Notes Design

Some call it vibes, others say "it's in the air," but over at Coroflot's Creative Seeds, Carl Alviani investigates what it really takes to stay creative as the only designer in the office. Read a tidbit here:

One outgrowth of the recent vogue for design thinking is to further spread creative professionals out, at the expense of the traditional studio and the benefit of cross-pollination. Where a design-oriented company might once have pooled creative staff, clustering them by shared discipline, now they're more likely to be placed physically nearer the directors, engineers, marketers and managers with whom they share a project or product line. This integrates the creative process more tightly into the overall project, goes the theory, fostering better communication and allowing disciplines to learn from each other.

"But that's not a studio, really, that's an office," replied Jamian Cobbett, a senior designer at Nike, when I discussed this trend with him last week. In his 12 year career (which includes time at Kodak, Ziba, and Electrolux as well), Cobbett has worked in both offices and studio environments, and sees an immediate distinction between them.

Speaking from personal experience, the difference between the two is obvious the moment the door opens. A studio is continuous; an office is fragmented. A studio is plastered with current work on public view; an office plays it close to the vest. A studio changes appearance from hour to hour; an office maintains its composure. For creative professionals shifting from the former to the latter, the culture shock can be overwhelming.

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