Six Questions for Bob Healy

Get to know the newest member to join the BatesMeron team, Bob Healy! Bob is our new Design Lead, and we’re already brimming with a fresh sense of creativity with him leading our design ranks.

I interviewed Bob as part of our 6 Questions feature: a series of one-on-one interviews with people we work with who make us proud. Sometimes I like to turn the tables and put our own staffers in the hot seat so you not only get to meet them, but also see just how special our team really is.

1. To kick things off, let’s break the ice with a little Spill the Bees. From one card, drawn randomly: You have to appear on a reality show. What show do you pick?

MTV’s The Challenge. I love me a good athletic competition, and like to think I’d be mature enough to dodge the drama in the house. Plus, I’m still somehow younger than a lot of the contestants on that show.

2. As our new Design Lead, what led you to your passion for design?

Some of my biggest (non-design-specific) passions sort of subliminally led me to design. I grew up doodling 90s alternative band logos and analyzing sports branding and uniforms, and eventually became a craft beer design nerd—but it wasn’t until after college that I realized that design was something that could combine all of those things into one passion-satisfying career. Once I took the leap into design, I never looked back.

Bonus question: If you weren’t a designer, what would you be doing?

I’d be running some sort of small business—I’d probably try to open either a brewery or a CrossFit gym (balance, am I right?). Both bring people joy in different ways.

3. As a branding agency, we’re always looking out for new inspiration. What brand do you think is really killing it right now?

Pretty much anything that Jon Contino touches. I know that doesn’t answer the question exactly, but I enjoy pretty much anything he produces.

One brand that consistently puts out great design is Vans. Everything from their marketing to their website to the product itself oozes skate culture, but manages to find new and fresh ways to do that regularly. 

4. What are your hobbies outside of the world of design?

Being active is a big part of my life. My wife and I take our dog on long hikes (can we call them hikes in the Midwest?) every weekend, and I’m an avid CrossFitter. I’m also a music junkie—can’t go a day without it, and love going to shows (pre-pandemic). I also love Chicago sports, the Cubs and Bears especially.

5. If the pandemic ended tomorrow and life went back to “normal,” what is the first thing you would do?

My wife and I love to travel, so if we went back to “normal” tomorrow, I’m sure we’d book some kind of trip immediately. We did our honeymoon in Europe, so it’d probably be a return trip to some of our favorite spots in Italy and Greece. Plus, given the weather in Chicago right now, it’d be a pretty huge weather upgrade.

6. Lightning Round:

Summer or winter? Summer, and it’s not even close.

Early bird or night owl? Early bird (thanks, coffee!)
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Pizza or burgers? Pizza.