The Design of Design: Essays from a Computer Scientist

6. Collaboration in Design

Menn’s Sunniberg Bridge, 1998Christian Menn, ETH Zürich, ChristianMennPartners AG

A meeting is a refuge from “the dreariness of labor and the loneliness of thought.”

BERNARD BARUCH, IN RISEN [1970],“A THEORY ON MEETINGS”

Is Collaboration Good Per Se?

Two big changes in design have taken place since 1900:

• Design is now done mostly by teams, rather than individuals.

• Design teams now often collaborate by using telecommunications, rather than by being collocated.

As a consequence of these big shifts, the design community is abuzz with hot topics:

• Telecollaboration

• “Virtual teams” of designers

• “Virtual design ...