How Samba makes me a better designer

As a graphic designer, one of the most important things I’ve learned is that the more?outside inspiration?that goes into the creative process – the better the creative output.?

This means the more collaboration, teamwork, and communication I have with my clients and colleagues, the better the final design will be. Being curious, open to what’s going on in the world and being on the lookout for inspiration and insights also helps me come up with better ideas.

After another year of enjoying and performing at the Cuba Dupa festival in Wellington, I’m struck by how dancing makes me a better designer for my clients.

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How does being a member of the Brazillian samba band – Wellington Batucada help me design better?

Fundamentally, it puts my values of teamwork, bringing a positive attitude, creativity and building community into action. All this positivity, noise, colour and energy feeds the brain and gets me into a creative frame of mind.

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Collaboration – the ?key to success

With around 100 members, Wellington Batucada must work together as a team to achieve our director’s vision while accommodating individual requirements and the practical restrictions of the festival venue. Each player and dancer works together to create a memorable performance that is greater than anything we could achieve by ourselves.

When working on a design project, it’s essential to work closely with the client to understand their vision and goals. Working with their limitations of time, scope or budget and being open to feedback, suggestions and ideas helps create a product that everyone is proud of.

Bringing the bounce

A positive attitude goes a long way. As a designer, it’s important to approach every project with a positive and upbeat attitude. This means being friendly, responsive and reliable throughout the entire process. It means being pragmatic and realistic in the face of challenges and injecting some fun along the way. By bringing a positive energy to the design process, we can create something great and enjoy the process.

The infectious energy created by a successful samba performance doesn’t happen by accident. It’s created by consistent rehearsals, being reliable and turning up consistently and a commitment by everyone involved to enjoy themselves and share that joy with our audiences.

Loving bright ideas

A big part of my enjoyment of being in Wellington Batucada is getting creative with our costumes. I love the chance to visualise what I’d like to create in my head, think through the practicalities, source the materials and then produce something tangible with my own hands. Energetic testing at full-speed-samba ensures that costumes won’t break, fall off or smack you in the face. If they do, changes are made. It’s the design process in action!

By taking a break from my usual digital working environment I get to experience new places, people, sights and ideas. This space gives me new perspectives that feed into my work. By being curious and creative, I can push the boundaries of what is possible and come up with better ideas for my clients.

Building community

I enjoyed Wellington Batucada long before I was brave enough to join and I’m so pleased I did. My favourite part of dancing in a community band, where everyone is welcome, is the sense of connection and community it creates. Particularly in parades, the energy we bring creates a feedback loop of engagement and enjoyment with our audiences.

As a designer, my job is to connect and communicate. I strongly believe in the value of building communities and that stronger connections help us all thrive. This is also why the networking group Chrysalis for Women is important to me, as it provides an environment where I can seek support and grow with other like-minded business owners. For me it means sharing knowledge and expertise as well as working together with others to create something that will make a positive difference.

I’m convinced that the more effort I put into having new and interesting experiences the better the designs I create for the people I work with. By engaging positively and actively with the world and those around me I generate more inspiration and ideas for my work. Let’s work together to create designs that are simple, thoughtful, effective and that make a difference.