The collaborative creator: Climate, mindset, and mastery.

Content + Design. It's a winning combination when it works. So how can we help these collaborations run smoothly and get the best from each other?

In this talk I share my experience as a designer working closely with content, discussing strategies for effective collaboration. What are the foundations of great collaborative practice, and how can content and design work together effectively?

Transcript

1. The collaborative creator
   Climate, mindset,
   and mastery.
   Tom Prior / #CoDes Autumn Edition / 15.10.19
   Image credit: https://dribbble.com/shots/3669420-Funfetti-Pattern
   

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2. Value
   & impact
   Environment
   & mindset
   Content
   & design
   

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3. Content Design
   +
   Image credit: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-A-4886
   

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5. RSA Digital
   • Simplifying legalese
   • Removing the burden of understanding
   • Power of shared tools
   

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7. Virgin Holidays
   • Our strategic crossover
   • Brand voice and UX
   • Presenting together
   

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9. Pitchup.com
   • Pair research
   • A lean content approach
   • Content in context
   

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10. Writers do more than ‘put words on a page’. Designers
    do more than ‘make things look pretty’.
    Great digital experiences rely on the bond between
    language and design.
    “
    ”
    Amy Leak
    Writer and Designer: A content-first love story
    

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11. The benefits
    More effective at
    delivering value
    More
    employable
    More enjoyable
    to work with
    

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12. Collaboration and communication are under-valued
    and under-cultivated in many organisations.
    We call them ‘soft skills’, which underplays how
    important and — and how difficult — they are.
    “
    ”
    Lauren Pope
    Art and copy: bridging the gap between design and content
    

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13. Content
    Design
    Marketing
    CRO
    SEO
    Engineering
    CX
    Product
    Biz dev
    Image credits: Photos by John Westrock and Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash
    

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14. Becoming
    collaborative
    

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15. Think of a time..
    Image credit: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-P-1937-224
    

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16. Environment Mindset
    Image credits: Photos by Dylan Nolte and Alex Holyoake on Unsplash
    

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17. Psychological
    safety
    Image credit: Photo by Vinicius Henrique on Unsplash
    

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18. The foundation of
    high-performing teams
    Google re:Work
    https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/five-keys-to-a-successful-google-team/
    

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19. Psychological safety is a belief
    that one will not be punished or
    humiliated for speaking up with
    ideas, questions, concerns or
    mistakes.
    “
    ”Amy
    Edmondson
    Harvard Business School Professor
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8
    

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20. Simply put, it's an
    interpersonal
    environment
    where people
    believe their voice
    is welcome.
    “
    ” Amy
    Edmondson
    Harvard Business School Professor
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8
    

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21. Amy Edmondson’s Psychological Safety
    Be curious
    We are working
    to learn
    Acknowledge
    your fallibility
    

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22. Measure
    • Are mistakes held against us?
    • Is it easy to raise difficult issues and problems?
    • Are people rejected from participation because they
    have an alternative viewpoint?
    • It is safe to take a risk on this team?
    • It is difficult to ask other members of this team for help?
    Image credit: Photo by Patricia Serna on Unsplash
    

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23. Lead by
    example.
    

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24. Model behaviour
    • Seek out alternative viewpoints
    • Advocate other disciplines
    • Ask questions, especially naive ones
    • Listen actively for answers
    • Invite feedback on your work and approach
    • Be candid, and constructive
    

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25. https://www.radicalcandor.com/
    

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26. The art
    of critique
    

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27. https://clearleft.com/posts/critique-your-shortcut-to-better-designs
    

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28. Dogma
    

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29. Dogmatism is
    counterproductive and
    dangerous, but it can
    provide temporary,
    artificial certainty and
    illusory comfort in
    unpredictable times.
    “
    ”
    Don Ambrose Ph.D
    Professor of graduate education at Rider University
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dogmatic-Creativity-Higher-Level-Educational-Psychology/dp/0415894603
    

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30. Value
    & impact
    Environment
    & mindset
    Content
    & design
    

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31. Demystify our
    job titles
    

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32. Run a
    premortem
    Image credit: Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash
    

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33. Research
    together
    Image credit: Photo by Nicolas Weldingh on Unsplash
    

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36. Deliverables
    for direction
    Image credit: Photo by Stock Photography on Unsplash
    

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37. Page
    tables
    https://uxplanet.org/when-user-needs-get-lost-in-feedback-b1236bffac19
    

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38. Priority
    guides
    https://alistapart.com/article/priority-guides-a-content-first-alternative-to-wireframes/
    

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41. Share
    your
    tools
    

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42. https://www.figma.com/
    

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43. Share
    your
    tools.
    https://www.figma.com/c/plugin/735770583268406934/Google-Sheets-Sync
    

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44. Present together
    Image credit: Photo by Daniil Kuželev on Unsplash
    

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45. Space for deep work
    Image credit: Photo by Mark Asthoff on Unsplash
    

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46. Practice.
    Patience.
    Image credit: Photo by Justine de Gennes on Unsplash
    

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47. Thank you
    @tomprior
    thomasprior.co.uk
    tompriordesign@gmail.com
    Special thanks to Rachel McConnell, Peter Winchester, Lorraine Heller, and Claire Fellows for their help in putting together this talk.
    Image credit: https://dribbble.com/shots/3669420-Funfetti-Pattern
    

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