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It took four years and thousands of miles, but Eric Tabuchi was able to capture the entire alphabet on the back of trucks driving down the highway. His Alphabet Truck photographs are published in a book consisting of 26 loose plates in an edition of 500.
Via Martin Klasch.
Eight years ago today, my creative partner and I left our agency jobs to establish our own studio.
Creating a business from scratch (which we have helped others do since) is a very liberating exercise. From establishing philosophies, to setting up billing, to determining the types of clients we hoped to attract, every decision was made fresh with the overall goal of doing the best possible work.
Which is why we decided to create an open studio environment.
Without a doubt, that decision has been one of the largest contributing factors to the success of our studio over the years. Although there have been some challenges and frustrations along the way.
Last year, for our seventh anniversary, I wrote a post offering up seven lessons we learned about starting our own business. This year, I offer up eight lessons we've learned about setting up an open work space.
Be prepared to hate it at first.
It took six months for us to get used to it. During that time, we felt every eyeball on us. We didn't know how to take private phone calls. We didn't know what to do when someone walked into the front door. Trust us, you get over it.
Go wide open and go big.
In our studio, the smaller work area (also open) is separated from the rest of the studio with a cardboard screen. All that extra studio space provides some privacy for those times when one must take a private call or get some alone time. The ability to get up, move to a quiet corner, or walk away from the group, is key.
Create little areas for a little privacy.
Set up your space with little pods. Tables. Chairs. Thinking areas. Meeting areas. And supply people with nearby tools for capturing creative ideas. Pads of paper. Nearby pencils. Chalkboard or dry erase boards on wheels. Heck, we even have chalkboard walls in the restroom.
Cut the cords as much as possible.
Everyone needs a workstation as a home base. But with WiFi, laptops, and mobile phones, your people should have the ability to truly use the various privacy areas around the studio. We've gone eight years operating entirely on mobile phones. Which means when we absolutely need privacy or a change of scenery, we can work from a park, coffee shop, or even home.
Understand that it's not for everyone.
Make sure you recruit accordingly. In our experience, the best creative people crave this type of an environment and a spirit of teamwork will prevail. On the other hand, manipulative, project-hoarding, non-collaborative, and dishonest people will not last long. That's the best part.
Create face privacy, not monitor privacy.
With work stations, we try to set it up so nobody is looking directly at someone else. On the other hand, we try to make it easy to see monitors. It's not that we're keeping tabs on people. It's that all projects are ultimately studio projects, and if anybody can tip in an idea or offer a suggestion, they should do so. Often, you can see the body language of someone struggling with a project. Instead of having to ask for help, people can walk by and offer it.
Build music into the environment.
Our studio is wired for sound in zones. We can adjust each zone's volume, or even turn off a zone (which we do for meetings). But for the most part, our studio is jumping with an eclectic mix of music. Music adds energy to the environment, but also provides noise to cover close conversations or some phone calls. It eliminates accidental eavesdropping. And if someone doesn't like the music, they can always put on headphones.
Embrace the chaos.
At times, it's going to be loud, chaotic, and hard to concentrate. Turn on your radar and see if the creative solution you're looking for is really floating around in the chaos around you. You'll be surprised how often it is, which is the greatest creative benefit of all. Walk around. See what other people are working on. Tip in an idea on someone else's project. In our experience, your work will get better as a result.
The photos above represent phase two of our open space experiment. We moved into this new, slightly larger space in March of this year. You can see more photos here.
I just love the DVD cover and navigation art for this new release from the Criterion Collection. If you haven't seen Guy Maddin's trippy homage to silent films and an imaginary childhood (complete with a resurrected father, a gender bending movie star, and a omnipresent mother in a lighthouse tower), you are missing out. Buy your copy here. Wonderful design work from Jason Hardy.
Jennifer Maestre creates amazing sea urchin sculptures out of sharpened color pencils. Check out how she uses various pencil shades to create the intricate coloring. Wow, I love these. Many more can be seen here.
Via Art MoCo.
There's something about this ad from 1947 that really caught my eye. No pun intended.
Via Modern Mechanix.
Korean designer Zinoo Park's Spaghetti Chandelier is made from common industrial electrical cord draped through a powder coated white frame.
Via Contemporist.
Society in Decline Project: Intrastate Commerce is a wonderful Flickr set comprised of 445 photos (and counting) of old neon signs. Definitely worth a look. Lots of vintage design goodness.
Artist Noriko Ambe creates her amazing pieces by cutting precise holes in books and other bound publications. Born and educated in Japan, Ambe currently resides in New York City. Check out a list of her upcoming exhibits right here.
Via Designboom.
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