As much as I love the creative pursuit of the ‘big idea’ at the beginning of a project, seeing that project evolve and develop into tangible structures, elements, landscapes and finally an immersive guest experience is what I feel has made me a well-rounded Creative Director and Design Consultant. Digging into a set of drawings and walking a construction site are just as invigorating to me as putting the first pencil to paper. It’s a process, and it’s the whole process that I like and appreciate. I always strive to imagine the project ‘as built’ from day one.
Becoming well-rounded involves a lot of factors, but the best way for me to explain my experience is to utilize the infamous theory of the Right Brain vs. Left Brain. Like most perceived human conditions, people adapt on a spectrum somewhere between these two.
My right side has clearly been the dominant player throughout my career, but my left side has been a formidable and welcome partner. I like to say that my spectrum is a 50/50 split, and that honing that balanced combination has served me well working on projects from start to finish. Understanding the details and participating in the process (left brain) has helped make me a better designer (right brain).
I’ve learned a lot working on a variety of project types across multiple disciplines in the U.S. and abroad. Working internationally especially gave me the opportunity to see that there are other and sometimes better means and methods of design and construction. I took away important lessons from those experiences, the most important being to keep an open mind about how things can ‘get done’.
On one international project, we as American consultants were assuming that the walkways throughout the development would be poured in place concrete. This was the obvious solution to us, but the local subcontractors were struggling with the mock-ups and execution. After some discussion and inquiry, we were told that concrete pavers were the predominant application in these situations in this country. When we stepped back and put aside our systemic approach to design and construction, we realized that this was indeed a better solution and that culturally, we needed to listen and adapt… lessons learned.
The Paint Can
When I was looking for visual imagery while creating my branding, I struggled to find something that truly captured the intersection of design and construction. I remember finding a dripping paint can on one of the stock photo sites and it piqued my interest, but I didn’t like the paint colors shown. So, I decided to create my own paint bucket and photograph it. To me, it showcases a relatable construction material, but also suggests that the contents of that paint can have the potential to transform a physical place or space into a unique environment. A myriad of ideas, designs and COLORS are just waiting to come out of that paint can.
Final Thoughts
Although I operate as an independent Creative Director/Design Consultant, I have worked with many other design firms, consultants and specialty vendors on large scale development projects. They have been great team members and could become team members on your projects depending on the needs and specialties required. They are world-class innovators and thinkers, and we’ve collaborated over the years to create some pretty amazing Places & Spaces.
