Collaboration

I've been working on Dialogue 19, an issue focused on Gensler's design research program. Number 19 continues the collaborative editing approach that we began with Gensler's 2011 Annual Report. Vernon Mays developed the issue's outline and identified the outside respondents to be interviewed for the "roundtable." He and Matthew Richardson also oversaw several articles by other writers. Their own contributions were collaborative, too. Vernon used a second interviewer and Matt based his on a white paper that Vernon originally edited from a draft by a Gensler practice leader. We call this process the "editorial scrum." Of course, the gods weigh in, shaping the issue as they respond to it - first as text, then as an evolving design. As it neared its print date, coordination became crucial. With two designers and lots of moving parts, keeping it all straight was a challenge. We're looking at software to help ensure that the layout file stays current - it sometimes got away from us. Despite this, collaboration is the way to go - it keeps the project moving and leverages a virtual team that has other things to do.