This guide consolidates the insights from a Creative Pulse presentation by Zoe (Associate Creative Director at Rethink) and Jesse (Senior Motion Designer at Rethink). Drawing from their gold-winning experience at the Cannes Young Lions competition and their daily work at one of Canada’s top agencies, they explore why the most successful creative work happens when graphic design and motion design stop working in silos and start embracing the “mess.”
The Power of Collaboration: Why Motion and Design are Better Together
In a competitive industry, it is easy for creative work to feel transactional. Designers often finish a brand identity and “hand it off” to a motion designer to animate. This guide challenges that workflow, arguing that true collaboration is inherently messy, non-linear, and deeply rooted in trust.
Part 1: Embracing the "Messy" Pivot
Creativity isn’t a 12-step optimized process; it is an unpredictable endeavour. When working on a tight timeline—such as the 24-hour Young Lions competition—the ability to pivot is your greatest asset.
- Kill Your Darlings Early: During the “Bike for Brain Health” project, a 3D direction that took five hours to build was scrapped because it wasn’t hitting the brief. High-trust teams can make these difficult calls without ego getting in the way.
- Motion as a Discovery Tool: Motion designers bring a unique perspective to brand development: the ability to see opportunities for movement before the static design is even finished. By pivoting to a “morphing” logo, the team created a system that symbolised the confusion of dementia while remaining fresh and functional.
- The “Work in Progress” Culture: To foster this environment, create “judgement-free zones.” At Rethink, a dedicated Slack channel allows designers to share unpolished, unfinished work. This celebrates the creative process and allows others to spark deeper discussions before a project is too “final” to change.
Part 2: Small Budgets, Big Ambition
Collaboration isn’t reserved for massive accounts. Some of the best opportunities for innovation exist within small, nimble projects where you can “make the opportunity” for yourself.
- Adding “Joyful” Pieces: For the Sleep Origin brand, the client didn’t ask for motion or physical lenticular business cards. These were added “just for the love of it.” When a collaboration is fun, that energy shows up in the final product and acts as a magnet for more creative work.
- Multidisciplinary “All-Hands”: A project originally scoped for one person can be bolstered by others. By pulling in a copywriter for personality-driven lines (e.g., “Wake up on the right side of the crib”) and a motion designer for a “sleep toggle” logo, a tiny budget project can achieve a high-production feel.
- DIY Spirit: If the budget doesn’t allow for a professional shoot, use your team. For Sleep Origin, the team sketched every shot, recruited staff as hand models, and used a “baby in a box” (a doll) to achieve a high-end flash photography look on a shoe-string budget.
Part 3: Human Creativity vs. The "AI Slop"
When tasked with creating the identity for the ADCC (Advertising and Design Club of Canada) Awards, the team used collaboration to tackle the unease surrounding generative AI.
- Human Intervention is Irreplaceable: While AI can generate infinite “slop,” it lacks the intentionality of a human designer. The team took 100 “uncanny” AI images and applied them to a 3D character, but it only worked once a human manually ranked those images by brightness to create a meaningful visual disintegration effect.
- Collaboration, Not Handoffs: Great work happens when every discipline—copy, design, and motion—ladders up to a single core idea in tandem. Testing, repeated technical experiments, and constant dialogue ensure that the technical execution never loses sight of the original creative spark.
Q&A: Navigating the Realities of Collaboration
What tools or resources do you recommend for better collaboration?
Digital tools like Figma and Google Slides are essential because they keep “eyes on everything” at all times, preventing information silos. Beyond software, focus on “soft skills” like mindfulness and being present. Approaching a project with a grounded, mindful perspective allows you to separate your personal value from the work and collaborate more effectively with creative directors and peers.
How do you handle “ego” or ownership of an idea in a partnership?
The goal is to spread ownership across the entire team so that no one feels like “this was my idea” versus “that was your idea.” Everyone should be “mixing” on all areas—from mood-boarding to final execution. When you touch every part of the project together, it becomes “our work,” which makes it much easier to kill an idea that isn’t working for the sake of the project.
How do you collaborate effectively with freelancers?
Onboard them as early as possible. Don’t just give them a finished design; walk them through the core concept and the research that led to the current point. This gives them the context they need to use their specific skillset (like motion) to build upon the design thinking rather than just “animating a file.”
What are the common pitfalls of collaboration?
The biggest pitfalls are a lack of information and the presence of subtext. If there is no clear brief or if someone is secretly “beholden” to a specific direction because they’ve done it before, the project will struggle. Honesty and candid conversation are the only ways to step around these traps.
How do you include clients in the collaborative process?
Use a “sandbox phase.” Instead of a “ta-da!” moment where you reveal finished work, bring the client along through sketches and early-stage thinking. If they don’t see themselves in the process, they are less likely to “buy into” the final result.
How does collaboration work when the team is remote?
You have to be intentional. Without the “office experience” of bumping into someone at their desk, you must schedule weekly “say hello” meetings to maintain a social bond. Use tools like Slack to share genuine thoughts and be very clear in your communication—if you aren’t excited about a direction, send a message and then get on a call to explain why.
Final Takeaway: Working as Collaborators
True collaboration is about moving away from the “handoff” model and moving toward a tandem workflow. When we embrace the mess, foster judgement-free zones, and invite people into the fun, the work naturally becomes stronger.
Remember: We are collaborators, not hand-offers.
Creative Pulse is a volunteer-driven organization that provides unpretentious events for Vancouver’s commercial creatives.
Grab a drink with talented designers, photographers, video professionals, and copywriters from every corner of the industry. Get inspired — and find new collaborators!
