Meet Your Makers: A fun way to know your design team
Imagine you suddenly appear in a room full of designers and now you suddenly have to orient yourself and get acquainted with everyone and their work. How do you do that without feeling awkward and imposing?
I stumbled upon a method developed by Design Director Nick Kidd that I think is brilliant. I haven't used this yet, but I feel like it would be a blast.
It's basically a Figjam with three steps:
Introduction: Name + fun image
Creative Type Test: Gives you a surface-level understanding of what to keep in mind for the growth of your designers
Taste: Explore what your designers like (no theme or reason needed, and it's OK if they're a little ashamed they like it)
“Bonus: As an additional step, you can ask everyone to pick 1-3 things, depending on the team size, from each other person's board that they like. Then, they add it to a center pile. That center board is your team's taste! Have fun!”
What a fantastic use of collaborative technology like Figjam to make the process feel more inviting and approachable.
My Creative Type
I took the test at MyCreativeType.com and I got The Regenerator:
The quiet power of the Regenerator is not to be underestimated: Your sharp, analytical mind is always hard at work, investigating the world around you and methodically solving problems. A force for transformation, you apply new ways of thinking to old challenges to evolve them from within.
For you, setbacks are opportunities for reinvention. You have a natural ability to break things down, understand their essential parts, and reassemble them into something stronger. Thriving in times of uncertainty, you bring a spirit of resilience and adaptability to every challenge, making you invaluable to those who rely on your tactical wisdom.
Your creativity is rooted in keen observation. Your care for the world inspires you to look deeply into ideas, systems, and structures to find ways to improve and adapt them. When limitations present themselves, you don’t just persist — you reinvent. Like the Alchemist, you have a gift for finding the opportunity in any obstacle. And you remind us all that dismantling and deconstruction is a necessary part of the act of creation.
You’re not drawn to flashy disruption or abstract ideals. Instead, you believe in thoughtful restoration and repair. You understand that outdated ways of thinking have created the collective problems we face, and you’re willing to rebuild from the inside out. As you work to build what lasts, you focus on structural integrity and long-term impact.
You often work in solitude, with ample time for deep focus and reflection, but your ideas shape both the present and the future. While others may feel overwhelmed by the scale of our collective challenges, you always see a way forward.
Stay focused, Regenerator, but don’t fixate on what’s not working. Giving in to apathy or alarm won’t get you very far. Keep your spirits high and celebrate the small wins, and you’ll always be able to turn breakdowns into breakthroughs.
Zone of genius: Adaptive problem-solving
Deepest aspiration: Overcoming challenges
Growth opportunity: Staying positive and motivated
Creative partner: The Luminary (A creative who is not one to dwell on problems. Gaze fixed on the horizon, they see possibilities others cannot yet imagine. True vision unconstrained by present limitations. Beyond the ordinary, past the mess and the mundane, to a more refined reality.)