Much today is written about collaboration and the need to work or brainstorm with others in order to bring an idea to fruition.
It’s all very friendly and inclusive but be careful.
Collaboration can easily turn into consensus.
Which rapidly becomes ordinary. Sitting around on beanbags holding hands and having a happy-clappy meeting will not lead to greatness.
Some people believe you can create brilliance by brainstorming with lots of people.
Well you can’t.
Collaboration is great for sex but not for creativity.
It’s a bit like an orgy. Too many people makes for bad sex.
Another fine example of less is more.
How much collaboration is necessary and when you should collaborate does depend quite a lot on what it is you’re creating. If you’re a painter working on a canvas there will probably be no need to ask for a second opinion. I don’t think Picasso had someone advising him where to put the eyes on his portraits of Dora Maar. But when Frank Gehry was designing the now-famous Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, there was probably quite a lot of collaboration. Here’s the important point though: even if there was, every project still needs someone in charge with a crystal-clear vision. A creator with the big idea in their head. And so it was with Gehry. He alone came up with the idea for this stand-out, world-famous work of architecture. Once he had that idea in place, I’m sure he then worked closely with a team of architects and structural engineers to realize his vision.
No matter what you’re creating, a single vision is fundamentally important. It is the driving force of any project. Whether you’re working on a simple illustration or a vast building, understanding when and how you should collaborate will determine the success of your project.
The old saying that no one ever erected a monument to a committee is absolutely true. If you want to have an average idea then the group brainstorm is probably a good place to start. But who’s interested in average?