I want to share some exciting news with you! I have an all-new-and-improved, completely-redesigned website—thanks to my collaboration with web designer/developer Jill Anderson and copywriter Diedre Rienzo. I’m so glad I hired two specialists to help me bring my vision for my new website to reality! This experience has given me the opportunity to practice what I preach—collaboration. I believe the finished product is stronger because of it—and I know your projects can be too.

It’s been insightful to be on the client side of this project; I saw the big picture benefits of collaboration first-hand. Here are my reconfirmed realizations from this process of joining forces with others as collaborative partners:

• Stick to what you do best. My strength is design—most specifically creating the overarching vision and design execution of your project. But before starting work, I grab my project manager hat and ask the question, “Are there aspects of this project that would be enhanced with the addition of strategic partners?” In the case of my website, both copywriting and web development fall outside my areas of expertise, so hiring specialists was a no-brainer!

• Setting limits enhances creativity. Finding balance—by identifying and collaborating with creative partners—is an important means to support and strengthen our creativity.

• More minds are better than less. Besides the obvious benefit of added creative firepower, specialists can provide insight and make suggestions around emerging technologies and industry trends to ensure your project is all it can be!

• Trusted partners see you authentically and objectively. By collaborating, you end up with something that’s more authentic than if you had done it on your own.

• Partnership has intangible magic. When you collaborate, the outcome is exponentially larger than the sum of the collaborators. In this case, 1+1+1 = 300.

As a communication-driven designer, I’ve always seen the importance of collaboration. Being on the client-side, I reconfirmed that you get so much more when you have a collaborative partner. If you want the more that only collaboration can bring, let’s talk.