Rediscovering Creativity: The Power of Collaboration in Design
The design field is vast and multifaceted. Depending on the context, I might identify as a designer or an architect, working on everything from creative art exhibitions to property surveys. While these labels define my areas of specialty, the past two weeks have offered me a fresh perspective.
My university recently hosted a summer school packed with diverse design activities, workshops, and visits, all aimed at pushing us beyond traditional disciplines. After a year focused on my Architecture thesis, this was the perfect opportunity to refresh my skills and approach.
Refreshing Skills and Expanding Perspectives
Entering the summer school, my goal was to revitalise my practical design knowledge, useful for my upcoming job search in Architecture. What I didn’t anticipate was how profoundly my mindset would shift. A lecture on the intersection of design disciplines highlighted the importance of collaboration, setting the stage for what was to come.
Practicing my one perspective sketching inspired by the drawing workshop.
Key Experiences
Curating a Shoe Exhibition: We revitalised a shoe retail experience with innovative spatial planning and artistic presentation. Visiting a gallery in Manchester showed how these ideas manifest in real-world settings, blending visuals and sensory elements to engage the public.
Artwork inspired by the Manchester riots was reworked to serve as wallpaper for the gallery space.
Workshop: Creating contemporary tote bags in a hands-on screen printing workshop refined my skills and demonstrated how combining artistic techniques with design can lead to innovative outcomes.
Exploring the Etihad Stadium: Learning about the Etihad Stadium’s construction underscored the value of interdisciplinary collaboration, from engineering to graphic communication.
Visit to The Walker Gallery & The Tate in Liverpool: Seeing works from the Pre-Raphaelites to contemporary art highlighted the evolution of design and inspired me to blend historical and modern influences in my own practice.
Visit to the Tate and The Walker gallery in Liverpool. The brown and pink tones in the Walker Gallery artwork inspire me to create digital art in these colours.
Embracing Diverse Experiences
From historic architecture and beach explorations to music and painting, stepping outside my comfort zone proved invaluable. The friendships formed, including connections with students from Egypt and India, have opened up exciting new travel possibilities and we've now planned to visit each other.
Collaborating with a diverse group of designers—from game designers to fine artists—fostered a vibrant learning environment. We shared expertise, supported each other, and created inspiring solutions together.
Group photos from the last day of the Summer School, friendships made for life.
Practical Steps to Embrace Collaboration
Attend Diverse Events: Explore events and workshops outside your usual design discipline to spark new inspiration.
Engage with Different Perspectives: Collaborate with individuals from various design fields to uncover innovative solutions.
Embrace Cultural Exchange: Build relationships with people from different cultures to enrich your design approach.
4. Keep Learning: Follow the advice of Dr Athar Hussein, who encouraged me to “never stop learning.” Continuous education is vital for maintaining inspiration and driving innovation.
Trying Turkish coffee and learning about colonial textiles.
Conclusion
The summer school’s collaborative spirit and diverse experiences reignited my passion for design. Exploring beyond your usual discipline is invaluable. I encourage you to seek activities that expand your horizons and enhance your creativity—be it a pottery class, a book club, or photography.
Visit to Crosby beach as part of the Liverpool explore day.
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