Designers Birgit Palma and Daniel Triendl are so close that they quite literally finish each other’s sentences.

The longtime friends, who also happen to share a birthday, first met while earning their Master’s in Design at the University of Salzburg, then cemented their bond when Triendl followed Palma to New York City for an internship at Vault49. The similarities between their portfolios reflect their bond: Each largely explores the relationship between color, geometry, and extraction with precision and warm textures.

When they aren’t teaching class together at their alma mater or virtually brainstorming concepts for clients like Domino’s, they’re producing equally impressive designs on their own: Palma’s client list includes Nike and Coca-Cola, while Triendl’s roster features Wired and Papyrus. “It’s always more fun when you’re working together with someone though, even if I’m now in Spain and he is Austria,” Palma mentions.

Lucky for us, the duo recently teamed up to create the artwork for this year’s Adobe InDesign splash page. In celebration of this partnership, we sat down with the duo to learn the key to successful art collaborations:

When did you get the idea to start to work together?

Palma: Both of us were at different companies at this point. We share the same attitude and we admired each other’s work, so we wanted to see how collaboration would work out, because it doesn’t always work out. Obviously, it worked out.

Triendl: We found it to be a great benefit — our similar styles and similar mindsets. Especially during a pandemic, it can get very, very lonely, and just generally as an artist, the creative process can get lonely. We learned quickly that we push and pull each other well.

“The design changes quite a bit from start to finish because we trust that we’ll make each other’s work better, so build off of that.”

How do you decide when to collaborate and when to work on your own?

Triendl: Sometimes it’s just not possible to do it on your own. The deliverables can be due so fast that you need someone else, so it’s a great benefit to find someone with a similar style and mindset when it comes to illustration. 

Palma: It’s also nice to have someone to talk to on a daily basis because we’re not in an office. It feels like our own graphic design firm, really. Even when we’re not working together, we still check in on what the other is doing. I’m constantly asking him for feedback and rely on him for it.

Triendl: Also, you work so closely on a project that you might not have a clear opinion on it. I can trust Birgit’s opinion to be clearer.

What makes for a great creative collaborator?

Palma: I think we're kind of doing something similar but different enough that we can complement each other. We also have different strengths. Like his composition is better than mine. But in other things, I’m better than him. It’s also about giving each other the freedom to create the work and know that we’ll make it better.

Triendl: You also have to have a similar mindset. I know when Birgit will like something before she sees it.

Tell us about your joint creative process.

Triendl: First, we have coffee and we talk about the project. After doing some research, we’ll sketch and then meet again. We collect all of our ideas and then we merge our sketches. From there, it's like a ping-pong match. We build off of each other’s ideas and go back and forth. We’re in constant contact throughout the project.

Palma: The design changes quite a bit from start to finish because we trust that we’ll make each other’s work better, so build off of that. I may illustrate something and then send it to him to work on. While he’s working, I’ll prepare the color scheme and then send it to him to make it better.

What was the collaborative process like for this Adobe InDesign project?

Palma: Adobe actually approached me about a different project, and needed it fast. That’s when I called Daniel in. The final result is from the first sketch. We had no clue that image, when we made it, would have so much impact.

Triendl: First, we sketched and then we used Illustrator and Photoshop to finalize it all, like the composition, the shapes, and the coloring. We like using Smart Objects, gradient tools, and masking — those are the tools that you can’t see, but that really are life-changing.

Palma: Once we knew we were being considered, it was just about making sure the work was pixel perfect — like minor aligning of one component just right.

What have you learned from collaborating together?

Palma: A basic goal for working fast for any company or with any collaborator is learning how to adapt and predict. How to receive and how to give. It’s about listening. For example, sometimes I’ll do work on my own and I’ll feel like something is missing. I could probably find the missing part alone, but it feels a lot better to brainstorm and talk it through with someone else.