Thread by @alexislloyd

I’ve led and collaborated with either fully distributed or semi-remote design teams for the past three years.

Here’s a thread, in no particular order, of some things I’ve learned. Please share your best practices too, and we can all learn from each other!

It’s relatively easy to figure out the functional stuff. Building culture and trust is the big thing.

Having a weekly 30-min block set aside that’s purely “coffee break” social time is super helpful to connect and learn about each other (h/t to @johnmaeda on that one!).

Good collaboration tools can make a big difference. A few I like:
- @figmadesign for collaborative, cloud-based design work
- @zoom_us for high-quality video meetings with all the bells and whistles
- @MiroHQ or Mural for remote whiteboarding / ideation sessions

If some folks are co-located, it’s good to have more intimate spaces available for 1-1 video calls, like a phone booth, to avoid the weird “tribunal feel” of one person in a conference room.

Never underestimate the value of high-quality video and audio.

Also, sometimes a phone call can actually feel more connected than a video call. I try to notice what works best for which situations and people.

It’s been said a ton, but worth repeating: Make sure you’re *actively* including remote participants in a meeting if some folks are co-located. Some people even require all meeting participants to call in separately (even if they’re in the same office) to level the field.

If you’re in an office and get into an interesting IRL work conversation, take it into Slack so others can “overhear” and contribute.

Find ways to build culture via Slack. I’ve had great experiences where Slack was a source of shared references and jokes, and it went a long way to make connections across geographic locations.

For design, one of the challenges of distributed critique is how to effectively “point to something”. I haven’t found the perfect solution, but the real-time collaboration of @figmadesign or throwing up screens in @InVisionApp Freehand can allow for more gestural input.

@johnmaeda has had our team record and share 1-minute “video standups” every Monday with what’s on deck for the week. Seeing everyone’s faces / voices is a nice, high-bandwidth way to kick off the week.

What’s in your bag of distributed work tricks? How have you built good culture and connection? Share it in the thread!