THE DESIGN SPACE

(Let me walk you back for a second.) When I was working at Marriott, everyone was sitting in his or her cubicles. The “open space” concept was not a thing back then. Every time we wanted to have a brainstorming session, we had to book a conference room (which was super inconvenient). I wanted a space that people could use whenever they needed — equipped with paper, whiteboard, or something that they can draw and write on. I asked our SVP for a budget to start the “design hub” and I got approval for $500. I went to the furniture store and got 1 tall table and 4 chairs. I put them right outside my cubicle and put paper, sticky notes, and markers on the table for people to use. Soon enough 1 table and 4 chairs turned into 2 tables and 8 chairs. A couple months later we had a proper (and fancier) space for the “Design Hub” (fully furnished).

Fast forward a few years at Custom Ink, when my Vice President (VP) asked me, “If you had a magic wand, what would you do or change at Custom Ink? ”My immediate response was, “To create a space that would foster creativity and invite everyone to participate!” My reasoning was simple: when people work together, they accomplish more with less time spent. The weeks following this revelation were a blur! As I lead the effort to identify, fund, and build a design space. The productivity was higher. We were able to solve the design problem faster by just whiteboarding and brainstorming with the cross-functional team, and on top of that, more ideas flowed to the backlog. (Well worth the effort, don’t you think?)