Creative Workspace: Is the Studio Still Important - Essay Example

30 December Creative Workspace: Is the Studio Still Important? There was a time, not so long ago, when every creative person longed for a studio in which to design the inspirations that tumbled around inside the mind. A studio was, to a graphic designer, what a laboratory is to a scientist, a place to stimulate thinking, externalize ideas and experiment with various approaches. Studio space was such a critical need that creative people began selecting living spaces that provided well-lit working areas which could be dedicated to the materials and mood of creative production. It wasn’t long before housewives and hobbyists began demanding creative home spaces, as well. Then, along came the virtual revolution and now designers of all kinds, hobbyists and housewives, students and retirees, the wealthy and the poor can harness the tremendous resources of online studio space and creative software to accomplish what used to require a warehouse or loft flat hybrid. This paper will review relevant literature to explore the question of how important the studio is, given the availability of virtual resources; under what conditions the non-virtual studio is or is not required, how the present-day shift to online creative space will likely effect the industry, and more importantly for me, personally, whether I yearn for a future (real) studio of my own? The first point it seems wise to make, in this paper, is that not all design studios are or should be alike. Actually, Dorgan differentiates between “space” and “place”, saying that space is uninhabited, abstract and open to all potentiality, while place is negotiated within space, and is defined in a specific way by the communication and action meanings that take place (Dorgan 2). A design studio is the inhabitation and negotiation of space into place (3). A studio is social and densely interactive; political and functionally negotiating (4) and is activist, transforming circumstances with intention (5). The studio is where we begin to shape our imagination toward transformation (15). I see that each of these characteristics can happen both in physical space and in virtual space, suggesting that studio place can be successfully negotiated in either one. The collage below, Figure 1, shows a sampling of various design studios. The collage below that one, Figure 2, shows a sampling of graphic design studios. Even a casual glance immediately registers an impression that, while many design studios attend to material storage and the mood induced by artistic physical environments, graphic design studios rely primarily on computer technology, these days. Figure 1 Figure 2 Graphic Design studios can also have stimulating, artistic environments, such as this beehive theme (Figure 3) and ski lift and restaurant cubicles (Figure 4) at Google, and the social games design company studio at Three Rings Design (Figure 5): Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 The rationale for creative design environments includes the theory that production is tied to environment. If creative output is required, then a creative environment will stimulate the prerequisite motivation and passion. The argument I want to pose to this theory, however, is that the alternative physics of virtual space, along with infinite capacity for variety of experience and change of environment, and the potential for reinvention and experimentation of self, offer a far richer environment than what can currently be provided in a physical world-based design studio. Furthermore, immersion in the virtual environment is usually so complete as to make the physical studio environment basically inaccessible, without intentional withdrawal from the creative virtual workspace. A creative design studio workspace cannot compete for the stimulation and focus, inspiration and motivation of a creative person whose work can be primarily done in virtual space. A cool workspace may initially make someone feel like a cool artistic type, living a cool artistic life, but it is the virtual creative space that will hold a serious graphic designer’s loyalty. That said, there are various advantages to having a resource-rich, artistic design studio. One advantage is self-presentation. The founders of Microsoft and the founders of Google designed and launched the creative tools of their fame from the cramped quarters of their garage. However, they now have extraordinary offices to house their computer-based enterprises. They could have simply moved to increasingly larger garages, as they grew, but they didn’t. Part of the pattern of success is the modification of self-presentation, and they grew in this way, as well. To be taken seriously (by investors, board members, clients, business rivals, suppliers, media, and banks) is far easier if one’s work environment meets or exceeds expectation. Another advantage is motivation to go to work each day (Asli Caglar). A dusty garage probably is not as motivating as a well-landscaped, elegantly-decorated Microsoft campus. A mould-ridden, airless attic is a much more difficult environment than an air-conditioned cubicle. An ocean-view penthouse studio is more likely to motivate creative endeavour than four screaming toddlers, six loads of laundry, and a blaring cartoon. However, once basic needs are in place (hygiene, climate control, peace and quiet, a computer system with good software), a graphic designer is probably less motivated by a creative environment outside the computer, and less likely to be distracted by decor deficits. There are, however, disadvantages to doing graphic design in an intentionally designed studio space. The creative space that ignores basic psychological principles can be counterproductive, even to an otherwise focused and sincere graphic designer. What looks interesting, satisfying the needs for creative self-presentation and inspirational motivation, can also bring suffering. In Figure 6, below, note the colour red predominates in the Cartoon Network Office theme. “Red is associated with blood, and with feelings that are energetic, exciting, passionate or erotic…The downside of red evokes aggressive feelings, suggesting anger or violence” (Jirousek).This is a colour that, while stimulating, can easily fan the flames of frustration that are part of most projects. The colour can exert a negative influence, even while the graphic designer is absorbed in a virtual landscape. In Figure 7, also a Cartoon Network office theme, the decor is too busy, too cluttered with art, to facilitate inspiration and clarity of thought. One is likely to feel dizzy in such an environment, which would be counterproductive. There is too much to shut out. Inviting a collaborative partner into this space would not foster good communication, but would lead to confusion. In Figure 8, a Lego Office theme, a mood is set, but how can production take place? Sitting on the floor in jeans will rule out many disabled workers, workers who are no longer young, obese workers, pregnant workers, and anyone with back or leg issues. Although the picture suggests democratic communication, the reality is highly discriminative. I cannot help but notice, as well, that the designers are wearing shoes, which means that the carpet they are seated on is probably less than hygienic. The graphic design studios in Figures 6, 7 and 8 are interesting to contemplate, but not conducive to creative productivity, social interaction, or functional negotiation. They would be more likely to overwhelm the imagination than to direct it toward transformation. Figure 6 (Eighty One Design) Figure 7 (Eighty One Design) Figure 8 (Eighty One Design) Figure 9 (Eighty One Design) In Figure 9, a Selgas Cano Offices theme, on the other hand, one is surrounded by green and yellow nature, with minimal barrier. “Green suggests … life, stability, restfulness, naturalness” and yellow is “optimistic, upbeat, modern” (Jirousek). The low ceiling and placement, relative to the land, gives the impression of a cave shelter. The white colour scheme feels clean and peaceful. White has psychological connotations of “Hygiene, sterility, clarity, purity, cleanness, simplicity, sophistication, efficiency” (Colour Affects). The continuity of white (floor, walls, ceiling) creates an illusion of open space, no restrictions or boundaries. The natural surrounding gives the impression of being set apart from all the noisy distractions of the world, being in a sacred space where one can access higher consciousness and altered states (creative source). This strikes me as a productive space to encounter, in between periods of virtual immersion. Nature provides a perfect antidote to the side effects of spending long hours online. Nature is integrative, healing the fragmenting effects of modern living (Cohen). Eco-Psychology Educator, Dr. Michael Cohen, claims that, “We suffer disorders because 99% of how we think and feel is disconnected from nature’s self-correcting and restorative power” (Cohen). It makes mental health sense to balance nature immersion with virtual immersion. This does not mean that a physical studio is necessarily critical, but it does mean that the place from which one is launched into the virtual workspace, and the place to which one returns, should have a balancing effect. A nature setting is the best balancer. As computers become smaller and more sophisticated, and as software and bandwidth meets more of our design needs, it becomes increasingly possible to work in the mountains, at the beach, on a rock formation in the high desert, alongside a river, in a remote cabin, at an historical ruin, or beside a third world paddy field with heron and oxen. We have text messaging, social spaces like Twitter and Facebook, virtual communities and smart phones with e-mail service. We are less tied to a physical space than ever before. I see this trend continuing, of course, and becoming ever more refined and spatially liberating. An area in which I definitely see a future for physical studio spaces, in the more traditional sense, is in design education. Various design education studies testify to the power of student-student interaction (Broadfoot and Bennett), student-instructor interaction (Walker), and the impact of design on the development of thinking (Hetland, Winner and Veenema). Ochsner found that the design studio, as an instructional place, has profound psychoanalytic implications and emotional power (Ochsner 194). Creativity, apparently, has its origins in the young child’s use of the transitional object (the symbolic security of a Teddy bear or favourite blanket, for example) and critical psychoanalytic material can emerge in the studio instructor-student interaction (194). An interesting development, which suggests increasing graphic design ease when working by computer, rather than in a densely interactive studio space, is research and development on multi-modal and bi-directional communication and learning in the interactive space between computer system and designer (Adler, Eisenstein and Oltmans). Intriguing research is ongoing, exploring the relationship among sketching, gesture and speech, in early stage design communication (Adler, Eisenstein and Oltmans). This will ultimately lead to more complete and satisfying virtual design capability, even in the absence of social studio space. The social function of studios may one day, in the near future, be stunningly approximated by highly articulate, socially interactive computer systems, capable of being true design partners. The whole point of progress is about increasing efficiency, increasing comfort, increasing productivity, and increasing choice. Perhaps not every graphic designer will want to be socially partnered with a computer to the extent that a more reclusive designer might. Probably not every graphic designer will exercise an adventurous spirit by designing from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, perched on the Great Wall of China, or seated in full lotus position in an ancient Tibetan Monastery. Some designers will doubtless continue to work in collaborative teams in a shared physical workspace, empowered by knowledge capture, prolonged retrieval and communication enhancement tools, such as WorkspaceNavigator provides (Ju, Ionescu and Neeley). The choice, however, is there, and that is an inspiring and motivating reality. I value the freedom I foresee. I do not yearn for a physical studio space in my future, as I believe I will be able to accomplish what I need to accomplish in any space with few distractions and adequate technological resources. I am, however, making a mental note to provide myself with adventurous locales and beautiful natural outdoor settings, so that I can lead a well-balanced life, as I proceed into my future as a techie artist. Works Cited Adler, Aaron, et al. Building the Design Studio of the Future. Research Report. Cambridge: MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, 2004. Web. 30 December 2011. Asli Caglar. "Designing a Graphic Design Studio." 2010. Asli. Web. 30 December 2011 http://aslicaglar.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/%E2%80%9Cdesigning%E2%80%9D-a-graphic-design-studio/. Broadfoot, Quita and Rick Bennett. "Design Studios Online: Comparing Traditional Face-to-Face Design Studio Education with Modern Internet-Based Design Studios." 2003. Apple University Consortium. Web. 30 December 2011 . Cohen, Michael J. "Nature-Connected Educating, Counseling and Healing." 2011. Institute of Global Education. Web. 30 December 2011 . Colour Affects. “Psychological Properties of Colours.” nd. Colour Affects. Web. 30 December 2011 . Dorgan, Robert. "Negotiated Space in the Design Studio." InTensions (2009) 2: 1-20. Print. Eightyone Design. "How Would You Improve Your Graphic Design Studio or Office?" 2011. Eighty One. Web. 30 December 2011 . Hetland, Lois, et al. Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Arts Education. New York: Teachers College Press, 2007. Print. Jirousek, Charlotte. "Color, Value and Hue." 1995. Art, Design, and Visual Thinking. Web. 30 December 2011 . Ju, Wendy, et al. "Where the Wild Things Work: Capturing shared Physical Design Workspaces." CSCW 04 Proceedings of the 2004 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work. New York: ACM, 2004. Web. Ochsner, J. K. "Behind the Mask: A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Interaction in the Design Studio." Journal of Architectural Education (2000) 53: 194-206. Print. Walker, Sydney Roberts. "Designing Studio Instruction: Why Have Students Make Artwork?" Art Education (1996) 49 (5): 11-17. Print. Read More