We believe that everyone deserves a seat at our table of collaboration. And depending on what we’re up to that day, you might even need to sit at the head. We’re okay with that, we love a passionate and kind leader. With nearly a decade of creative freelancing and corporate creative roles under our belt, we know that “collaboration” is too often a buzzword that is rarely actionable.

That’s why we decided to build East & Eve Creative Co around doing things differently. Our ways of working prioritize the people involved in creating together having an equal voice that centers around their expertise. When working with contractors or clients, our goal is always to empower our collaborators to be in a position where they can advocate for their ideas, their dreams, and their skill set. We’ve found that this approach enables true creative collaboration.

Crafting True Connection

Experiencing creative collaboration is a matter of setting the stage right from the beginning. That starts with knowing yourself, your business, and the values that drive you. Without a deep understanding of your values, it’s difficult to set boundaries or find the people who you truly connect with. Connection is another key element of creative collaboration. Here are some questions you can ask a potential collaborator to know if you may be a good fit.

* Warning – these questions may result in lasting connection and fondness between creators…*

• What drives you to create or do what you love?
• Where do you most commonly find yourself looking for inspiration?
• What was the most fun you ever had creating?
• Think of the best colleague you ever had: what qualities did you admire about them?
• How do you prefer receiving feedback?
• When you collaborate with other creators, do you prefer working in isolation or in tandem?

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. Much like a dating app profile, these answers are personal and your answers will appeal to the people who are a good match for you, your creative process, and your working style. Like many things in life – while you may be drawn to the most inspiring collaborator at your disposal, if your working styles are not complimentary – the partnership may not be meant to be.

What Creative Collaboration Means to Us

The benefit of experiencing creative collaboration is far-reaching. Exploring true connection with other creators has gifted us with incredible opportunities to work on dream design projects, styled shoots, service trades, and podcasts while forging friendships along the way.

Our client onboarding process will always involve a complimentary discovery session because it gives us and our client the opportunity to see if a connection can be made. We don’t rush these sessions and allow ample time for storytelling, sharing, and transparent dialogue about our design process. This process has rarely led us astray – and as a result, we continue to work with clients we CAN collaborate with.

For our client work, this collaboration means a design process that continues to support active listening, storytelling, and strategic conversations about goals, fears, and values. It means allowing for time and space between 1:1 meetings and decision-making deadlines.

We are proud to be working towards a more human approach to design, marketing, and business that allows creative collaboration to be an integral part of our process. How have you found creative collaboration in your industry? Let us know below in the comments or DM us on Instagram!