For UX Magazine: Mailchimp’s 2013 purchase of a professional-grade espresso machine was a smart bit of social engineering: colleagues congregate for the coffee, but end up communicating and collaborating. For a design-centric culture, communication is crucial.
Company origin stories typically follow a linear path: a small team pulls together to create something successful, hires additional employees, and eventually breaks into departments. As these departments form, communication paradoxically becomes both harder and more important. This is anathema to the informed decision-making required for successful design projects.
