Making Ideas Happen – an essential read for anyone who generates ideas – takes readers through a series of suggestions, based on case studies from successful creative organisations known for “overcoming the obstacles between vision and reality” (the book’s tagline).  This ranges from practical tips on managing projects (including Behance’s own “Action Method”, thinking about how your workspace can help you become more action-orientated, and overcoming the stigma of self-promotion.  It also nods to some of the current trends driving our working practices such as the freelance culture, flexibility, digital developments and co-working, as elements that should be capitalised to support ideas execution.

A considerable amount of the book is dedicated to the “Forces of Community” using networks and contacts to get ideas through to completion.   Making Ideas Happen acknowledges the value of collaboration (“ideas don’t happen in isolation”) but identifies the challenges that can arise throughout the process for creative people, such as sharing ideas, transparency and tolerating feedback, whilst looking at processes for overcoming these.

Overall, Making Ideas Happen is an accessible read that encourages you to reflect on and re-evaluate the way you work creatively.  Belsky has been careful to focus on thought-provoking techniques for putting ideas into practice (99% of the work) rather than ideas generation which is well within the comfort zone of most creative people (the other 1%).  It’s one of those books that, when you find your brilliant projects aren’t leaving the sketchbook, you should dip into for actionable suggestions for getting them going.

For more information visit http://the99percent.com/book or pre-order the book on Amazon.

Google Docs has added ‘Drawing’ as one of the file types that can be created (drawings can also be inserted into documents, spreadsheets and presentations). It’s very easy to start sketching away, and existing images can also be uploaded. Invite people to view and edit the file in the usual way, and download them as .png, .jpg, .svg or .pdf files.

For something more interactive and advanced, try Dabbleboard or Scribblar. Both offer real-time collaboration with supported chat functions.

In Scribblar, create a ‘room’ which you can invite people to by sending them a link. On sign-up you’re asked for your Skype username in case you want to use audio chat whilst working in the ‘room’ at the same time as other team members. Scribblar is completely free to create as many rooms as you like unless you want to embed them in your website or blog with your own branding.

Dabbleboard prides itself on an easy-to-use interface, which can automatically detect a shape you’re trying to draw when you provide a rough outline. Alternatively you can use freehand drawing or upload and annotate existing images. Again, invite your collaborators to the drawing area by sending them a link. Dabbleboard also offers voice and video chat for a project team (via Tokbox, a tool that supports free video chat for up to 20 people). There are additional services for paid-for accounts.

Thanks to Andrew for the link!

Delivered in Beta from KS12 on Vimeo.

Bracket’s session at Media Camp London 4 during Social Media Week generated lots of discussion about the best methods and tools for helping groups of creatives to get things done.  It looked at how social media could be used to support collaborative working between artists and designers etc that are used to working independently, usually have autonomy over their work, are characteristically busy, and highly skilled in generating ideas. The aim of the session was to develop solutions for how to channel that creativity into tangible outcomes and how social media can be used to support the process along the way.

The word ‘collaboration’ is often used freely without consideration for how complex it can actually be. Not only does it require a set of skills to do it effectively, but also a different mindset and culture to adapt to a new way of working.  An ‘online project hub’ can be used to provide a central point to bring everyone together, but technology should actually come last after two other factors – people and process.

People

The set of skills and awareness that is needed by the individual before starting the project. Effective collaboration requires tolerance of other working styles,  a willingness to share and a commitment to open and frequent communication with other team members.

Process

The part that should happen with the team in place, to plan how the collaborative project might work. Individuals need to identify what they are bringing and hope to get out, the team needs to look at the overall aims of the project and roles should be allocated according to key skills and personalities to ensure a good spread of what the project requires (Belbin is a good tool for profiling this). Time must also be allocated to planning, scheduling and organisation, which many online tools can help with.

Technology

Time or cost spent developing an online tool doesn’t guarantee that people will use it. It is often difficult to get people away from using e-mail to communicate in projects, because on a basic level, it works!  But social media can add much value by keeping ideas in one place (particularly when team members tend to go off in different creative directions), making this easily searchable,  providing a record of what has already been discussed/agreed and therefore reducing duplication of work and effort.

So the perfect online tool, for groups of creatives short on time is something that requires little or no training, is intuitive and is flexible to the initial needs of the type of project and as it develops. And a big challenge throughout the project is maintaining focus without killing creativity.

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

A group of writers have set themselves up with the task to write and publish a book in just 24 hours using online tools to work together.  The group has been using Google Docs to write and edit the document, as well as using Skype and face-to-face conversation to communicate, and have been updating us on their progress through their twitter profile.

The 24-hour book project

The group consists of one lead writer and ten other participants, and they also opened up part of the book on Google Docs to invite contributions from the wider public.  As well as this, they’ve been gathering photos, illustrations and other snippets of media for use in the book or inspiration over on their Ning platform (Ning enables you to create your own social networks).

The final book will be available online and in hard-copy (produced by web-based print-on-demand services) and sold at £4.99 a piece, with profits going towards future collaborations.

Briefly looking at the elements that contributed to getting this project going.  The team:

1. agreed on the focus of the story (“based around a group of city centre allotments and the story will explore ideas of shared and private space and the real and imaginary barriers between a range of different city characters”)
2. identified the desired outcome (an online and printed novel)
3. gave themselves a clear deadline within which to complete the project – they have a launch party on Monday 5^th October.
4. clearly outlined the tasks that need to be completed – writing, editing, proofreading, images, publishing etc – and who will do them – lead writer, participants, professional volunteers and the public.

(Check out Bracket’s toolkit for collaborative projects to see how it matches up)

And the intellectual property?  The group have been careful to inform the public contributors that they must own any material they submit, and will retain ownership but give permission for it to be used within the project.  The book itself will be distributed under a Creative Commons license.

A great example of what online creative collaboration can achieve!

Music: the most collaborative art form of them all.  It often takes a range of people – musicians, vocalists and producers – to make a track happen.  Here are two inspiring examples:

Red Bull Music Academy
The Red Bull Music Academy is a travelling initiative which selects 60 up and coming musicians to undertake a two week residency. As well as a mixture of lectures, seminars, opportunities to perform and socialising, participants also have ample studio time to work (or play, whichever way you want to look at it!) on their music. Listen to ‘Various Assets – Not For Sale’ a compilation CD of some of the tunes from the 2008 academy in Barcelona and you’ll find that every track has a freshness that will blow you away. Most of them are brand new collaborations between different participants. The incubator environment enables people, within a relatively short space of time, to form ad hoc partnerships and groups. This results in a range of unique outcomes and an energy that can be felt throughout the CD. The whole process sounds magical.

Phlash & Friends – Phil Asher
In one of Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide podcasts (volume 1, no 36), DJ Phil Asher describes how “90%” of the tracks on his CD Phlash & Friends, released in March 2009, were made by sending bits back and forth via ichat (an instant messaging service for Mac users) and email between other musicians. As suggested by the title, there is a long list of collaborators, some of which were based overseas. Although Asher mentions that he missed the vibe and atmosphere of producing in the studio he proves that it can also be done virtually, and perfectly, when the need comes. (A quick search showed that there are dedicated sites and tools for online music collaboration. For example, Kompoz allows musicians to upload tracks and invite others to add and modify them )

Asher also gives some advice to new musicians – London is a great place to be and they’ve got to get out there, meet people and find opportunities to work with others. The beauty of the Red Bull Music Academy is that it facilitates this but with individuals from all over the globe, giving participants the opportunity to meet those they might not have had the chance to meet.

It’s clear that the energy of a group of creatives spending a day in a room together, face-to-face and offline, produces amazing results.  But they can also open themselves up to additional opportunities – for example, working with other talented individuals across continents – by also using online communication and collaboration tools.

Last week Bracket picked up Great Place to Work’s® supplement on the UK’s Best Workplaces. Flicking through, we stopped on the article which discussed the future of the workplace. It discussed how we’re moving to flatter and more collaborative workplaces, where temporary project teams come together based on the skills of freelance individuals/consultants and then disperse when the project is done. This is nothing new to the creative industries – we’ve been working like this for years (as mentioned in a previous post, Richard Florida, Charles Leadbeater & Kate Oakley and John Howkins highlighted this 7-plus years ago). However, what *is* new is the technology that supports and enhances this way of working.

The good thing about social media, like any of the internet, is that it can be accessed and used at any time of day. If you’re using social media tools to communicate within a project, you can upload, comment on and edit ideas when you feel the need – even if that’s in the middle of the night – and it’s all kept in one place for easy tracking. For example, Google Docs allows people to work on the same document so there aren’t a million iterations to collate and follow. And for more creative-based working, there are tools like the brilliant Aviary – a site which has an online image editor, vector editor, colour palettes and visual laboratory (with other tools like font creators, desktop publishing, and 3D modellers in the pipeline) all of which can be shared with others to view and edit.

What’s even more exciting is that there some mobile phone applications popping up, enabling you to access social media, not just at different times of the day, but when you’re out and about away from your laptop. Spotted something that’s relevant for the project, or provides inspiration? Take a picture on your mobile and share it instantly using Shozu. Are you at an event that the other team members can’t make it to in time? Use Bambuser to create a live stream direct from your phone for your collaborators to watch! Although these tools post to online networks as opposed to specified project teams, they are still a step in the right direction in capturing creativity whilst on the move.

So yes, collaborative working is nothing new to the creative industries and we’ve achieved great things so far. But now there are online tools designed specifically to support this way of working and if we make effective use of them, then we can probably achieve far greater things!

Don’t be fooled though – I’m sure it wasn’t completely spontaneous, and they had a do a little planning before getting stuck in

As a talented creative practitioner, your individual work and maintaining a strong identity will always be important. Your own creative talents are why people would want to work with you in the first place! So if you are keen on collaborating, this means considering new ways of working. In addition to developing your own work, you might engage in pop-up projects and even create new ventures with others.

One challenge will be in always ensuring that these collaborative projects also align with your own creative work and values – this will be essential in enhancing and leveraging your individual practice, not detracting from it or diluting it.