the story of
The ‘meditation’ videos on this site had a previous life as a DVD series called Wee See. They were a collection of 32 animations (spread across two DVDS) that gave new parents a way to provide their children with gentle, and delightful, visual and auditory stimulation.
The idea came to me one day when I was sitting with my infant daughter back in 2008. While I was sensitive to exposing her to TV at such a young age, we had been gifted a Baby Einstein DVD during our baby shower, and my curiosity got the best of me. What I experienced left me in shock. It was an endless procession of puppets and toys, in seemingly arbitrary sequence, being dangled in front of the camera accompanied by a blanketed track of classical music. While my eyes were rolling, they happened upon the area of our apartment where my daughter’s crib and play area was. I noticed how much of our gear was designed with bold black and white patterns. I understood this was because of the slow development of infant vision, and that babies are more responsive to objects in bold, highly contrasting colors. It was in that moment that the idea for Wee See was born.
I was confident I had the expertise to execute all aspects of the project – with one exception, the music. Fortunately, I shared the idea with close friends Tim DeLaughter, Julie Doyle and Mark Pirro (Tripping Daisy & Polyphonic Spree) and they immediately got the vision and signed on to score the animations. It was an ideal partnership. The very nature of the project created a direct challenge to see how deeply we could tap into our inner children. Every creative choice prioritized delivering something playful and unexpected.
We introduced Wee See to the world in 2009. It received rave reviews from the most trusted parenting blogs and publications at the time, and drew considerable attention from the creative and design communities.
Stores we’re quick to give Wee See a place on their shelves. From boutique children’s shops to the most iconic museum stores across the globe. Wee See stood out as something wonderfully different.
The response from customers was incredibly inspiring. Everyone loved what we’d created. And by everyone, I mean, everyone. People were constantly sharing how they put them on for their children, but then found themselves sinking into their couches, relaxed and engaged. Several people even claimed they would pour themselves a glass of wine at the end of a long day and watch, sans-children – or just put it on as a calming wallpaper that played in the background.
Eventually, as things went digital, so did Wee See. Unfortunately, the timing of that transition caught us at a moment when ‘life’ had to take priority, and the animations got lost in the expanse of the internet. That is, with the exception of the two original sampler videos on YouTube which are still chugging along with close to 2 million combined views (!!!).
Now, as I reflect upon them nearly 18 years after their creation, I’m very proud of how they still hold up. I’m giving thought as to what the right way to resurface them to the world, but in the meantime, they’re here on my site for all to enjoy. I hope you do.
Bonus Materials
How our DVDs started when played.
Wee See tablet experience mock
The sticker we used to seal our shipping boxes also came in handy on subway commutes.