In this interview we're exploring the idea of the Inflatable Design Team, a framework that enables your practice, even if you're a freelancer, to expand and contract depending on the scope and scale of a project. 

As the list of demands on the built environment grows and the complexity of our cities slowly multiplies it is very rare these days that any one design discipline is ever able to understand and deliver a holistic outcome for almost any project. This has given rise to a wave of collaborative design projects and design processes that see freelancers and small design practices coming together to tackle complex projects.

Further to that the interests, ideas and even involvement of end-users in the design process is becoming increasingly commonplace too; the notion of “co-design” in which consultants from multiple disciplines along with actual end users, work together to achieve a meaningful outcome, is also on the rise.

What does this mean for the design community? How does it affect our understanding of what a design practice is or could be? From a creative, problem solving perspective this all makes absolute sense, the more relevant minds you have working towards a solution, the more meaningful and relevant should be the response.

From a business perspective however, this mode of operation could be littered with glitches and potential problems. Who retains control over each project? How do you keep track of everyone? How do you manage work ethic, productivity and reliability when few of the people working on your project are actually from your own company?

Fortunately our guest takes all of these into consideration and offers you his thoughful perspective on the subject.