3 Tips for Successful Creative Collaboration

If words like ‘collaboration’ and ‘teamwork‘ make your blood run cold, artistic collaboration may not be your first choice on how to get creative juices flowing. However, there is nothing more powerful than two or more brilliant people coming together to create something unique, brilliant, and simply more than a single person is capable of.  We have rounded up the best tips for successful creative collaboration. So, find your partner in crime and make something great!

 

1. Understand Your Tribe

With creative projects, there is a space filled with individuals with different skills, perspectives, and inclinations ready to be utilized. If a team knows each other’s weak and strong points before any formal labor delegation, a project can run surprisingly smoothly. Make sure your team’s skill set is complementary by avoiding assigning too many similar roles and responsibilities. Too many chefs in the kitchen may ruin the meal, so make sure everyone has a unique and meaningful role. Do your research on your collab mates before a project begins, or even better, organize an ice breaker meeting where unique skills can be showcased, discussed, and put to use.

 

“We’ve always drawn, but when we were young it was in a very instinctive way like all kids do. Our meeting and collaboration helped us intellectualize our practice. Together we started to think about what we wanted to do and why.”

Pauline Martinet & Zoé Texereau

 

 

2. Concept is Key

Agree on your creative direction at the concept stage to avoid disappointment and wasting time. Dedicate some time to drafting solid ideas and designs with each other so there is no misunderstanding. If things do need to be scrapped (which let’s face it, does happen) being open to starting again and making drastic changes can keep morale high and tensions low.

 

“We always get inspired from our very simple to very complex experiences in our life. Our ideas for our works are driven from those experiences because we both live almost the same way and we go through many life situations together. We have been living together so closely for so many years so we kind of come to the same ideas for our paintings.”

Farzaneh & Bahareh Safarani

 

 

3. Say Goodbye to Competition

When collaborating, it is easy to get defensive about your creative direction. It is important to remember that collaboration is about sharing a vision and having the same goal. So be open to new ideas. It is proven that workspaces that display mutual respect and amicability are more productive, motivated, and successful.

 

 

If done right, collaboration can help you grow as an artist, create something with a bigger impact, attract new audiences, and generate ideas for future projects. It’s a unique experience you can’t replicate on your own, so use each opportunity to collaborate and grow along with other creatives!