statement

Bound by the cause.
Nicolas Chua.

Over the past years I have spent as a designer, one thing has become clear to me as I strive to improve my skills and understanding within the industry. Collaboration is a crucial, if not unavoidable part of design. Whether it is collaboration with clients, designers or even with people within our culture, all of these interconnections not only prevent us from going insane in our own solitary work but also allows us to develop who we are as designers.

The image of us as isolated figures, stranded behind a single computer has been replaced with one of a dynamic studio setting where creativity and interaction thrives. It is a setting where individual designers are able to bring each of their own skills and perspectives to the table, allowing for an infinite number of creative possibilities. That is the beauty of design. It gives people the freedom to collaborate with one another despite possessing different values, skills, cultural backgrounds, social status and even geographic location. We as designers should be encouraged by this unique position the design industry is in, eager to engage with each other in effort to gain inspiration and grow in our skills. It is impossible to think we can do so otherwise. If design is about communicating and materialising the world around us, how then can we achieve this if we are unwilling to engage with the people within that very world?

We as designers are not separate entities but a body, bound together by a burning need to express ourselves through design. Although we each hold an individual role within the industry, our most creative and unique outcomes evolve when we interact with one another.

This can be summed up in three words, listen, Collaborate and Create. That is what design is all about.