5 Tips For Creative Collaborations
Collaborations have the power to build community, strengthen relationships, and fuel creativity - which is especially important in a world that feels increasingly divided. I’m a firm believer in the concept of ‘Community Over Vanity’ and the notion that when we join forces and lift others as we rise ourselves, our communities can be stronger and more powerful than if we try to go it alone.
When you’re a creative, sometimes you can get wrapped up in your own bubble of designing, making, and thinking. It can be great to focus inward like this, because it can fuel your true creative genius. But have you ever felt blocked or stagnant in your creativity, or struggled to get perspective on your work? This happens to me A LOT! I’m a chronic over-thinker and sometimes I find myself spiralling around a particular thought or project idea, unable to see the forest for the trees. It’s at times like these that collaborating with others, or the very least opening yourself up to feedback and dialogue from your community, can really help get you out of that slump!
So when it comes to creativity, what makes a good collaboration? Keeping in the spirit of Community Over Vanity, I’ve enlisted the help of 3 incredible creatives to share their top collaboration tips.
Tip 1: Don’t hold back
“Don’t hold back when it comes to sharing. As creatives, it’s easy to wait until ideas are formulated and our art is “perfected” to show people; but when we surround ourselves with a community of people we trust, and are willing to share our ideas and work freely, there’s so much potential for them to add something of value to the idea, give helpful feedback, or just take it to the next level!”
- Shyne Webster, Creative Mentor and Creative Cloud Express Ambassador
Tip 2: Make friends
“Spend time with your creative partner outside of work! Becoming better friends often makes you a better team, and becoming a better team often makes you better friends!”
- Anna-Alexia Basile, Photographer, Artist, and Creative Cloud Express Ambassador
Tip 3: Partner with people who share your passion
“Collaborations are a powerful way to stretch your creative brain! I find that collaborating with others that have different perspectives, design aesthetics and experience than I do is incredibly beneficial for all the collaborators involved. The reason being is that it forces us to not stick to our comfort zone and truly embrace collaboration. It teaches us to find a common but powerful ground - together. And you all leave learning new strategies and processes.
I’ve grown my business because of strategic collaborations. And this all applies to collaborations you want to do for fun! The idea is to partner with people who share your passion and energy for what you want to achieve. In this process, remember to embrace giving credit to those involved. When I learn a new strategy from a collaboration, I always credit the person for the idea and knowledge they shared with me”
- Nicte Cuevas, Brand Strategist, Graphic Designer, and Creative Cloud Express Ambassador
Tip 4: Rise above competition
“It can be tempting to let your ego get in the way and view sharing the spotlight with others as taking away from your own shine. But when we stop looking at our peers through the lens of competition and jealousy, true collaboration can flourish! There’s enough room for everyone on the ladder.”
- Kitiya Palaskas, Craft-based Designer and Creative Cloud Express Ambassador (that’s me!)
Tip 5: Use the right tools
If you don’t have the right tools, collaborating can feel clunky and disorganised rather than streamlined and easy. Creative Cloud Express makes it really simple (and fun!) to collaborate on creative design projects. Here’s my 3 favourite tools for creative collaboration in Spark:
* Creative Cloud Libraries for sharing assets
* Creative Cloud Express Shared Templates for design collabs
* Collaborate with me! Use my Papercraft Collage Graphics in your next design project.
This post was sponsored by Creative Cloud Express. All opinions by me and that of my contributors are our own.
