Stormy With a Chance of Collaboration
What better way to explore the question of collaboration than by collaborating? I recently participated in a Design Storm with 20 students from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, as they tackled this real-world issue over a period of two and half days.
For Herman Miller, this was an opportunity to ask the next generation of designers about the workplace, about collaboration, and about how they envision the two melding in the future.
Brainstorming, discussion, sketching, and critique; round after round, the students worked through their ideas toward a final concept. The atmosphere was awesome. The results were even better, ranging from the intangible “office as a second skin” and “implicit boundaries” to the tangible “mobile work pods.”
The experience left us wishing we could replicate that spark back at the office. We value our partnerships with universities and colleges of all kinds; they provide us a fresh perspective, all while connecting with future innovators. Who better to create the future with?
It’s interesting to see how the relationship between industry and higher education is evolving. I was reading up on some news last week about how UC-Davis is making Project Management training part of their MBA program. They send students out into the field to problem-solve at real Fortune 500 companies to gain the skills they need. It’s very different from the “ivory tower” experience colleges used to focus on – and I think it’s a change for the better.
Daisy McCarty
San Diego Office Furniture