Design Swap

In hopes of sparking more creativity and cultivating a learning environment beyond one-off conversations on our arts team, we scheduled a time every 1-2 months that we called “Design Swap.” We did it for a season years ago. It was simple but interesting.

Folks brought their lunch & shared things they were learning/seeing as it relates to their skill area that could crossover to other areas as well (whether by practice or principle). Intentionally, it was not project specific but rather a space to share, glean, & process what everyone’s learning. It was another way to strengthen team interaction as a whole and build creative crossovers. It was organic and always a work in progress. It was interesting to see the variety of what folks brought to the table. There was a mix of story, art, journalism, academic, music, and life influences. We talked about creativity & the questions we were wrestling with. We were already having these conversations in passing anyway, but there was a beauty in delving into things for an hour to sharpen each other. 

The type of things shared ran the gamut (designs, videos, articles, books, objects, stories, etc). Some of those times were organic while others were more structured. I started adding specific questions to help give us some lanes to talk through. Our team morphed in different ways since then, so these days we do a version of this once of a month with designers on staff.

Some Questions We Asked At Design Swap…

Method/Process Questions:

1. How do you approach creativity in your own work? What’s your process?

2. Who inspires you in your craft or has helped shift the way you see what you do?

3. What questions do you ask yourself heading into projects?

4. What problem in the world do you want to help solve from where you are positioned? How do you see yourself doing that?

5. How have you adapted your work over time considering the cultural landscape? What’s intentionally remained the same?

6. How do you get unstuck creatively? How do you keep stoking the fire inside? 

7. How do you manage efficiency and space for creativity?

Heart/Hope Questions:

1. If you invested a decade doing what you are doing now, what is your hope for that period of time at the end?

2. What role do you see humility and servant-heartedness playing in the creative process?

3. How do you see/keep what you do as an act of worship vs. letting it become an idol of worship? (see Isaiah 44)

Visuals/Inspiration Questions:

1. What the neatest thing you’ve seen lately that inspired you? Bring example.

2. What have you read recently that taught you something that could be applied to your craft?

3. Bring one visual thing from your past that inspired you to pursue your craft or influences you even now. Explain why. (ex. Michael Beirut was influenced by paintings in a book his mom got him when he was a kid as well as the New Yorker piece on Hiroshima)

You may do something like this where you are. It’s just good to keep creative conversation going and learn how to glean from one another. Plus it’s just fun!