During the period from 1998 - 2000, Widgets & Stone ran more as a lab for my graduate studies in Book Arts at the University of Alabama than as a design studio. And even when I picked professional design back up (more or less) full time in 2000, it was nothing more than a tiny one-man design shop. I saw every project from conception through to production and then completion all by myself.

This one-man show continued through 2001, pausing for a 6 month sabbatical (living in Italy), then picking back up again in a new location in Chattanooga in 2002.

As many of you know from experience, there is a limit to how much work — and even what kind of work — one can do alone. There are only so many projects that can be handled effectively. There are also limits when one is working in a smaller city trying to do more deliberate and good quality work. Not bad limits, but limits.

After witnessing firsthand a small and highly successful studio at work (2 full-timers, 1 full-time intern and occasionally some freelancers) in 2004, I made a decision to try to work more collaboratively. My start was small and slow, working with 2 or 3 freelancers that year and taking on 2 very part-time interns. Since then we have grown to one full-time designer here in the studio, at least 3 very regular part-time collaborators, consistent freelancers and several interns.

To the Point:
Of course with this collaborative approach my process has changed, as well as my role. I no longer do everything myself, and I therefore I no longer (necessarily) have every design project completed the way I envisioned it when we began. And that leads me to the following thoughts and issues:

1. Relating to the studio’s personality and style, collaboration and size:

Since the studio’s inception, my design style has been a major (or from ’98 - ’02, the sole) part of the Widgets & Stone identity. As my role has shifted from the actual maker of a design to the director of collaborative design work, how should I influence what the studio produces? Do I compromise along the way in the collaborative process? Or do I simply ensure that the designs are always done the “way” I would do them?

Related to this, do I collaborate simply to be able to take on more work or bigger projects? Or do I collaborate because the resulting designs get better from the process of collaboration?

Further related to the process of collaboration: When only two of us are full time, how do we develop an efficient system that allows for scalability or adjustability to accomodate part-timers, freelancers and interns?

Is there something inherently valuable in staying small — 2-3 full timers? Put another way, is something lost by growing and including more people in the course of collaboration?

Is there a critical mass that should not be exceeded in regards to number of collaborators?

When outside companies become collaborators: is it detrimental to work with two outside companies that consider each other competitors for the same work? For example: one print shop for one project, another print shop for a different project…

2. Relating to client work

How do I draw a clear distinction between our role as designers / brand identity advisors and marketing? We certainly overlap with marketing and address marketing issues, but we are not marketers and should not be expected to fill that role.

When working with small companies or entrepreneurs and their budget restraints require working with many different printers or producers, how does a small studio maintain consistent print quality?

When working with small clients over extended periods of time, a sort of “brand drift” can happen — caused by both client and designer losing perspective on the original goals of the brand. What can be done to minimize this?

For clients with budget constraints, is there really any sort of “template” that can look good even when a non-designer does not use it?

3. Contributing to community, culture and the future

What is our responsibility to train and teach the next generation of Chattanooga designers? How young is too young to introduce design as a practice?

How do we prepare students to practice design: as production or process?

How do we decided our level of involvement with design students in university vs in the marketplace?

What responsibility do designers have to lead civic and business sectors in change (eg reducing waste or consumption)?

Can designers transition into creators of content as well as of form? And can it be relevant to the general public?