The Visionary Store

Co-creation. Ah, what a promising word. You may have heard of the term frequently from corporate symposia or business talks. However, this idea is not only germane to commercial utilization but as well encompasses a variety of applications as long as its rightful definition can be embodied. So, the real question arrives.

What is Co-Creation?

Co-creation refers to the act of collaborative amalgamation and implementation of ideas and efforts intending to produce an outcome that presents and serves way better than when it was birthed out of individual endeavours otherwise. The term mostly refers to a contemporary method of product creation as it applies to business contexts, but is largely applicable to personal projects for profitable or charitable gains and just any endeavour that allows you to show away from the inner creative spirit in you. To better understand what co-creation is, we have compiled six guiding principles that personify this ingenious art of collaborative innovation.

Cooperation

As its name clearly suggests, co-creation is all about the cooperative efforts of creating something either from scratch or innovating to improve an already existing creation. The idea of collaborative work allows the diversity of inputs and a broader perspective when tackling the issues that are being addressed. This is beneficial because it improves the quality of the work or outcome being delivered, accelerates the ideation time, and makes the creation process more efficient.

Additionally, the cooperation establishes rapport and bond between the co-creators, making them more likely to develop deeper connections within the team. This deep level of human connection can bring about positive impacts not just to the products being delivered but also to the streamlining of the process that entails the progression.

Outcome Orientation

Since the process involves the brainstorming of ideas from the collaboration of diverse minds, the crafts that can be produced can be tailored to objectify a specific desired outcome. This permits the possibility of various choices of outcomes from which the receiving ends of the deliverables can choose from. This boosts the stakes that can be gained from the works, widens the probable demographics for the receiving ends, and increases the prospect audience of the team.

Furthermore, evaluating the quality of works also benefits from the fact that the crafts and projects have to undergo multiple careful inspections from the diverse analytic skills of the co-creators participating in a team.

An important idea that should be considered during the co-creation process is that the outcome’s quality must always be anchored to the needs of the receiving end. The diversity of creative and analytic minds must therefore be taken advantage of to accurately assess and understand what the needs of the receiving ends are.

Open-Endedness

Rooting from the fact that what one might perceive as likeable may not be perceived as equally likeable as the others, co-creation allows for the inventiveness limits of the co-creators to be open-ended. Being open-ended means that there is no such thing as one size to fit all so the process of creating must be ongoing to serve the evolving needs of the receiving ends. More importantly, co-creation must foster receptiveness to new ideas that may arise amidst the process and be open to changes that might be necessary to achieve the quality expectations that are set by the end consumers.

Productivity

Topping up the idea of cooperation is that co-creation aims to increase a craftsman’s productivity. Getting support from other creators that share the same passion and vision in achieving a particular goal not only makes for an abundance of concepts that can be integrated during the ideation and creation process but also aids in keeping one’s commitment to finishing the project. With that said, having a supportive environment that fuels your enthusiasm and encourages you to continue doing what you do is undoubtedly beneficial in flourishing your skills to productivity and optimizing the quality of the works that are delivered.

Transparency

In order to take advantage of the co-creation process to its highest level of effectiveness, creators in collaboration are expected to be transparent in providing feedback to their colleagues’ ideas, suggestions, and recommendations. When honesty and outspokenness are practised during the process, more pitfalls can be prevented and addressed earlier as opposed to keeping silent until the project encounters issues due to microscopic concerns that were not given attention ahead of time.

Value Creation

Conclusively and most importantly, all the efforts invested in engaging through co-creation is geared towards the ultimate goal of value creation. When ideas coming from diverse perspectives are gathered and assimilated to realize a united vision of a specific goal, competent deliverables are produced thus maximizing the value of the innovations both to the creators and the receiving ends. This equates to higher gains not only financially when applied in a commercial context but also personally and professionally to the craftsmen behind the innovation.