written by Chris Arnold on February 11, 2011

We've made it through a good chunk of the year since we launched the collaborative studio day at our office space. So far we have new acquaintances and a few new friends. Some newly realized insights, too.

Pre-Launch

In my first installment on this topic—I'll call it the exploratory Part 1 offering—I spoke of collaborative work spaces, but more so discussed a new collaborative work idea. I declared things we hoped would happen or scenarios we wished upon ourselves for the new once-a-month collaborative effort.

Fast forward many-a-month and we've found that some of things went as planned while others did not. More than anything we're learning about the process as each month passes and since last summer a few things have bubbled to the surface that weren't on our minds at the time.

Let's explore, shall we?

Misconceptions

Perhaps the largest communicative blunder associated with our collab days was the idea that we literally stopped work for a full day, "collaborated" on a new project, blew minds, and cheered one another for being fantastic designers (with inexplicably frothy drinks). Maybe it's partially our fault for not being crystal clear on the Collaboratory website, but perhaps our goal wasn't of the norm to begin with.

Until we started clarifying ahead of time to our visitors, we'd get questions like, to paraphrase, "So what will we be collaborating on; or is that how it works?" It's a fair enough question, though, if you think about it:

1. Our office space is called the Collaboratory
2. We talk a lot about sharing ideas with new people
3. We're proposing day-long collab sessions with fellow creatives
4. It's kind of like a field trip (and who works on a field trip?)

And the more I started thinking about it, even the quirky and sometimes overly talkative barista at our local coffee shop often asks us:

Heck, there's even a website about all this stuff. When I step back and consider the messaging, perhaps the initial lack direction to our collaborators was a bad call. We quickly mitigated this, though, with our welcoming emails. Clarification was king in this instance. (And still is to inquiring minds.)

Booking

We had a tough time getting a system down for accepting guests. At first we had more applicants than slots open, so we'd "announce" to the collaborators roughly 1 week prior to the date of their acceptance and encourage others to re-apply for future months.

As the influx reverted to a steady few a month, this seemed silly. Why wait until the last minute to give word to our applicants for a certain month? We threw that out the door and more or less began welcoming guests on a first come, first served basis. Even if it's months ahead, it just makes more sense that way. The early bird gets the worm.

Note: if you're an out-of-towner interested in partaking and can't make plans until your travel draws nearer, we'll gladly pull up an extra seat. Just say hello.

Observation

What makes Person A versus Person B tick are not necessarily in my professional repertoire, but a host of similarities have come forth after many months of observation. In my very humble (and admittedly semi-introvert, need-my-cave-time) opinion, the typical creative comes in many different shapes and sizes, but they've stuck to the following social generalities. Entirely unscientific, but perhaps worth noting.

Persona A

• Stoked to be there, immediately asking questions about what we're all working on
• Doesn't necessarily want to take a seat just yet; needs to explore all physical and mental spaces
• Discusses the latest design-thing that's on Twitter to fill time gaps
• Can't wait until the point in the day where we all get together to talk shop
• When said talking shop begins, it doesn't end

Persona B

• Quiet, unassuming, and thankful for hanging out for the day
• Grabs a seat and sets up space for the day
• Won't take offered coffee or tea and smiles politely
• Humble about their own work, whether or not it blows everyone away
• Just (internally) glad to be in a new environment for a change of pace

Persona C

• Cooly interested in what the day may hold
• Not entirely sure what to think of their decision; bad, maybe?
• Takes a half dozen phone calls outside during the day
• Go with the flow come time for food and checking out others' work
• Obligatory thanks post-collab time

Much to my satisfaction, I can't really think of a "bad" experience with any single collaborator. Each persona brings a different feel for the day. There might have been 1 or 2 that my hunch says were bored by the end of the day, but that's ok. We aren't trying to reinvent the wheel here, but we are trying to stir the pot a bit.

Ultimately there's nothing more fulfilling to see two guest creatives chatting all day that didn't previously know each other. Thankfully, depending on the mix for the month, each guest generally brings a different fold to the table and it's great to see new people sharing ideas and learning new things.

If our guests leave with one thing in mind, I would hope it's that collaboration, however you want to define it, is important for creative growth. At the very least, inspiring.

Setting A Tone

We don't sketch out a timeline for the day on our white board, so guest collaborators make the day for themselves. Being in a room with 4 other designers, developers, photographers, motion designers, or any other subset of design is, in itself, the encouragement we facilitate—what the collaborators do with it is up to them. While we may give a quick 30 second run through about the basic plan for the day, it's ultimately the guests that make or break the flow.

From what I've observed, our guests either excel at starting conversations or sort of fail at it entirely. Some of our best days come from someone who gets everyone in conversation on and off for the entire day. We'll talk about some "it" topic for 15 minutes then run off the track towards other topics: app development, illustration methods, how to deal with a certain kind of client, or whatever else comes up. It's fun.

When there's no conversation, there's no progress. Simple, I know, but we didn't start this little experiment to stand on soap boxes and preach to our peers. If the willingness isn't there, it's not the end of the world—the day will proceed just fine but lack a certain spark.

It's always great to leave at the end of the day thinking the guests were fun and conversation was worthwhile, and each month we're all hoping that greasing the wheels is enough to get things moving with our fellow colleagues.

The Mirror

The odds will beg to question: maybe you're the reason a day is a dud, though? And I don't entirely disagree. If we're exhibiting signs of apathy, do our guests as well? Is that just human nature? As I mentioned previously, we don't plan anything, nor can we know when client work might get spicy, which, in effect, could throw us off on any particular day.

I haven't necessarily figured this out, and I'm not sure there's much of an answer. We all get tied up from time to time. Since nothing's sugar coated about the experience, it's all real. Mostly good days, some bad days sprinkled in, but rolling with the punches is part of the process, on both sides.

Second Wind

It's undeniable that our post-day designer meetups (where we tie together a monthly hangout of local creatives) is icing atop the collab day cake. Whether the day was a complete success or we gimped through critique sessions, the fresh faces, appetizers, and a beverage of choice smooths things right out.

And that's the neat thing about our collab days. Sure, maybe they won't prevail for the next 5 years, but for now, we're satisfied with meeting new creatives and connecting otherwise unconnected faces. It's our own little experience; our own little mark in time that could be beneficial for each person that pops in to say hello.

While I don't believe our goals have changed, I believe our expectations have shifted a bit. We're more comfortable with what to expect from our peers, and more likely to find our way into fulfilling conversation. Whether it's at lunch, between phone calls in the afternoon, or over drinks, it typically works out for us all in the end.

Won't you join us, too? March is already booked solid, but other options still exist. First come, first served, early bird.

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