Photo of Nicer Tuesdays poster by Graham Turner

Work Culture

How Nicer Tuesdays curated a vibrant year in intercontinental collaboration

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Published on December 27, 2018

Every month in 2018, Dropbox sponsored Nicer Tuesdays events that showcased the work of 26 artists, including illustrators, graphic designers, typographers, 3D image makers, photographers, and printmakers.

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Pairing up creatives based in 16 cities around the world, the project was an experiment in intercontinental collaboration—and we were dazzled by the results. The assignment? Develop a poster entirely in Dropbox Paper from first brainstorm to final delivery.

The project gave us a chance to watch how Paper can help teams transcend time zones, merge divergent styles, and bring ideas together in a shared online workspace.

Photo of September poster from Nicer Tuesdays
September poster by Adrian Kay Wong and Printed Goods

In articles and Instagram posts, the artists shared their experiences about using Paper to keep creativity flowing—even when they encountered obstacles. Because there are always obstacles. Some might say it’s the artist’s job to make the end result look effortless. But we wanted to show that the path to perfecting ideas is never as smooth as it seems.

Even the pros have to improvise to find a new way forward sometimes. Those unexpected detours can mean the difference between something that’s simply beautiful and something extraordinary. And Paper was designed to help them communicate every change at every stage.

“Having one big document with everything from initial idea stages to tweaking stage was super. It gave a nice opportunity to contribute when you had time, only leaving quick notes now and then, or a big update symbolising a new turn of the project.” —Anny Wang
Photo of crowd at Nicer Tuesdays event
Photo by Graham Turner

Homa Delvaray, who designed the August poster with Masoud Morgan, said, “It was my first time collaborating over Dropbox Paper… We were able to exchange our ideas easily and quickly by chatting and sharing the sketches. Beyond all these advantages, saving and documenting the entire information in one place was the best part because we didn’t miss anything, and it really helped us to review the process throughout the project.”

Nicer Tuesdays March poster by Marion Deuchars and Anna Kövecses
March poster by Marion Deuchars and Anna Kövecses
“I loved this back and forth patterned conversation, it was such a refreshing creative experience compared to my usual routine of solitary work.” —Anna Kövecses, March poster

Several of the artists remarked about how the iterations felt more like natural conversations in the context of Paper. Reflecting on his experience of collaborating with New York-based graphic designer Zuzanna Rogatty, Amsterdam-based artist and illustrator Karan Singh said, "I especially liked the ability to make comments directly onto specific parts of images. This made receiving and sharing feedback more intuitive and allowed the creative process to flow pretty smoothly!”

Photo from a Nicer Tuesdays event
Photo by Graham Turner
Nicer Tuesdays December poster by Adam Higton and Atelier Bingo
December poster by Adam Higton and Atelier Bingo

Stay tuned for more Nicer Tuesdays events and collaborations in the new year. And if you’d like to learn how Dropbox Paper can help you and your team bring creation and coordination together in one space, check out dropbox.com/paper.