Figma and COLLINS Debunk the Myth of the Lone Genius

Oct. 11, 2022

On the heels of the biggest acquisition of the year from Adobe, collaborative interface design company Figma partnered with COLLINS to craft a brand story and visual campaign debunking the Myth of the Lone Genius: the notion that all great ideas come from one inspired mind, when in reality the best ideas spring from the creative power of teamwork.

Figma connects everyone in the design process so teams can deliver better products, faster.

VP, Creative Director Tom Elia said of the work: 

“Figma realized companies were leaving a lot of creativity on the table because only designers were using it, when it was meant for diverse teams to collaborate from initial ideas to a finished product. Clearly the design community loved Figma, so we wanted an idea that kept them in love with it, while letting developers, writers, producers and managers know that Figma encourages them all to work together and make better work because they’re all together. But the story is bigger than seeing collaboration as a ‘feature. ‘Nothing Great is Made Alone’ is a POV on creativity and collaboration. It says that great ideas have always happened and will always happen when diverse groups of people are free to create together.”

 

He continued: 

“When you have a focus as universal and clear as Nothing Great is Made Alone, it’s easier to come up with a wide range of ideas. Multiply that by having the whole team on a Figma board, sharing thoughts, building on them—in real time as a group and asynchronously across time zones—and you end up in a lot of interesting places creatively, each adding different nuances and ripples to the story we were trying to tell. In a sense we were living the brand idea while making it.”

 

COLLINS Senior Designer Emily Sneddon, who led the project, added: 

“Everyday at COLLINS, we share ideas with one another and experience so many moments where seemingly disparate ideas have collided to create magic. We wanted an idea that captures that spirit. Everything we make, including the stories we feature in this work, have been through whole other lives before finding their final form. That’s why motion is so important to tell stories of invention, progress and teamwork. The result, we hope, is a lighthearted and reassuring reminder that together we go further.”