 |
 |
The interesting question may not be the definition of collaboration as much as what ways designers can work together with designers and others. The prevailing method in many areas is to the left side of a chart that ranges from radically individual to radically communal. It is not surprising that the distribution of design processes often tends to lean left on such a chart; it is very easy to imagine what a radically individual work process would be and hard to imagine what would really deserve the adverb attached to communal. Designers showing up to a meeting with other designers could be part of a collaborative process if there is a sense of shared ownership of the ideas represented. If the process is "choose our favorite solution" then it might be a stretch to call the design work collaborative, even if an initial design decision is. If the other designers look at a representation of a solution and feel free to change, add to, subtract from, refine, or use as a springboard to other approaches, then that could become a fairly communal process. A challenge I have been grappling with (as a working designer and graphic design teacher, not as a researcher) is how designers and others can best share thoughts and understanding early in the design process. In my experience, this is tricky to manage. Verbal decisions about design made early often lock the design process into a too-narrow range and asking people with no design experience to make decisions they can't possibly understand is both stupid and unfair. On the other extreme, bringing a finished artifact or plan to others and asking for an up or down vote disallows the application of broader experience and diverse points of view. Gunnar ---------- Gunnar Swanson School of Art & Design East Carolina University Greenville, North Carolina 27858 [log in to unmask] +1 252 328 2839 > I would like you opinion about: > > When each person ( referrring a group of designers) brings prepared work > to a meeting ( a meeting with designers), is it true that they are not > collaborating when they design the work. > > Thanks > > > Arminda Lopes