Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Creative Industries

Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Creative Industries ABSTRACT Due to increased reliance on creativity across industries as well as to the vaguely delineated boundaries of the concept of creativity, new trends have emerged as a way for companies to innovate. One such complex new trend which has received less attention in academia is interdisciplinary work in creative fields such as fashion and design. With its fast-paced dynamics and constant developments, technology in particular constitutes an area of interest for creative professionals. Since collaboration between design studios and technology-related firms is still considered a more unusual way of working, it also presents certain new challenges for experts. Overall, it is not well known nor documented how smooth the collaborative process is or what work practices are common among these different stakeholders. Thus, the current research takes on an exploratory approach and aims to give a more contemporary overview of collaborative work practices in interdisciplinary environments. The research question is formulated as follows: “How do designers experience interdisciplinary collaboration between design or fashion studios and technology-related firms and how does it shape work practices in the creative industries?” The study employs a qualitative approach through a combination of two data collection techniques – namely, conducting one focus group interview and multiple in-depth individual interviews with interdisciplinary designers. Results and their analysis show that the blend of design and technology is still considered an innovative and highly dynamic type of collaboration. Various aspects that are discussed in a positive light also emerge as possible limitations or challenges that need to be overcome throughout the work process. In particular, the quality of communication between partners from these different fields is deemed as an essential component of collaborative work. The research findings could be especially useful in providing an external overview of designers’ experiences in collaborations with technology-related firms or experts as well as in pointing out the main interdisciplinary work practices exercised in such settings.