A little more than a year ago, Mad Genius tore down some walls in the office to create a more open space for much of the creative team. The resulting area, known ‘round these parts as the Design Den, is now a collaborative space where our designers, illustrators, writers, web developers and some of the creative directors can easily share ideas.

This change put a lot of personalities in a shared space, and we had to adjust to a new dynamic, but we learned a lot along the way. Here are some of the lessons from our year in the Den.

Obviously, one big question on everyone’s minds was whether the noise level would be manageable. Would that many personalities just descend to constant distraction? Sure, there are mornings when a 15-minute rehash of last night’s Game of Thrones takes over all attention first thing Monday morning, or a new Star Wars film trailer stops all work so the entire room can gather glassy-eyed around the TV… But for the most part, the room sees a natural ebb and flow of noise. Interactive designer-turned-Den DJ Ethan usually sets up some background music for the room, and folks retreat to headphones when they need to concentrate.

And ultimately, allowing for more bonding among the denizens has improved our ability to brainstorm projects together, understand one another’s workflow, and enjoy coming to work even more.

Lesson learned: Accommodate different folks’ preferences. But also know that a bit of shaking up helps the creative process and forms a closer workforce. People who like their co-workers look forward to coming to work.

      

One big change that occurred in the Design Den was the big chalkboard wall. Used to practice lettering, draw cartoons, write haikus or play games of good-old-fashioned MASH, the chalkboard is all about fun while other parts of the room are all (well, mostly) about work. But with such talented designers in the house, even the casually lettered phrases or doodled scenes were top-notch, and we began to resist erasing great work.

But the whole idea of an erasable art wall is to erase it and replace it, so we started making a point of clearing the deck, washing the wall and starting fresh every once in a while.

Lesson learned: Don’t be too precious about your creations. The only way to be more creative is to give yourself room to do it. Sometimes you have to kill your darlings to create room for the next great thing.

Besides the chalkboard, we also installed large magnetic dry-erase boards on three other walls. These have become project centers for brainstorming, visualizing, comparing iterations, soliciting feedback, critiquing and checking on status. While we still use an online project management system to share files, sketches and prods, gathering in the real world to look at a physical printout has really improved our ability to get everyone involved in a project on the same page quickly.

And having the boards up in common spaces means a creative director could ask a writer to pop over and help brainstorm word choice even as they are making design decisions, or someone totally uninvolved with that client could stroll by and notice something that makes or breaks a campaign.

Lesson learned: Get out of the digital space and look at something in real life. Bring in different points of view. You simply see things differently when they are physically in front of you. We all look at our computers all day, so take advantage of opportunities to change your view.

Earlier this year, a couple Geniuses began discussing over lunch which Hogwarts houses the staffers would belong to. In typical Mad Genius fashion, this immediately snowballed into a formal Sorting of the entire team into the four houses, the writing of a Mad Genius-themed Sorting Hat song, a competition among the houses for points (earned for going above and beyond at the office in some capacity), and a newly coded website from developer Bryce to enter and track said points. There are even more fun things coming out of that offhand comment in the next few months, too!

Lesson learned, part 1: If something excited you, follow it! And get others involved. You never know where it will lead you.

As for the House Points competition itself, on day one, the staff responded with varied levels of excitement—some Geniuses were amped by the spirit of friendly competition while a few others paid it little attention.

By day two, the system had dissolved into total anarchy. Competitive natures took over and people started giving out points to their housemates left and right, all in the name of getting ahead.

After a reality check and some guidance from the Sorting Hat as to how many points things should be worth, the system seems to be back on track, acting as a way to publicly reward fellow Geniuses who do something nice for others or the office.

Lesson learned, part 2: Seek a balance of rules and lawlessness. Systems need guidelines to function properly, but give your employees the freedom to add their own creativity and personality to the project.

We’ve come to really thrive in our communal space and can’t wait to see how it continues to inspire our work. Stay tuned for more adventures from the Den!