Creative Mornings Denver • July 10, 2015

Making Space for Collaboration

Juan Sanchez Creative Director • Tack Mobile

Good morning.

Megan Moore Principal Designer • Swiss Milk Studio

Collaborating to build a collaborative space.

context & background designing together the results what we learned

From pancakes to software…

There was a lot I wanted to say regarding background.

Look…

There’s just a few things to understand.

I simplified it.

We know what we’re good at and what we’re not.

Just like you know you…

The process of creating isn’t pretty or linear.

We also know…

One way to describe it.

What about the calm beforehand?

But, the same variables mean it’s easy to get comfortable.

The squiggle can be accurate.

What happens when enough variables change?

The familiar can feel safe.

We were in a situation where we needed to move offices.

We had the opportunity to find out!

We loved being in the mix with people from other disciplines.

How could we recreate an environment?

A shared workspace seemed to be a way to achieve the goal.

We had an idea.

Does something like this need to exist?

We had to ask ourselves…

The environment is a supporting collaborator.

The space is important.

felt professional people could take pride in people could identify with removed friction

Could we create a space that…

felt professional people could take pride in people could identify with removed friction

Could we create a space that…

Could we smooth out the squiggle?

The space would support people to do great work.

If we could do that…

We’d all do better work by surrounding ourselves with it.

Everyone could benefit.

Yes, we’re so excited! Great, now what?

Okay, we’re doing this!

This is what we started with.

Facebook, Twitter, AirBnb, Dropbox, RocketSpace, WeWork, Battery

We researched other spaces.

That was the extent of what we were comfortable doing.

We had reached our limit.

That’s when Megan stepped in to lend a hand.

We were able to get more help.

A background of pitstops along the way.

We wanted to have the right density.

Where were people going to go?

We didn’t want to cram too many people in.

We ended up with:

3 offices16 desks1 conference room1 phone booth

S E T U

C H A I R

In some cases, we probably spent way too much time on certain things.

It was important to get things right.

How about a phone booth?

We need a central hub!

Charge people for snacks?

I know, plants everywhere!

There were some things we had to hold back on.

We got ahead of ourselves.

Would the space really facilitate collaboration?

It was hard to know what to expect.

We can look at 3D models all day long, but…

How do we test our design?

It made it worth the long talks about what to do.

People were quick to give feedback.

People feel welcome to make the space theirs.

The space evolves with the people.

A dedicated community manager made a difference.

Someone focuses on relationships.

Adding a conference room may have been ideal.

There’s always ways to improve.

The flexibility of plans and communication helps a lot.

Everyone’s needs are different.

Here’s the squiggle again!

Some goals have been achieved.

Interactions happen that probably wouldn’t have.

If anything, it’s great to see…

We learned from each other and grew as individuals.

The experience changed us.

will be different than how you originally imagined it. Especially with others.

Anything you do…

Trust and listen Be humble Give up control Be open to ideas

It was important to…

Here, let me try to transfer my knowledge.

Hey, I know about design!

I normally don’t have to work under these conditions.

What, another designer?

At some point, I felt like I was just getting in the way.

I stepped back quite a bit.

It was so great to not have to deal with him.

It was true!

There’s nothing quite like working with a great team.

We’re excited to do it again!

The experience generated more scary ideas.

It doesn’t end there though.

Collaboration means more than the people you work with.

Learn more about Assembly at www.assembly.ws

Thanks!