The document discusses craft and collaboration in digital spaces. It makes four key points: (1) Craft requires moving between divergent and convergent thinking as well as constant iteration. (2) One must look beyond their own discipline by integrating others' perspectives. (3) Constant learning through design sprints and adapting to new inputs is essential. (4) Organizations must set the right conditions by rethinking structures, creating a culture of creativity, and giving people time to work flexibly. The document argues that in digital spaces, true craft involves the thoughtful application of evolving practices through cross-disciplinary collaboration.
2. WHO I AM
sketch
artist, cinematographer, screenwriter, furniture
maker, teacher, experience
designer, mother, strategist, piano
player, business consultant
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3. A BETTER REPRESENTATION OF WHO I AM
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
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4. AREAS OF EXPERTISE (E.G. SOLID CRAFT)
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
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6. The thoughtful and consistent
application of mastered
practices.
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7. HOW TO GET IT
practice guidance
(lots of it)
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8. HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE IT
• You've internalized an
approach
• Decisions are well-judged
and come quickly
• The work is of a consistent
high quality
• You can teach it to
someone else
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9. How many of you have
mastered your craft?
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23. In a digital space, craft is not just
about mastering a practice or a
set of skills; it’s also about how
we think and how we collaborate.
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30. KEY
TAKEAWAYS
• Find ways to move between
uncritical/divergent and critical/convergent
modes.
• Always ask yourself if you’re iterating
enough.
• Don’t be a hammer looking for a nail.
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38. KEY
TAKEAWAYS
• Know when to step forward, know when
to step back.
• Integrate others into your process.
• Proactively seek input from others
outside of your discipline.
• Trust the ability of others to create with
you.
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39. Tip #3:
Give in to
constant
learning
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40. Iteration and constant
learning are like the
carpenter’s plane of a
digital product.
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45. MUTIPLE DESIGN SPRINTS
Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 3 Sprint 4
New learning New learning New learning New learning
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46. OVERLAPPING DESIGN & DEV SPRINTS
Sprint 1 Sprint 2 Sprint 3 Sprint 4
UX
Dev
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47. KEY
TAKEAWAYS
• Go deep (in a reasonable time)
• Shift your mental model of process from
linear to iterative.
• Be flexible and adapt to new inputs along
the way.
• Be prepared to change up your approach
as technology changes.
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48. Tip #4:
Find ways to
incite change
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50. ORGANIZATIONAL ROADBLOCKS
• Non-agile project management approaches
• Budgets that count resource hours
• Space that doesn’t facilitate communication and collaboration
• Management that doesn’t encourage learning
• Siloed team structures
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55. KEY
TAKEAWAYS
• Rethink your team structure
• Create a culture of creativity
• Give people time to work
• Be flexible enough to change when it’s
needed
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56. A NEW DEFINITION OF CRAFT
The thoughtful and consistent
application of mastered, yet
evolving practices in
collaboration with other
disciplines.
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57. Thanks!
Cindy Chastain
@cchastain
chastaincm@gmail.com
Ready to Inspire / December 2012 57
Editor's Notes
Ever hear of the MalcomGladwell 1000 hour rule? Well I did some calculating and the things I've done or would like to do more of shake out to look something like this.
It's also why I was so excited about the topic for this conference. Craft is something I've been thinking about a while. And as creative director, I've had the time to observe lots and lots of designers and how they work. So in a lot of ways, craft is an outcome of expertise.
The teacher in me had to break this down, but the creative director also wanted to reflect on what I’ve observed in my teams. I’ve seen all too many people get by with what they think is a high level of craft or expertise when it’s something they’ve maybe only done once. It's amazing how we can convince ourselves that we have something when we really don't.
I've seen a lot of young designers who come straight out of grad school thinking they should jump into a senior role and I tell them that while their thinking is good, they just haven't had enough revolutions in the work. The other downside is seeing people who either work as a team of one or who have never had to work with someone better than they are.
In grad school, it took writing 5 screen plays until I truly understood the rules of dramatic structure.
Okay. Remember the answer because I’m going to ask you again. Of those of you who have your hands raised how many of you have been working for less than 5 years on this particular craft?
But take a moment and think about that definition of craft against what we really do. In a digital space we’ve developed a notion of craft around intangibles. Stuff that not everyone one can see. And it's something that we not only arrive at iteratively, but be keep changing even after it's being used. (Unlike in a movie, for example.)
But take a moment and think about that definition of craft against what we really do. In a digital space we’ve developed a notion of craft around intangibles. Stuff that not everyone one can see. And it's something that we not only arrive at iteratively, but be keep changing even after it's being used. (Unlike in a movie, for example.)
But take a moment and think about that definition of craft against what we really do. In a digital space we’ve developed a notion of craft around intangibles. Stuff that not everyone one can see. And it's something that we not only arrive at iteratively, but be keep changing even after it's being used. (Unlike in a movie, for example.)
But take a moment and think about that definition of craft against what we really do. In a digital space we’ve developed a notion of craft around intangibles. Stuff that not everyone one can see. And it's something that we not only arrive at iteratively, but be keep changing even after it's being used. (Unlike in a movie, for example.)
But take a moment and think about that definition of craft against what we really do. In a digital space we’ve developed a notion of craft around intangibles. Stuff that not everyone one can see. And it's something that we not only arrive at iteratively, but be keep changing even after it's being used. (Unlike in a movie, for example.)
But take a moment and think about that definition of craft against what we really do. In a digital space we’ve developed a notion of craft around intangibles. Stuff that not everyone one can see. And it's something that we not only arrive at iteratively, but be keep changing even after it's being used. (Unlike in a movie, for example.)
I mean how many times have a person come up to you to say. “I just check out your website. There must have been some awesome content matrix behind that experience.”These guys are actually doing something that will contribute greatly to their work. A lot of our time is spent doing stuff like this to get to something someone can actually use.
And until recently the most common approach was for teams to practice a kind of hand off, from one discipline to the next.
It’s one of the things we talk about all the time at R/GA. But if it’s not hitting you now. It will very soon.
We’re faced with building craft around something that’s not only intangible, but…So does that same definition of craft apply to what we do? How can it not be alittle different. After all...
----- Meeting Notes (12/11/12 00:32) -----So here's what I think...
And both of those things are influenced by the context in which we work. There's so much thought work behind the design, that that too needs to be an consideration for craft. And the complexity is demanding that we literally work differently. So, how do we cultivate craft in a an intangible, increasingly complex always changing space?
No matter what the institutional barrier. The first thing is to take stock in your thinking. It’s the first shift that needs to happen before you’ll be able to collaborate effectively.
But you could also approach the way you think as a kind of craft. Craftfulthinking ensures that you won't settle on an idea too quickly. That you'll be open to possibilities beyond your best first stab. That you'll actively open to seeing how your work can be improved and push yourself to iterate more. It's also the space that will enable to you open up to new ideas.
Other have so much doubt that they spin and spin until they're in a big knotted Bunch (you've seen it right?) This is the guy who’s over analyzing.
The uncritical/divergent mindhas no fear in exploring the outer regions of possibilityderives insight from multiple sourcesis purely in the momentThe critical/convergent mindseeks a clear path to solutionslooks for ways to align/recombineis critical/reflective in its approac
What you do now needs to include the active solicitation of input from others outside your discipline.
Think of this in the same way you’d think of a Jazz band.
Lately, we’ve been doing collaborative sketch sessions with the client. In this room, you’ll find technologists, business people, designers…
Saying that anyone can master a craft also suggests that there’s an end point in where we are suddenly experts and no longer need to continue to learn. I can tell you how many times I’ve seen that trip people up in their careers.
But because of the complexity of what we’re dealing with, we can’t know everything up front.
So we created this idea of design sprints.
The problem with everything up to now is that it poses a project manager’s night mare.
Talk about Bell labs. Its staff worked on the incremental improvements necessary for a complex national communications network while simultaneously thinking far ahead, toward the most revolutionary inventions imaginable.Mervin Kelly was convinced that physical proximity was everything; phone calls alone wouldn’t do. Quite intentionally, Bell Labs housed thinkers and doers under one roof. Purposefully mixed together on the transistor project were physicists, metallurgists and electrical engineers; side by side were specialists in theory, experimentation and manufacturing.Traveling the hall’s length without encountering a number of acquaintances, problems, diversions and ideas was almost impossible.