Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Brett.
Matthew, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve been a graphic designer and involved in branding and visual identity since I came to Chicago after university in 1992.
Substance began in 2005. I was in Barcelona, Spain on holiday, sitting on the steps of the Miro Museum with a coffee, Suddenly I realized “I don’t want to work for other people the rest of my life.”
After that epiphany, I sketched out a plan for myself, what I wanted my life and company to look like. Then I came back to Chicago, quit my agency job, and set about making it happen. I suppose it sounds a lot easier than it actually was.
Substance works with clients to tell their stories in the most compelling, authentic way possible. When I started the company, it was very important to build brands around ideas that mattered; not getting caught up in stylistic trivialities. Hence the name Substance. It was also important to work with clients that are contributing something to society and not just chasing after the biggest check. Consequently, we’ve had the privilege of working with some of Chicago’s most vital nonprofits: AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Thresholds, Forefront (formerly Donors Forum), Great Books Foundation, and The History Makers.
It’s not always easy but it’s incredibly rewarding and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Getting to where we are now was not without challenges. At the outset, we didn’t have any clients. I socked always 6 months’ worth of expenses and told myself if I couldn’t make it work in that time, I would get another agency job.
When you’re first starting out, you’re really trying to keep the lights on, so you can’t be as judicious about the type of work you take on. While I’m proud of most all the work we have done, there were certainly projects in our early days that were not as inspiring as the work we pursue now.
Now we’re in a position where if a client isn’t the right fit in terms of their mission or personality, we’ll take a pass. There are only so many hours in the day, we want to partner with the clients that value what we offer.
Please tell us about Substance.
Substance is a Chicago-based creative agency focused on strategic visual communication. We partner with both corporate and not-for-profit clients to develop messaging that inspires thought and promotes action. Our work is based on developing visual communication that is driven by the strategic objectives of our clients, not by stylistic trends.
Buckminster Fuller once said “When working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”
That comes pretty close to describing our approach and why we are called Substance. Our areas of practice include branding, visual identity, and building out the print collateral or web design of the brand.
Our work is more conceptual and content driven than many other firms. We usually start writing in tandem with initial sketching of ideas. The words and images need to complement each other to tell the most compelling story.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
In some ways, I wish I had started earlier. In other ways, I’m glad I waited, since I was able to learn at different agencies before going out on my own.
The greatest lesson learned is to trust your intuition. If a client, opportunity, employee—anything; doesn’t feel right, don’t pursue it. It can be hard because we all want to grab the brass ring when we see an opportunity. But some of those rings are hollow.
Contact Info:
- Address: 314 West Superior
Suite 300
Chicago, Illinois 60654 - Website: www.isubstance.com
- Phone: 3124773457
- Email: info@isubstance.com
- Instagram: mbrett12
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Substance-127982745274/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SubstanceVisual
Bus stop billboard at night. Blank advertising space, bus passing by
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