done by tugs: small, determined boats with significant pulling power to be drawn from their engines. I guess I feel that Khoi has that power within him and it is impressive to see. Near the end, I can only imagine what issues he was facing within the organization — or within any organization that faces at its core such a radical shift in its way of doing business.

I’m also impressed to see that he has the power to cut the guidelines and use that energy in new ways. I’m sure there’s a relief in the sudden lack of tension, a giddy unsteadiness in the momentum from such a move.

I have another friend, who lives quite close to Khoi, in Brooklyn. This friend of mine once hired a tug boat to bring him and his then girlfriend on a slow cruise of the New York harbour. With this slow-burn power idling, he proposed to her. Things have changed between the two of them but I’ll never forget the power of the paradox: strong determination set against the frenzy of the city.

Khoi has it and I wish him well.