I'm trying to understand what Collaboration means to Designers/Visual Designers/Graphic Designers? Deliberately keeping it vague to get multiple perspectives.

[sherrym35962383]

Trying to spur a discussion around Collaboration, in order to get a fresh look at multiple perspectives of the same.

[rodneyb56060189]

My interpretation of the word collaboration is that "people work together to make a product".

I'm old and what used to be done in graphic ad agencies (still ads to sell products in magazines or brochures) has changed a lot technically. What used to be done with cameras and film is now done on computers digitally. Some of the graphic ad agencies had their own 'copy writers' ( people who make up the words to sell something ). They all had 'art directors' ( people who do the compositions (Comps)) and illustrators and access to pro photographers to shoot product shots, etc.

They also had access to ( or their own) typesetters and STATS ( a stat is where you take copy and reduce it or enlarge it OR make a proof of a final product on film.

All these people worked together to make the product ( in this case the final product from graphic agency would go to a "printer" on behalf of the client ( to the magazine or a printer who is hired to do a brochure, etc. )

That's probably a good overall start re: that old way of working.

[Ussnorway]

a headache... I'm a coder so design people bring me all kinds of BS issues then the boss wants  "collaboration" i.e, I tell them no in such a way that doesn't upset them and they go ahead and try to make their BS anyway because nobody told them not too.

[sherrym35962383]

Could you kindly elaborate a bit more? What sort of issues or challenges from designers are problems for you?

[Ussnorway]

designers make | ask for things that can't be done and have no clue when it comes to understanding why code limits some options i.e, they have a $ on their keyboard so why can't they use that key in their design code?

Answer = because $ isn't something you find in UK | Japanese keyboards as a very simple example... anyway have fun mate

[pziecina]

Ussnorway  wrote

Answer = because $ isn't something you find in UK | Japanese keyboards as a very simple example... anyway have fun mate

$ is on the U/K keyboards, and all european keyboards.

[Ussnorway]

yes it is on PC keyboards now days because this has been a long running issue but users also come with Phones and tablets etc the default UK keyboard layout has a £... they have to load a English US or INT language | layout to get access to $ and your end users will complain loudly about the inconvenience your design gives them if you don't take their device into account

the bottom line is design can be anything a artist can dream up but if it also needs to work then the code behind it must be something that host systems allow... that changes for better or worse as time goes on and this fight between design | code is endless until both sides start to listen to what the other is telling them i.e, headaches

[Erik_Lord]

Completely agree (Graham?) - this is a constant in eLearning. Instructional Designers should absorb the learning content and structure/storyboard the content in a not-only instructional manner, but propose interactivity options to help learn/reinforce concepts, processes, etc.

Then they should discuss their ideas with the developers to see what is actually possible. The developers should think through the ideas IDs have and, if there are programmatic/tool limitations, propose alternatives.

Frankly, I appreciate it when an ID has some grand idea that would be great learning interaction. It may need to be revised (and likely toned-down) to be possible and built, especially within timeframes, but I like those sorts of ideas - who knows what may actually be possible with rapid tech advances...

So to the point - collaboration in my eLearning world means instructional designers working with subject experts to define the learning material, then the instructional designers working with the developers and graphic designers to bring that material 'to life' in an online environment.