Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

— Steve Jobs, 2003

I'm really proud to finally announce the official launch of Kolor, a creative collective which boasts founders including Lukas Dryja. Unspace has always existed to incubate our personal projects, and Kolor is no different. Lukas is still here in the Unspace office, and we continue to work closely on several ongoing projects.

Since the beginning, Unspace has offered both design and development consulting. This proved to be a significant differentiation from other development shops, but we never questioned the need to have both sides of the equation present in the same space. We might be known for our development chops, but we couldn’t do what we do without our awesome design team.

However, finding equal footing between the development and design within projects has often been a challenging process. Working on projects with designers in the past we have learned some valuable lessons.

Design requires experimentation

Design is a problem solving activity. One should not assume that a single solution is the right solution. Through experimentation and iteration, different options should be explored in order to create the appropriate solution.

Design is not a technical skill

To Design means planning in addition to style. A great design is the product of asking the right questions and applying the necessary design process. You do not design for it to be beautiful, but rather to work — to serve a purpose.

The client is not the designer

Clients often perceive design as an end solution, or a visual element that becomes an applied skin. Often there is a preconceived notion of what the end product should look like. We don’t participate in RFPs or work from specs, choosing instead to question what is being presented by the client as the end solution.

A good designer will challenge the client’s stylistic needs in order to create a solution that is right for the target audience.

Lukas has long been an integral part of the Unspace team, providing quality design and branding expertise to our clients. During this time, he has also explored other avenues of design, from teaching Interactive Communication at OCAD to working with other clients on freelance projects. Lukas takes particular delight in rocking the boat, insisting on placing the ultimate interests of the client and their audience first.

Over the past year he has been busy defining “Kolor” and its business model with three of his business partners. Kolor is a creative collective, a gathering of designers and visual thinkers working together to provide effective design communication to clients they respect and want to work with. Challenging the design studio model, the Kolor partners are located on opposite ends of the earth. The four partners collaborate online to emulate a studio environment.

Today Kolor officially opens its doors to the world. We are quite proud, and wish them all of the luck they deserve.