Let's Charrette

So what is a "charrette" exactly? Well, according to (gasp!) Wikipedia, "a charrette is a method of organizing thoughts from experts and the users into a structured medium that is unrestricted and conducive to the creativity and the development of myriad scenarios.

The word charrette may refer to any collaborative session in which a group of designers drafts a solution to a design problem. While the structure of a charrette varies, depending on the design problem and the individuals in the group, charrettes often take place in multiple sessions in which the group divides into sub-groups. Each sub-group then presents its work to the full group as material for future dialogue. Such charrettes serve as a way of quickly generating a design solution while integrating the aptitudes and interests of a diverse group of people."

Okay. That sounds pretty good. What's important is that you know the basic idea of a charrette. It's usually a furious period of design activity with the goal of solving a given design problem (often in a very short space of time). This happens in the pro world all the time. At the Thinking Creatively conference, the Gruskin Group, a multidisciplinary design firm in Springfield, has sponsored a competition in the form of a charrette for the last two years, and is doing so again this year. To get a look at what last year's entailed, take a look at these two videos:

The first is the setup video that all the participating students watched to prepare themselves for the project. It was shown right before the clock started ticking, so to speak. It was presented in a humorous way, but it was important for everyone to pay close attention to, as it contained all the information they needed in which to create their design solutions. It's a video version of what's called a creative brief.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHXXVV6daGc&feature=related

The second is a look at all the work going on during the actual charrette. There are interviews with students and the pros that served as team mentors, as well as faculty. I hope you can get from the vids the sense of excitement and the overall creative buzz that was all over the event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpgUClaGnig

Keep the idea of a charrette in mind...