With a little help from my friends

Abstract

This project is an exploration of how the collaborative process is of benefit to designers as a way of breaking habits and generating new ideas. By studying collaborative techniques in different creative fields (particularly music), as well as my own first hand experiences of organizing on-to-one improvisational workshops with five different students, I have developed a set of guidelines to help create the optimal collaborative environment. In the second stage of the project I look at how I can draw upon these experiences to design a piece of furniture to facilitate my own collaborative efforts in the future. Fundamentally, this project is an attempt to better understand the act of working with others, and in doing so I hope to cast doubt on the myth of the lone genius.