This content originally appeared on Brad Frost and was authored by Brad Frost
I’ve been putting my younger brother Ian to work for his entire life. See Exhibit A:
Why yes, that is my crawling baby brother hitched with a string to a wagon I made out of Waffle Blocks. Fast forward to today, and Ian’s now been hauling digital Waffle Blocks for the last 10 years at Brad Frost Web.
While this has been our dynamic our entire lives, we know it’s not a relationship built on punch-you-in-the-arm big-brother exploitation, but one of deep love, collaboration, and partnership. We have different, complementary personalities: I have our mom’s loquacious hyper-extroverted dynamo energy, while Ian inherited our dad’s quiet and reserved steadiness. This yin and yang relationship is why we don’t fall into the “I could never work with my sibling!” sentiment we constantly hear from people when they find out we work together.
A Meteorologist Turned Web Developer
I was in Germany for a conference and got on Facebook because I couldn’t sleep. Ian was online. It was one month out from his wedding, and Ian and his fiancé were still in a long-distance relationship. Here was our conversation:
So that’s what we did. I drew up a 3-month long contract, Ian moved to Pittsburgh, got married, and afterwards came over to my house to get to work.
10 years later, Ian’s still coming over to my house to get to work.
A crash course in web design and design systems galore
Ian took Codecademy’s HTML & CSS course to get acclimated and gave him a pretty unique first project to dig into: the website for Death To Bullshit (click the “Turn bullshit on?” button to see Ian’s handiwork).
Eventually Ian started helping with our client work, and together we ended up building design systems with/for some of the world’s largest companies. I truly don’t think I’m hyperbolizing when I say that Ian’s likely coded more enterprise-grade design systems than nearly anyone else on the planet, and has become a true expert in front-end web development.
While his technical prowess is admirable, our model has always been not just to make amazing things, but to teach others how to make amazing things as well. As Ian progressed, he easily transitioned into the role of teacher. He continues to show up 1000% for all of our collaborators, clients, and students. He listens, empathizes and validates, and then steadily teaches, guides, coaches, and helps. He does this with warmth and kindness. He does this without ego or fanfare. He’s been essential to helping countless teams level up their technical chops and work better together.
Pivot to courses and beyond
When Ian and I had to shift gears at the end of last year, I knew the opportunities — but also the sheer number of tasks we had to complete — were many. It’s been incredible to see Ian dive headfirst into new roles and uncharted territory, and to freaking own it. We spent over 6 months launching our first course — Subatomic: The Complete Guide To Design Tokens — and I’m so incredibly proud of our results.
With our new Atomic Design course underway and even more amazing stuff on the horizon, Ian’s bringing all of his hard-earned lessons and best practices for the benefit of the design & development community. I couldn’t be prouder.
Navigating work and life
Along this journey, we’ve navigated and endured countless flavors of trauma and hardship. It would be so easy to slide into cynicism, resentment, and despair, but thanks to Ian’s quiet wisdom and impeccable character, we’ve come out closer, stronger, wiser, more loving, and more compassionate. He’s always been there for me, and has always made sure I never lose sight of what’s really important in life.
We just want people to be healthy, happy, and safe. We just want people to be well. We just want people to get along. We just want to do good. We just want to love our families. And we know that the overwhelming majority of people on this earth want the same. These are the conversations we have. Until we switch back to fart jokes and obscure SNL quotes.
Music and more
Not only did we share a bedroom until I went off to college, we’ve also been playing music together for the majority of our lives.
Like everything else, I’ve been more forward and visible with my musical self, while Ian slides under the radar. Which is why I was so incredibly pumped for Frostapalooza. Very few people knew Ian even played drums, and even fewer people knew what an absolute powerhouse of a drummer he is. Ian was finally able to unleash his musical prowess on an unsuspecting audience. It was amazing.
Here’s to the next 10 years!
We have done so much, but we’re just getting started. I’m looking out onto the horizon with so much excitement about all of the amazing stuff we’re dreaming up. And I couldn’t ask for a better colleague, friend, and brother to come along for the ride. I owe so much to Ian and know how incredibly lucky I am to have such an amazing brother by my side. Here’s to the next 10 years, Ian. I’ll allow myself a rare moment to explicitly and awkwardly say I love you!
This content originally appeared on Brad Frost and was authored by Brad Frost
Brad Frost | Sciencx (2025-08-05T22:48:01+00:00) 10 years of working with my brother, Ian!. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/08/05/10-years-of-working-with-my-brother-ian/
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