Starting this course and hearing from other designers the realisation of the breadth of Graphic design is almost overwhelming but really exciting. I went on to discover the pleasure of making something new from nothing that ‘comes alive’ as my tutor used to say. Inspiration to design and what design means is something I hadn’t thought much about when I started out a year or so ago as I was just enjoying learning new skills. However they do seem to have focussed on the process and workflow which they have adapted to everything they do so perhaps this is more important in such a fledgling smaller company? They seem perhaps unique in that they have discovered a way of working where they derive inspiration simply from each other and have a process that fits most briefs.
Regular Practice seem very happy working together in partnership and share a studio with friends, Kristopher stating that he ‘feels healthy to be in an environment where others are doing the same thing’, considering their work seems very diverse I would wonder how much they rely on others. So is it necessary to be in a culturally rich and diverse place or could you just be around culturally rich and diverse people in your studio or online? Do big ideas need big cities to help the canvas come alive as Simon Manchipp says? ( I live in a medium sized unremarkable town).
On the flipside, Sam Winston in his practice enjoys his private silent space, however he does reference needing to absorb London, describing himself as a sponge in a puddle and I noted that he mentions his studio is full of other designers and artists creating a buzz.
Both Micheal Wolff and Paula Scher refer to always asking questions about how things work and being curious. De Bono on lateral thinking refers to opening new pathways and the idea of not letting the mind get comfortable so that it recognises common patterns without questioning them – asking ‘why”?’ even when you perhaps know the answer to facilitate new ideas. Although very new to design myself much of it seems to stem from asking questions, being curious and exploring – perhaps seeing the same thing all the time puts your brain into a comfort mode and less amenable to new ideas and lateral thinking. The act of always having to pass different people therefore seeing different views would create create a buzz and energy perhaps reminiscent of a city which Paula Scher says she draws so much inspiration from, describing going to work like ‘navigating through a maze’. Although this is focussed on a larger company and different departments working together, even in the smallest design firm people have various specialist skills and are therefore reliant on knowing each other’s skills for the whole company to function effectively and creatively.Įrik Spiekermann takes this a step further in the organisation of his studio with the concentric circles where everyone can see and hear everyone else. He goes on to talk about everyone sharing a common relationship for the benefit of unity. From my wider reading the author Malcolm Gladwell in his book The Tipping point references the effectiveness of groups without layers of management structure and the power of peer pressure being much more powerful than the pressure from a boss. We see examples of this in Paula Scher’s Pentagram practice who describes a ‘design cooperative’ without bosses. In Studio Culture, Adrian Shaughnessy states that the big question is for studios to build a sense of communal purpose that leaves enough space for the individual to retain his or her own voice.
The way studio culture is linked to creativity, collaboration and community, how much local area can influence and provide inspiration and the fundamentals of what design means to people and therefore the wider community. Typical Design Studio – Hey Studio, BarcelonaĪ number of things stood out for me from the studio practices and the resources that I would like to explore.