Virtual Innovation | Collaboration in the Zoom Era
Over the last few months, we’ve found ourselves in uncharted waters. When we first went into lockdown, the duration was uncertain, as it still is, but what was certain was that new work would be coming in and new projects would be kicking-off.
The success of a project relies on a collaborative dialogue between us and our client, and our initial project meetings are the start of that solid relationship.
One of the most exhilarating points in a project is the beginning. Our design team facilitates a synergetic conversation and brainstorm with our stakeholders, essentially a deep dive into the ‘big picture’ vision for the project, the ethos of the brand, and the people who will experience it. It’s the discussion, debate, and creative tension that’s the catalyst for extraordinary ideas. This initial interaction forms a relationship built on trust and respect and helps to create a roadmap that will lead us toward the best possible design solution.
The discovery phase of a project sets the tone, so, we’ve spent time brainstorming and focusing on how we can complete a project kick-off meeting virtually with the same level of creativity as face to face interactions. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention.
We’ve created a virtual kick-off meeting, that takes approximately 2.5 hours, using an in-depth, intuitive, and collaborative online platform and Zoom. The exercises are similar to in-person: Project DNA, brand association, and imagery, and the online survey enables our graphics team to access the data in real-time and populate a presentation with the results ready to reconvene, review, and plot out the next steps.
We’re still testing but we’ve recently completed two workshops to kick-off new projects, and it was a roaring success. We scheduled the call with our client and design partners and sent out an agenda and a few points to mull over before the call. Not only was it a valuable design tool, but it also served as a fantastic team-building exercise.
“Words cannot express my current satisfaction for this process and what SB Architects have done thus far…! I’m so looking forward to the future success of this project!”
We’re very excited about the possibilities this new tool will open.