Creative Boom London kindly wrote a fantastic review of the workshop which covers all of these points (and more) in detail.

Thanks to Andrew for the link!

Delivered in Beta from KS12 on Vimeo.

On first impressions, the pieces in the exhibition seem to be un-related.  There are no visual or obvious themes running throughout.  But with a little time, the connection becomes more apparent.  There is a real depth and mystique to each piece, created by knowing that there was more than one individual behind it.  You find yourself stopping to imagine the conversations, the disagreements and the laughter that put each piece together.

And for the creatives, the final product is just a small part of a larger process.  They’ve had the opportunity to think about what they can do, and how much further they can stretch their practice by getting together with someone else.  They’ve been encouraged to be critical of themselves and each other, and think outside their usual realm of what is creatively possible.

Calligraffiti: Craig Ward/Sean Freeman/Alison Carmichael

There are the collaborations which provide a solution: Fred Butler/No Days Off’s campaign for an 8-day week, BCMH/Smith & Weightman’s alternative currency, and Praline/The Model Shop’s new font based on architectural shapes.  There’s the conceptual and abstract, where you’re keen to be let in on the ‘secret’ between the collaborators, or at least part of the conversation – when did Job Wouters/Roel Wouters decide what to wear for their film about numbers and the Rainbow spray-painting machine?!

Some collaborations are more practical, where artists chose to combine their specific technical skills: the illustrative Rob Ryan/Michael Marriott chair, Sam Messenger/Bart Long’s abstract canvas in vinyl and timber, and Jim Stoten/Andy Rementer’s series of illustrations.  And then there are the collaborations where it looks like a whole lot of fun was had developing the ideas: With Associates/Anthony Dickens interactive timepiece, Chrissie MacDonald/Marie O’Connor playful figures in wood and scrap material, and Karlssonwilkier/FrankDeRose music track (this is BRILLIANT!).  Details of all 33 collaborations can be found here.

The exhibition catalogue (available for £15) includes interviews with all the creatives and looks at the collaboration processes in detail (interesting to know that the most common challenge for the collaborators was managing their time).  The exhibition runs until 23 January, and it’s an essential visit if you want clear examples of the potential of creative collaboration.

www.ifyoucould.co.uk/collaborate

Before you start

Two things to bear in mind when using online networks:

1. Don’t just see social media as a way of broadcasting your message.  Although online networks provide a quick and easy way of getting your news out, remember another use is to enable conversations (hence the ‘social’ part of its label!).  Social media tools allow you to build relationships and connect with people you might not have had the opportunity to before – e.g. those outside of your usual network, in other industries or countries.
2. Don’t just view social networking as a way of increasing direct sales*.  In the same way you might go to a private view, swap a few business cards and perhaps find a way of working with your new contacts a few months later, it also takes time to build relationships online.  Simply see it as an web-based version of face-to-face networking.

* Social media can be used to engage your direct customers/clients, but here we’re talking about how you can use online tools to connect with other creatives and access new business opportunities.

Building your online profile

Think about what potential collaborators might find interesting about you and your work.  At a most basic level it’s an extension of your brand – the creative work that you produce, your specialist talents and previous experience.  But on a deeper level it’s also about establishing trust, and helping others to identify that they want to work with you.  It might even be that who you’re already connected to helps them to decide this (LinkedIn is great for this, and tools like The Collabregator map existing connections in London).

Highlighting your skills

Being open to collaboration also means being open to what you might actually bring to a project.   Although you might be a product designer, it doesn’t mean the only thing that you can contribute is product design.  There will be other skills that might be of use – e.g. your approach to creative briefs, your knowledge of a particular material, or your inside knowledge about an area of the industry. Think broadly about what makes you unique, identify it, then put it out there!  As well as the usual networks mentioned above that enable you to create online profiles, there are also sites specifically set-up for creative individuals to showcase their skills for potential projects.  One example is Skillbasket which aims to be an online marketplace to buy, sell or trade creative skills and services.

Finally…
Choose to get involved with collaborations that are going to contribute to your brand and practice – not detract from it.  Keep your online profile up-to-date by adding new collaborations and connections.     Don’t forget to keep an eye on what your online profile says – consider all the places potential collaborators might have access to information on you – do you Google yourself or your business regularly to find out?!

A large part of effective collaboration is developing and maintaining an online identity to attract potential collaborators – and you can also use the principles above to find people that you might want to work with.

What are the risks in collaborating?
The risks of collaborating for an individual creative practitioner /business include:
1. Damage to reputation – the quality of the outcome may be lower than independently-produced creative work
2. Creative ideas being ‘stolen’
3. Losing money, time or other resources
4. Efforts go unrecognised/undervalued/un-credited (thanks Bruno for this one!)

(remember these – they’re re-visited at the end of this post!)

Establishing trust
Trust can take a long time to develop, so what happens when you’re collaborating with someone you don’t know, or a collaborative project needs to be delivered quickly?  Is there a way of fast-tracking trust?

When working with someone for the first time, one way of minimising the above risks is to have a written agreement, which covers what happens if something goes wrong. Contracts exist to protect those involved, but they can sometimes be a contentious issue. Mairin Murray (@mairinmurray) said to me via twitter: “NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] jinx embryonic collaborations a bit like prenups – so we need alternatives”. Formats such as ‘manifestos’ tend to be morally-binding rather than legally-binding, but rely on the goodwill of others, potentially opening up the risk all over again.

Trust-worthiness
Some of the elements that make someone trustworthy are:
- Clarity of purpose – they state clearly what they want to get out of it
- Consistency – they do what they say they are going to do
- Reputation – they have a track record of delivering

Not only do we need to look for these qualities in others, we also need to make sure we have these ourselves so that we are also attractive potential collaborators.

Assessing the ‘risk’
When entering into a new collaboration, it’s important to keep all the above factors in mind to minimise the risk to your own creative practice.  But remember that the risks listed above can also easily be flipped around to make them opportunities!:
1. Reputation – the quality of the outcome may be even better than independently-produced creative work
2. Creative ideas could be developed further or more solutions generated
3. Costs and time can be reduced, and access provided to new resources
4. Being recognised as part of the collaboration can valuable for profile and business development

These ideas were developed during/after the ‘Achtung Baby: Trust – is it a good thing?’ session delivered by Islay Consulting at the Shine Unconference 2009.

Bracket has been working on a toolkit that can be used by those hoping to work collaboratively on a project with others. The initial framework is here. It is intended to be a work in progress, inviting contributions and developed as the model is tested.  There are also some suggestions from facilitators/providers of social media, gathered from Social Media Camp London 08.

The model was developed with social designers hoping to initiate collaborative projects, at System Reload London. But maybe elements can be applied to other areas, ensuring that the specific characteristics and needs of the community are considered.

Why develop a toolkit for collaborative working? We’re in a collaborative age, where to make an impact it makes more sense to work together with others. Social designers cannot address all of the important issues on their own – collective action is necessary. We can share our knowledge, experience, resources and skills to get further than we could ever do individually. And whilst there are lots of online tools out there which enable people to interact and discuss, when people need to get actual ideas off the ground, how can they do this effectively? Online tools can facilitate the process, and support communication, but all the web 2.0 in the world can’t make things happen – people do.

BarCamp have brilliant guidelines for getting their grassroots events up and running, and it’s safe to say that they have contributed to a whole global movement of ‘unconferences’ in the tech-world. Wouldn’t it be great if we were able to do the same with other ideas and projects? It would be fantastic if everyone, if they needed it, were able to use various frameworks to make a real collective difference, or respond to opportunities that are too big for them on their own.  In the same way that you can find lots of business plan templates on the web and use the one that suits your needs, how about a template for collaborative action?  One might argue that people sometimes need support to understand the elements of a business plan, and maybe this means there needs to be more support around collaborative projects, which will empower individuals to continue themselves.

Similarly, it might be difficult to organise a BarCamp unless you have attended one yourself, and really experienced it (as I did last week).  So perhaps what we need are lots of examples/case studies of collaborative projects, as well as real-life opportunities for people to get involved and experience how it really works.  The ability to project manage collaborations effectively will play a large part in getting ideas out there.  But this needs to be approached carefully, so that it remains collaborative, where everyone involved has the opportunity to contribute and co-create.

“Turning ideas into action” seems to be a hot topic at the moment. David Wilcox is developing a wiki called ‘designingcollaboration’ intended to shed some light on the process. This will be an important and relevant resource for those working in this area. Chain Reaction, an upcoming event in November 2008, also provides a toolkit for ideas. There have been some interesting collaborative initiatives, like Social Innovation Camp and RSA Networks (both of which David Wilcox evaluates on his blog) and it seems like it’s the time to assess what makes them successful/unsuccessful so that we can use the knowledge to move forward.

Hopefully the toolkit on the Bracket site can be part of the ongoing contributions.