The possibility for collaboration has increased as much as the possibility for confusion and frustration. Wikipedia is the most visible example of that. A triumph of people pooling together, as well as the first indicator of what happens when socially-motivated applications reaches a certain critical mass.

I’m not going to talk about the social phenomena at large, however. What has inspired this post happens within the realm of a small design firm, and a long standing client, in which there are important lessons that I have learned.

A new creative for an old product is a great place to start new processes. Quark files can be dumped as we create the layouts in InDesign, structure in the copy and text can be trimmed of all the extra ‘improvements’ that built up over the years, and it’s a magical and optimistic time for everyone. Until we start getting down to the business of production. Read the rest of this entry »