Overview
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Overview |
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Collaboration is an essential part of visual communications and design. There are usually several people that provide input for a design project, as well as differing capacities of their involvement. Understanding techniques for generating ideas, communicating, and resolving conflicts make the process more effective. There are a variety of technological resources that can also enhance collaboration — especially if participants are geographically separated.
Types of Collaboration |
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Co-authoring means that responsibilities, contributions, credit are equal among collaborators. A typical process would be for collaborators to meet, discuss the objective, and define tasks. Then each person works on a draft independently. When the team reconvenes, all the drafts are discussed and the best ideas from each are retained. In the revision stage, each member implements the agreed upon ideas of the meeting into another draft. This cycle may be repeated until a draft that everyone is satisfied with can be submitted for editorial review.
Co-authors need to be willing to provide and accept constructive criticism. They need to be able to objectively analyze the strengths and weaknesses of ideas. Co-authorship works best with small teams of 2 or 3.
Many visual communications or designs require input from experts. This may include engineers, scientists, sales and marketing executives, designers, writers, IT professionals, educators, and others. It will also include the client, who is one of the most knowledgeable experts on the project's topic.
Template memos or forms can be very helpful in obtaining information from these people. They will not know what information to provide unless you prompt them. Often similar projects will require the same categories of information, so creating a form for experts or clients to fill out will ensure that nothing is overlooked.
Sometimes it is not necessary that contributions of all collaborators are equal, depending upon the project's needs and the talents and expertise that members bring to it. A web design project may require the talents of web designers, illustrators, programmers, writers, and/or animators. Each project is unique so the amount of time and work each person needs to bring to the project will vary.
To manage large collaborative teams, it is essential that one person serve in a leadership role to organize members, facilitate communication, and track progress. This person may even be responsible for defining objectives and tasks for the project.
The collaborative manager may benefit from the following guidelines:
Skills for Collaboration |
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Creative ideas are produced effectively in a group setting. However, creativity is not merely limited to producing artwork or communications. Many types of problems are best solved with a creative solution. There are several techniques that can inspire new ideas: Brainstorming, Mind-Mapping, "5W+H", Cause and Effect Analysis, and Synectics.
Brainstorming. Brainstorming is an activity in which participants suggest as many ideas as possible in a limited amount of time. Initially, ideas are suggested without censure or judgment — even if they seem a bit silly or "out there". This has the effect that one idea may spark another and so on. The objective is to generate a large pool of ideas from which the group can begin to filter. The following guidelines will help a brainstorming session to be successful:
Mind-Mapping. This is similar to brainstorming, but it is more structured. The main idea is written down with a circle drawn around it. Then as participants suggest related ideas, they are written down and lines are drawn to connect related ideas with the main idea. If another idea branches off a related idea, it is visually mapped that way. The resulting visual resembles an organizational chart or a flow chart. Symbols can be used to indicate the function or category of different ideas.
5W+H. This method of exploration and creativity examines several questions:
Cause and Effect Analysis. This creative approach focuses on the causes of a problem. Initial causes can be identified according to the following categories: machine, human, material, and/or method. Sub-categories can be created, if appropriate, under each heading.
Synectics. This is an approach in which collaborators of diverse personalities, background, professions, or specializations are intentionally placed within a group. With such diversity, a problem can be addressed from a variety of perspectives. Techniques such as brainstorming, metaphors, analogies, role playing, and simulations are used to first define the problem. Then using the same techniques, participants view the problem as if they were an eyewitness to the problem — they place themselves in the scenario. Ideas and solutions emerge from this unique perspective.
Effective collaboration requires good communication skills. Technical Communication, by Rebecca Burnett, provides excellent some guidelines for communication:
Additionally, collaborators need to be comfortable working in teams. This means that responsibility and credit is often shared, and a sole individual may not get all the glory. Collaborators also need to feel secure enough personally to accept constructive criticism and not become defensive or offended. However, having said that, providing tactful input and constructive criticism and always showing respect toward others is very important, also.
When human beings communicate, there is always the potential for misunderstandings and conflict. There are several types of conflicts: affective, procedural, and substantive.
Affective Conflict. "Affect" refers to your personality, values, attitudes, and mood. It also relates to how sensitive you are in interpersonal communication — your ability to empathize and see things from another person's point of view. On the negative side, it pertains to how easily you are offended or intimidated. Affective conflicts in collaboration are the most destructive and non-productive.
There are always two parties in a conflict. To minimize the potential of your contribution to affective conflict, be aware of your own bias, attitude, or mood, and set them aside during collaboration. This awareness will help prevent these negative affects from offending or stirring up conflict among others.
If your collaborative partner seems to be exhibiting negative behaviors as a result of bias, a bad attitude, or a foul mood, there are some constructive ways you can approach this. Avoid using categorical terminology like "always" or "never." For example, don't say, "You never have anything positive to say", or "You always interrupt me."
But rather, simply share what you are observing about the problem, share how it affects you, and offer a solution. For example, you could say,
"I'm noticing that your comments are often negative and don't focus on a solution. This makes it difficult for me to offer new ideas. It would be beneficial to me if you pointed out some of the positive aspects of my ideas and offered solutions for the problematic aspects."
Another example might be,
"It seems as if you often interrupt me while I'm talking. You have some really good ideas, but I tend to lose my train of thought if I get interrupted. Can I finish my thought?"
Note the use of the word "often," which is much less condemning than saying "always." People always respond better when they are given the benefit of the doubt. It also minimizes defensiveness and helps them to save face.
Procedural Conflict. Sometimes conflicts will arise regarding the collaborative process itself. If guidelines about meeting schedules, communication venues, roles and responsibilities, and conflict resolution strategies are defined at the beginning, things will run a lot smoother.
Substantive Conflict. Substantive conflict pertains to the content of the project itself. Similar to procedural guidelines, the purpose and desired outcomes of the collaboration should be defined at the beginning. However, unlike the previously mentioned types of conflicts, substantive conflict has value in the initial stages of collaboration. It serves to refine the problem-solving process and integrate ideas and solutions that had not been previously considered.
Collaborators should be encouraged to voice specific concerns or submit a differing point of view regarding the substance of the project. They should also be encouraged to freely share alternative solutions. In substantive conflict opposing ideas or suggestions should always be submitted respectfully and without investment in protecting your own ego. You should have the attitude that you are all on the same team and are working together to solve a problem.
Eventually, however, a consensus should be reached so that team members can get busy with their tasks. If this type of conflict isn't resolved early in the process, it can become destructive and undermine the project.
Resources for Collaboration |
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There are a variety of software packages and technological resources that facilitate collaboration. Until recent years, collaboration mostly took place in a face-to-face setting. Technology now allows remote collaboration that is efficient and effective.
Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Acrobat's PDF format allows anyone to view a document with their free Reader. The format retains the fonts and precise layout of the original document. However, as Adobe says, "Acrobat is not just the Reader!
The Standard version of the Acrobat software allows you to convert almost any kind of file into a PDF document. You can also merge several types of files into a single PDF document. You can create a list of collaborators and track whether input and feedback has been received from them. You can add different types of annotations to a document, such as insertions, deletions, custom stamps, sticky notes, and highlights. If the document is sensitive, it can be password protected, 128-bit encrypted, or digital signature authenticated.
There is also a Professional version of Acrobat available with enhanced capabilities to handle complex engineering, scientific, or design documents. Multimedia can be inserted into these PDF documents and they are enhanced for precise print output.
For more information about the Acrobat products visit http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html.
Macromedia Contribute. This user-friendly application allows people to edit or add web pages with a previously created Dreamweaver MX template. All portions of the page except for those that will have changing content are locked, preventing contributors from changing the page's design. A check-in/check-out system also locks pages that are currently being worked on by someone else, preventing revisions from being overwritten.
No knowledge of HTML or Dreamweaver MX is required. The editable regions are clearly defined, and users can run a spell check when they are finished. Contribute is the first tool of its kind and allows many more people direct access to a site to add content.
For more information about Contribute, visit http://www.macromedia.com/software/contribute/.
Microsoft Project. Microsoft Project is a sophisticated project management tool. Resources, tasks, budgets, personnel, and deadlines can all be tracked. Visuals such as Gantt charts or PERT charts can be generated to communicate the progress of the project to team members and help the manager keep things on schedule.
For more information about Project, visit http://www.microsoft.com/catalog/display.asp?subid=22&site=11199.
IdeaFisher. This is an incredibly powerful brainstorming tool. It harnesses our associative though processes and provides a wealth of related words, ideas, and questions. First you type in a word or answer a question. Then IdeaFisher provides you with numerous synonyms and related ideas. You then select an idea or word that is appropriate and resubmit that for more ideas. There are also many modular plug-ins for various professions to tailor your idea sessions further. This software is highly acclaimed by many creative professionals.
For more information about IdeaFisher, visit http://www.ideafisher.com/.
Inspiration. Inspiration is an excellent creative thinking tool for kids. It helps them generate ideas and organize, categorize, and prioritize those ideas — all in a visual format.
For more information about Inspiration, visit http://www.inspiration.com/.
With technological resources available to us, collaboration need not take place in the same location. Communication can take place synchronously (real-time) or asynchronously (communication and responses are delayed). There are advantages and disadvantages to each.
Synchronous communication is better for brainstorming, in which rapid idea generation is important. Real-time synchronous communication is also better for a series of short questions or comments. Condensing this dialog into a short period of time is more efficient than waiting several hours for a short answer, and then sending another question. Modes of synchronous communications are
Asynchronous communication is better for longer, thoughtful communications. Without the pressure of someone waiting for a response, you can take the time to write exactly what you have in mind and carefully revise it for readability. This is also an appropriate venue to submit drafts of your collaborative project. Team members can review the document when they have time to give it 100% of their attention. Modes of asynchronous communications are
Summary |
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In creative fields such as written and visual communications, collaboration is an essential part of almost every project. To collaborate successfully, participants need to have good interpersonal communication skills, know how to constructively resolve conflicts, generate ideas, and use technology effectively.
In creative fields such as written and visual communications, collaboration is an essential part of almost every project. To collaborate successfully, participants need to have good interpersonal communication skills, know how to constructively resolve conflicts, generate ideas, and use technology effectively.