The introduction of social distancing regulations meant that for much of the pandemic, meeting in person was in most places heavily restricted. However, for those who could access it, digital technology was quickly co-opted in novel ways to allow social and collaborative connections to continue. Social and working practices changed, however many of the most-used technologies such as Zoom were not intended for such widespread and varied use and had to quickly adapt, introducing new features rapidly. It also became apparent that in some contexts, traditional video conferencing software was inadequate.

In this chapter we explore the use of tools for digital collaboration in a design context, and provide a variety of examples of how these have and might in future expand beyond traditional videoconferencing. These include geographic virtual spaces, digital tools for co-design, and remote collaborative speculative workshops. Through this we can gain deeper understanding of pre-pandemic collaboration, collaboration during the pandemic, and what we might take forward into the future