Good Design Thrives in a Culture of Collaboration

Design schools encourage collaboration more than industry

We are currently working on a dream project, converting a 19th-century country house into a spectacular hotel. Part of the design journey has included visiting several hotels that have freely opened their doors to show us around, sharing their experiences of what works for them and what doesn’t. It is a reminder of why collaboration in the design industry is so important and why we have always been very open as a practice, sharing our ideas, suppliers and collaborators. In my opinion, no one benefits from closing their doors and being secretive. Collaboration and the sharing of ideas is crucial if everyone is to achieve the best outcomes.

I’ve often mused that design schools do a far better job of encouraging collaboration than the commercial design world. In fact, all too often, the belief in the design industry is that collaboration and the sharing of ideas should be shut down. Otherwise, in theory, you lose your competitive edge. This is a mistake if businesses want to thrive whilst tackling issues such as waste, carbon and exploited labour markets. Also, the true value of a project or product is not in the idea itself, but in the quality of the team that executes it.

lightbulb moments can happen in a dark tavern

Back in 2000, Kate and I met at Goldsmiths College in South East London. It was an exciting place to study, although it did not take much to excite me after spending the previous eighteen years in a sleepy Suffolk village. The academic environment was playful but industrious, and many a time, the classroom would extend into the pub. My friends and I spent countless evenings holed up in the corner of The Rosemary Branch, our local boozer, helping each other through our thoughts and ideas. Scribbling in sketchbooks and quaffing cheap pints of ale. These sessions often proved to be very productive, and some of my best projects originated from a light bulb moment in a dark corner of The Goldsmith Tavern or the beer garden of The Hobgoblin. Goldsmiths created a culture where being a designer was not an academic enterprise limited to the classroom; in fact, it followed you everywhere you went. It became part of the way we interacted with the world, continually seeing problems and thinking up solutions. It created a culture where collaboration, and the sharing of ideas, accelerated the learning of everyone.

No one wins unless everyone wins

Many years later, at a literary festival in Devon in 2015, I heard a talk from the wonderful writer and entrepreneur, Margaret Heffernan. She had recently completed a book called A Bigger Prize: When No One Wins Unless Everyone Wins. In her speech, she said, ‘Competition in education disables collaboration, and it encourages a focus on outcomes rather than inputs, on prizes rather than process.’

It suddenly put my education into context and helped to explain why my experiences at Goldsmiths were so positive and why a collaborative and open design approach remains an integral part of our business today. I felt the group collectively thrived and benefited from a collaborative approach to education – one where ideas were not owned and hidden but shared, discussed and enriched through discourse. As a result, the majority of students succeeded, not through competition and isolation, but through collaboration.

competition still has a place but it’s not the full picture

I am naturally a competitive person, and I do not dispute that competition has its benefits. It can make us more industrious and help to maximise the potential of some people. But in my opinion, the best and most rounded designs come from group collaboration. In the design industry, there is a tendency to focus on individuals. The iconic designer drinking espressos and churning out ingenious designs on the backs of cigarette packets or paper napkins. But that is not the full picture. The most effective designs might have a figurehead who provides vision and clarity. Still, without the collaboration and hard graft of others, you cannot create anything of any real value.

collaborative design processes lead to satisfying outcomes for everyone

We apply this spirit of collaboration not only in the Studio and with our peers, but with our clients too. My job is not to impose my will, but be there as a guide to help someone realise their own creative vision. Encouraging meaningful dialogue and really listening to a client’s wants and needs fosters in instinctive level of trust; I get to share my expertise as part of a collaborative and iterative journey together. Since those early days at Goldsmith’s, I’ve held true to mantra that good design is about the process, not the outcome. If the process is open, respectful, creative and collaborative, the outcome will inevitably take care of itself and most likely be one that satisfies everyone.