Why not knowing the answer can be your greatest strength

Why not knowing the answer can be your greatest strength

Delighted that Virgin Voyages have unveiled the first interior designs for our maiden cruise liner, and as CEO Tom McAlpin so succinctly put it on the day, ship just got real!

Getting the designs out into the public domain is an exciting time, especially when you’re able to read through all the feedback online. I saw the unveiling in New York via livestream as our amazing collection of architects discussed how they approached the task of designing a ship like no other.

When assembling the ‘creative collective’ the team at Virgin Voyages had one golden rule – every architect had to be a cruise virgin. When it came to designing our first ship, we really wanted to challenge the way a holiday at sea looked and felt. 

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“The idea of working on sea for the first time appealed to me a lot,” explained Tom Dixon at the unveiling. “The obvious thing to do would be to go to experts in cruise design, I like that Virgin didn’t do that. To get a load of people together who have never even been on a cruise before, that’s a risky thing to do.”

Listening to Tom and our other architects explain their unfamiliarity with the cruise industry was strangely reassuring, it carries on a long-held tradition we have at Virgin of going into new industries with a fresh pair of eyes.

Since day one we’ve done things differently. From introducing the concept of in-flight entertainment on board Virgin Atlantic planes, to opening Virgin Money Lounges on UK high streets for customers to relax in, grab a coffee and catch-up on some emails without the being pressured by sales teams.

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There’s a Virgin attitude and we’ve been rigorous in applying that to each and every industry we enter, which often goes against the grain. This not only offers consumers a real point of difference, it enables us to work with partners that may otherwise be out of reach.

We sought to work with designers who had done brilliant things in land-based spaces that we loved. However, the Virgin attitude meant that we were never going to approach it in the same way as the competition, making the prospect of joining the project very appealing.

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As another of our architects, Rob Wagemans of Concrete Amsterdam, put it: “The DNA of Virgin fits with who we are at Concrete. For me Virgin is sex, drugs and rock n roll, we’re from Amsterdam and our office is in the red light district so it couldn’t be a better match!

“Virgin always challenges the cliché, they look at the world in a different way to others. So when they came to us and said they wanted to do on sea what they’ve managed to do in the airline industry, it was a ‘hell yes!’ from us.”

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Moving into new industries will of course require a fair degree of input from experts who know what it takes, for example you can’t always apply creative solutions to health and safety standards. However, for all those design-led and customer service decisions, having no idea of what the norm looks like can be a huge asset in business.

Not knowing the answer means you’re left to do what you think looks like the best option, which more often than not is so much more exciting than what’s gone before!

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