When you think of Google,

the last thing you probably consider is how their office space looks.

We have all heard about the crazy stuff they do for their people.

I had an opportunity to tour their new Toronto offices recently and got a firsthand peek behind the curtain.

As of today, Google has approximately 53,546 employees. That’s a jump of around 21,000 people from 2011 data.

That is significant expansion in just two years, and regardless of the growth those are some serious numbers to consider when it comes to maintaining workplace standards, employee satisfaction, and employee productivity.

You have to wonder how they do it. Well, the rumours are true.

The Google Playhouse

The shelves are stocked with goodies, there are tons of spaces for play, and the place is totally tricked out with technology. As an interior designer I was like a kid in a candy store looking for the golden goose of office design. What I realized is if you take away all the kitsch – the bookcase that reveals a hidden lounge, the soundproof music room, the funky furniture, the swing (yes, I said swing), and all the swag, the resulting office space, while simple and basic, is still well planned for its business practice. Strange but true.

In their 2012 workplace forecast CoreNet Global Corporate Real Estate 2020 team predicted, even with the growing use of technology offering the opportunity for us to work anywhere now, most people still prefer to go to the office.

The nature of how we work is what has changed and corporate office space is starting to change along with it.

Top Soft Skills

According to the forecast, there are three leading reasons that drive the emerging changes in office space. Coincidentally, they are also the top three soft skills identified as gaining in importance in the workplace of today: Relationship building, strategic thinking, and cross-functional collaboration.

Google is an excellent example of this.

With 67 corporate offices (21 in the U.S., alone) they are certainly not pushing away from having physical office space. Instead, they have created space that suits their culture.

Google Goodies

Their culture appears highly collaborative and their project-based team model also seems to rely heavily on forging strong inter-personal relationships. At first glance, the workspace seems gimmicky and fun, but it’s not all frivolous window dressing. They understand a vast expanse of ‘one size fits all’ open office space (cubicle farms) does not promote their work style or culture.

The funky flexible furniture is an opportunity for people to change things around to work that works for them. The tricked out technology in their meeting rooms allows teams to share information around the world without leaving the office.

The hidden lounge, enclaves, and meeting rooms have walls you can write on. You can record ideas anywhere, share them, or leave them there for future inspiration.

The mini snack bars and full-service cafeteria promote interaction and the wide variety of services such as massage therapy and a tech bar help keep the focus on productivity. Googlers don’t have to stray far from the office to get what they need.

It certainly works for them. So, how do you find out what works for you? Google did a couple of things any company can do.

Ask and Receive

Many office spaces are designed with a one size fits all mentality because it gives the impression of efficiency and that’s where the greatest opportunity lies.

It’s not difficult to poll a workforce to gather some basic metrics which can help determine what works best for the specific needs of an employee base. Google did exactly that and then established committees to address specific workplace needs. The management took a mature and inclusionary approach. What’s great about today’s cheap and easy-to-use technology is any organization can self-actualize and address the specific needs of their employees.

Recognizing simple things such as the need for heads-down private spaces, flexible open office spaces, appropriate amenities, and a focus on the technology employees require to do their jobs effectively can offer simple, cost-effective gains to address the changing nature of any workforce.

Over to You:

Take a look around your office space.

Do you have what you need to do your job effectively? What would you recommend changing to make it work better for you?

Cheers,

Note: This post was originally published by Spin Sucks on Feb 5, 2013. You can find it here.

Now the secret’s out.

It’s Valentine’s Day AND it’s my birthday.

A running total of 48 years on this big ole green and blue sphere have taught me a thing or two the biggest of which is to listen and learn. Funny, it took a long time to figure that one out. Well, as they say, better late than never and hey, I still have a few years left in this clunker. I can’t forget to take good care of it, though.

Fanfare for the common man, ya know?

Enough about me.

Yesterday Janine and I experienced something that takes the cake as far as customer service goes.

We can’t help but share that story with you.

I am always on the lookout for building on customer service opportunities in my line of business for the simple fact of how positive experiences and stories make everyone feel. We all know good vibes, happiness, smiling and positive energy are regenerative and build on those naturally occurring mood enhancers and we can all use more of those in our daily lives.

No argument there, right? Just ask this guy!

Janine and I are busy Yuppies. Maybe not so much Yup-pies and more Maup-pies now (Middle Age Urban Professional) but who’s counting. We have a dog which many of our regular readers likely know and if you don’t you can check out her antics here. Her name is Lilly and she has her very own Dog Walker. Sure, she does. She’s not only a 5lb Yorkie but she’s a princess (can’t complain, I think we turned her into one).

Shannon Pike, our dog walker, is a young local Toronto entrepreneur. Her business is called Pup and the City and she offers a variety of services the mainstay is daily walks for the folks who own dogs in the Liberty Village area of downtown Toronto. Shannon is an enthusiastic, fun, energetic young lady and as a dog owner herself you can see how she has a genuine love for animals. When we started down the road with her as “parents” we were cautiously optimistic entering this new relationship but very quickly we realized Shannon was the real deal.

Yesterday we received an email from Shannon saying Lilly had hurt one of her hind paws. She was favouring it so Shannon took a look and noticed a cut and some bleeding. She immediately cleaned the cut, put some flour on it (weird, but ok) to stop the bleeding and brought her back home.

That’s more than anyone can really ask for a minor situation like that.

What really impressed us was that Shannon got Lilly home, cleaned her foot and dressed Lilly’s foot in a bandage for us and to top it all off she came back later in the afternoon to check on her to see how she was doing.

How sweet, huh?

We didn’t ask her to do any of that but the gesture, as simple as it was, showed us how much she cares for her customers and their pets.

Now, isn’t that an awesome story?

Doesn’t that just warm your heart and make you feel good?

That’s my gift to YOU!

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Best,

Happy New Year!

Haven’t you heard that enough?

Damn, what if you are reading this in March or August?

Well, regardless of when you discovered this post we wish you well. This is the first Read This Stuff of 2013 which is our monthly romp through the bookshelf to see what we can share with you.

This month we are featuring Private Parts by Jeff Jarvis.

This book examines our world through the eighth continent; the internet and how we are affected by and can affect our lives through the use of the internet. It explores the public nature and our fears of sharing and exposing our privacy.

It exposes the good and the bad of our public and personal eighth continent.

Without further ado here is our take on this month’s book!

The video is only a little over 5 minutes which is less time, on average, that you would spend reading a blog post. So, enjoy and please let us know what you think of the video (quality & content) and any thoughts you have on the ideas we present regarding the content of this book.

With your help we can make this better; for you.

Thank you for giving us your time and for sharing. We are eternally grateful!

Cheers,

Ralph

I am reading a book about being happy.

Go on. Really?

Well, it’s actually a book about the effectiveness of positive thinking. I know what you’re thinking……

…….I actually don’t so I won’t even go there.

To be perfectly honest I can’t remember how I came across this book in the first place. The only thing I can say is its serendipity.

It looked compelling so I immediately checked out the bio of the author Shawn Achor and after poking around a bit on-line I decided it would be a worthwhile read. Why not? What’s the harm in a little coaching on positive thinking? The book, The Happiness Advantage, explores the notion that happiness, in whatever form you find it, creates opportunity in your life enhancing your ability to achieve your brand of success.

There are no foolproof answers in this book for success.

I think that’s what drew me to it.

There are tips and techniques to show you the impact of a positive mindset and what triggers, in daily life, we can recognize in order to maximize our potential whatever that potential may be.

I am not really reading this as a business book even though the first chapter is titled Happiness at Work. I am taking work to mean the action and not the noun. Regardless, many of the stories the author tells center on his time spent working with the corporate C-Suite demonstrating the advantages that can become a company when they themselves and their employees find happiness in life through positive actions and activity.

Who wouldn’t want boundless positivity where they work? I thought to myself and at the same time I actually said to myself: Duh?

Right? I mean, c’mon, treat people well, be happy and they will follow. Pretty damn obvious.

Sure, it’s obvious but I am reading it anyway.

Outside of the amazing statistical data there is very little in this book that is shocking or new at all yet I can’t seem to put it down. I catch myself nodding my head (yes) on almost every page.

Every.Damn.Page.

So, are you happy then?

Mr. Achor outlines some techniques or what he calls happiness principles which can put you in a better position to find the positive effects in the activities of your daily life. Some are easy to grasp. Some not so much but what is great about these techniques is that you don’t have to perfect them. It’s mostly a matter of recognition.

Common sense prevails and I read these principles in the same way.

So, am I happy I ask myself and as I read this book I realise that there many ways to define happiness. In fact, there are areas of my life where I am happier than others but what’s more important to me is the notion described in this book about the opportunity to change some very small things in my life to make others feel good.

To make others feel good.

Here’s the deal and it’s a big deal.

I have written the formula happy employees = happy clients many times in the past. I truly believe that and now I have some measurable techniques that I can use to see how I can impact my team. As a manager I can further impact how my team performs by using some of the simple tools and tips presented in this book. If I really think about it I have the opportunity to influence people’s behaviour on both sides of the organizational hierarchy.

I see this as a unique opportunity.

As I mentioned my belief has been that if your team is as happy as they can be the side effect of that will rub off on who they come in contact with; their peers, their superiors and their clients. It is certainly a win win situation, isn’t it?

It didn’t start out that way for me.

Okay, here he goes…….

It has only been in the last few years that I realised the benefit of focussing on the positive and the effect positivity has on you and the people around you. I struggle with this personally and have some skeletons that rattle around in that particular closet. At times the noise is loud enough to affect my manner but I have learned to change it, ignore those old bones and move on. The techniques in this book will certainly help me to recognize the triggers for these changes in mindset.

There are also some activities in the first chapter that anyone can easily do to help put you in a positive mindset. As I read the chapter I realized that most of these activities I don’t apply in my daily life.

How can that be?

One of those activities to help you change your mindset in The Happiness Advantage is working on one of your unique skills or exercising one of your signature strengths. One that you are good at, one that gets you up in the morning and one that feels good. One that challenged your to learn and to find satisfaction in the results you skill yields. Using this tool, in my mind, is the most important thing anyone can do. It just seems to have the most potency for me.

Mine is the love I have for creating content for this blog; writing, images and video.

I discovered this desire a mere 18 months ago and it has helped me immensely. It is cathartic to write ideas down and throw them out there. It simply feels good.

Over to you: What is your signature strength?

Think about it and please share it with yourself. If you want to tell me about it please do. I would love to know. I just think it’s cool to share your passion.

Cheers!

Just because is not always a good reason.

We haven’t shared anything at all since December 14, 2012 at theviewfromhere.

There is no particular reason other than we have both been sick with the flu and the holiday season is the one time of year that our focus turns predominantly to those around us in real life. Gosh, you know, I wrote that term so many times this past year, IRL [in real life] and now that I look at it after nearly two weeks of very little activity on-line, in social, in the blogging community, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google + I come to the realization that the term is now blatantly ridiculous to me.

We are always in real life.

I came across an article yesterday, December 26, 2012, that has to be the one piece I read this year that I can say really and truly resonated with how I am feeling about my place in the on-line world. The words in the article are very, very true and I have to thank Gisele Navarro Mendez for sharing it with her community. I chose to link you to her Google + page simply because that’s where I found the post.

I am guilty of have a FOBM.

I am guilty of having a FOMO.

Personally, these two things lead me to the need to make a change in how I participate in the on line world.

I love the banter in the blogs, I love the camaraderie in Facebook, Google + Communities and I love the shares on Twitter. Creating content and sharing images and video on these platforms is great fun and we certainly will continue but after reading the following article I seriously have to think about my contribution to the mass data that makes up the sphere we occupy.

I have no delusions of grandeur.

I never have. I am merely learning and maturing in an industry that is ever evolving. This coming year, 2013, will be a year not unlike the one that just passed. This place, theviewfromhere, has grown immensely since its modest beginnings in June 2011; a mere 18 months ago. With the help of many friends in the blogging, business and social world we have learned a lot about what works for us around here and we will continue to grow, learn and focus our attention on the things that help us offer the type of place that interests like-minded folks. That is all we can do and that is the best we can do.

With that we leave you with this piece. Please take the time to read it.

Social Media and the Devolution of Friendship

Happy New Year to you, your family and your friends.

With all honesty and with my heart I look forward to enjoying your company in the next year.

Cheers,

Back in September this year we took a trip to France.

It seems like a decade ago.

While we were there we posted an entry which offered our view on the normal (lifestyle) that the French experience and how different it is from how we live and experience life here in North America. Just this past weekend we relived the experience with some friends who, incidentally, offered us their beautiful house in the south of France as a home base.

They optimize the beauty that is French culture.

As is customary we took way, way, way too many photos to commemorate the trip many of which were posted on Instagram as we went. You can search us there to see some of those moments in time. Just look for @rdopping or @ljgrossmann to find us. Make us your friends there while you are at it so we can share our experiences [neuroses] with you as is customary on that platform.

Forget Instagram! Watch this video.

If you are not on Instagram or don’t want to spend the time searching through a bunch of pictures of food, a cat, a dog and funny images of life’s occurrences then we encourage you to watch the video below. It’s only 3:43 and gives you a sense of what the experience of visiting France was like for us. Remember to turn your speakers on so you can hear the soundtrack accompanying the images and video.

Enjoy!

These videos are easy to do and are a great way to remember a moment in time. If you wan to see what else we have done you can click here to see our You Tube channel.

Let us know what you think.

Cheers!

There was a singer in a smoky room, the smell of wine and cheap perfume……

Last night I was sitting at my computer ready to finalize my entry for today but I was struggling with its content and presentation. The topic is about integrating the human and social aspect to space.

Interesting however it needed some story to make it real.

I decided to take a break and watch The Voice instead.

They are getting down to the top 6 in the competition and what competition it is. Each participant is strong, unique and has the chops to make it all the way. I have my personal favourite and I am sure if you watch the show you have yours. The thing that got me was the strong sense of story that is a big part of what these artists use to engage the audience. Sure, a singer needs to bring passion and connection in order to engage with their audience and emotion is a huge part of that journey but the story of how they get there each time, what their song choices mean to them and how different each singer interprets the song’s meaning was what made the connection to the artist for me.

I recently saw a performance by Adele where she took the time between her songs to talk to her audience and share some of the story behind her music. Something as simple as telling a story allows us to connect with the artist just a little bit. Considering these artists sometimes have millions of fans it seems a little unrealistic to think that you can have a personal connection to them but then there is that feeling that connects their creation to something in your life. The passion, the pain, the joy, the emotion, the love, whatever it may be.

What can a designer take away from an experience like that?

The analogy of creating connection with an audience is not the same for a designer when they create space or is it? Imagine the people who use the place you create on a daily basis. If it is a place that the public can access then the notion that many, many people can engage with it and feel something is not so farfetched even if you cannot or will ever have a personal connection to them.

What’s the story you want to convey that connects your design to your audience; the people who occupy and use that space?

Last week I attended the IDC (Interior Designers of Canada) yearly roundtable presentation at Construct Canada where an interesting, thought provoking discussion occurred around story and how the story behind design can address some key issues in today’s design world.

Research was at the forefront of discussion and the presentations demonstrated how research can play an integral role to inform and affect the design of space. What became apparent is through the ease of access to information in today’s world design thinking is quickly evolving beyond the notion of space solutions being based solely on known planning standards alone.

It was exciting to see the level of innovation that exists in the Interior Design profession and the diversity of experience that the speakers brought to their presentations was exceptional. The projects demonstrated a connection to the public, a passion for solving design problems for people and making space that is based on the connection between community and its use of space.

The strength of the work and its connection to community really hit home with me.

We are big on story around here and we were not disappointed when it came to each of the presentations. The story behind each project gave these projects real personality and the work demonstrated what space design can do to influence and engage a community.

Without a story it would have been difficult to demonstrate the strength of the social aspect of the work.

The idea that spaces need to fundamentally support community was a driving influence in these presentations. Technology weighed heavily into many of the projects as a way to articulate the issues of the communities where the projects resided but also was conspicuously vacant when the design dictated. In some cases the absence of technology was the catalyst for building community as a way to tear down some of the barriers technology can create between human interactions.

Enticing play through direct human contact was more important to some of the solutions than using technology as a driver to engage people. There was a strong push to create a connection by the community to itself as a way for people to connect to the place and to each other instead of the connection to technology as a way to create social engagement.

One on one connection between place and its occupants is not unlike the feeling you get when a songwriter’s story is speaking directly to you.

Can a story somehow help change the design process?

It was clear that the story, as a catalyst for change, behind these projects also helped with engaging the community to accept and participate in the design process. Through the use of a variety of tools and processes the community was engage directly to provide input encouraging active promotion for the inception of the physical design and in some cases participation in the construction process. The teams created opportunity for the community to engage the design process in order to get real life accounts of how their daily lives are affected by their surroundings and how the design solutions could affect their use of the space.

Urban planners have used the method of consensus building for centuries. As a method for interior design consensus building through community engagement was demonstrated as a very powerful tool to build social acceptance and gain the buy-in of the project’s stakeholders.

It all sounds so fun and enlightening but what about the elephant in the room?

Time is money and money trees are hard to come by these days.

How these firms were able to dedicate resources to soft metrics and detailed research while remaining competitive was something that we all were highly interested in hearing more about. There is certainly no single solution to deal with the complexity of factors to consider such as talent, time and cost each of which were the common challenges faced on each of the projects.

The common approach was one of reallocation of resources.

The idea that the more investigation, research and thinking that goes into a project in the front end the less re-work, change and value engineering goes into the later stages of the project was a common risk that each of these project teams were willing to take. It seemed to work as a common approach and was proven by 3 different firms across 3 distinct sectors of the design industry; hospitality, health care and education.

So, can community engagement work every time we need to solve a design problem? Does investing time in discovery lead to building a better mousetrap? Does discovering the underlying story, finding the passions and drivers of community allow a space to better respond to its users?

Can we as designers connect with the occupants of space in a similar way a songwriter connects with us?

Deep down in the places that we rarely visit when thinking about solving design problems.

There are monsters under your bed.

Yep.

After it gets dark go have a look. They will be there.

Waiting for you.

What the heck is he talking about?

This is supposed to be a design blog where the discussion is centered on the world of design, management, good examples of architecture and interior design and opinion to further the practice of design.

What do monsters under your bed have to do with any of that?

Well, this monthly segment is all about the almighty book and do we have a great choice for you this month. The books we feature can cross all sorts of boundaries and are selected for their ability to enhance your sense of adventure in learning and living an exceptional life. This month our book choice has a lesson that we can all benefit from regardless of who we are.

This is a children’s book that has an important message not just for children.

That’s what drew me to it.

When was the last time you thought that something was a certain way because of popular belief or a stereotypical assumption? We all have a natural inclination to make assumptions in life that sometimes are further from the truth that we can imagine.

This little story explores this edict in a warm, loving and heartfelt manner.

You will fall in love with this story as I did and if you have children you will want them to have this story to reflect on as they grow.

With that we leave to enjoy this month’s offering.

Say hi to Holly Jahangiri and her new book.

Trockle

Now, if you are interested you can pick up Holly’s book at Barnes & Noble on-line here

Or directly from the publisher 4RV Publishing here

You can visit Holly, Trockle and their friends here

No monsters were harmed making this video or in writing this review. My opinion expressed here is solely my own and I have no affiliation to the sale of this book. I consider Holly a friend and absolutely enjoyed the experience of reading and thereby endorsing her book.

Cheers folks!

Last year without impunity or fanfare the Toronto Transit Commission (the TTC) cut off the corner of their monthly passcard; their beloved Metropass. The design improvement was meant to assist people to pass it through the reader more efficiently at the turnstile. I often wonder if the average public transit commuter even noticed it or gave it another thought.

This simple enhancement made me consider how conveniences such as these are continually implemented for the purpose of increased productivity.

The most obvious place I can think of this happening is in the automobile.

Today’s advanced technology allows us to see behind the car, assist us with parking (in some cases), automatically adjust lighting and turn on the wipers when it rains practically helping you drive the vehicle. In some ways the advanced skill in driving is slowly being eliminated.

Is that in order for you to have a better driving experience?

The reason for the cut in the TTC Metropass is said to reduce the time people spend fumbling the card around at the turnstile.

The angle points forward. Slide it through. Basta!

It was actually styled after the cards prepared for the CNIB to assist visually impaired passengers. A very intelligent decision. The universal change offers the average rider a convenience that makes their lives that much easier.

It is a brilliant improvement or simply another step closer to The Machine Stops?

Why permeate thinking with redundant activity?

In conversation with some friends recently we were discussing how technology has increased the rate of learning their children were experiencing. We all laughed when one of my colleagues mentioned that his daughter was questioning the need to learn advanced math because it was much simpler to use technology to find the answer. She argued that her time could be better spent learning new ways to apply technology to solve more complex problems. She suggested that computing power is there for us to utilize so why should we not continue to have it serve us, allow us to figure out further advancements and leave the basics to the machine?

Smart kid.

Sure, a slightly myopic view from a child but an interesting point when considering how technology permeates our daily lives. Kids are fully immersed and expect technology to simply work and be readily available.

Regardless, having an understanding of how technology affects us is one thing but without education we are certainly doomed. I am sure my colleague has instilled a clear sense of the importance of the basics of education in his daughter.

How does technology affect the space you inhabit?

The conversation about how technology influences our lives got me thinking about how technology affects a designer’s influence on space. As designers of physical space we can no longer avoid considering current and future advancements of technology, their impact on space and how we use it. It has to permeate our thinking. No longer can we consider technology as an add-on or a nice to have. It now needs to be inherent in how we design space because it is a big part of how people experience space.

Personally and as a consumer I have noticed it’s not often that advancements in technology are front of mind anymore because of the innate nature of how it weaves into our daily lives. It seems to be an expectation. Technology is now part of us. It makes our lives easier, simpler and takes away the tedious nature of mundane tasks.

Good or bad it does the math for us and will continue to do so. Here are a few observations that I bet we all hardly think about and some questions to get you thinking about how future technologies might affect space further.

• The TTC Metropass. Swipe. How is the swipe placed? What’s coming? Scanning a barcode on your smartphone? How will that change terminal design?
• The movie ticket. When is the last time you stood in line to buy a ticket? Do you use a kiosk? Scan a barcode? How will the entrance sequence to a theatre be affected?
• Office security. Do you still use a key? Will our phones be the keys of the near future?
• Computers. How few corporations aren’t using wireless now? How does that affect desk space and your workspace? What changes when you can work anywhere?
• Banks. If you actually go into one anymore there is the ATM. Banks are now moving toward a retail experience. What other technology is woven in that you don’t realize? Do you interact with technology before a person or instead of a person?
• Grocery stores. Self-serve check outs. No more errors. No more fuss. What does that do to customer flow? How does your experience change?
• POS terminals. They are everywhere. Retail, restaurants, gas stations. It’s easy to spend money. They come to you now. Does that change how much you tip when you do?
• The interwebz. In the web world we are always talking about making navigation easy for people. It is generally how we evaluate the design of a site; simple, easy to use and effective. How often do you shop on-line now?

If any of these examples are lacking, complex and not easy to understand or use we move on.

Usually irritated.

Am I on the right track here?

When we consider the design of physical space we have to think about how these common advancements affect the attributes of space. We have to understand how current and emerging technologies will affect the user experience. Technology changes the approach we take to physical space design right down to the colour of the walls, selection of materials and as fundamental as the configuration of a room.

We all need to be nerds and geeks.

We have to get it when it comes to technology.

We should understand how advancements in technology have the potential to change how people use space and we have to encourage our designs to respond to that. If we aren’t considering it we are late.

Very, very late.

Over to you:

How has technology affected your daily life? Has it made your life better? What challenges have you experienced? Does technology and the space it permeates work in unison?

Are architects and designers extremists in the purist sense of the word?

I don’t know why I framed this in the form of a question because I already know the answer.

Have you ever witnessed an architect or designer in the flow?

Their world melts around them. It’s a blur. Time holds meaning as a concept only. Nothing dissuades that passion. The deadline is time’s only focal point. It’s almost with reckless abandon that the passion flows onto the page.

Is that what it takes to be a truly great designer or am I just a passionate dreamer?

Again. I know the answer.

Moderation does not seem to be in the general vernacular of a design professional. There is no tempering their need to express the idea in just the right way.

That’s just the way it is.

I remember the late nights drawing and revising and changing and refining all to satisfy the inner desire to find the best if not optimal solution. There is no substitute for discovering the “a-ha” moment.

It’s dark outside now. When did that happen?

Who knows? It’s not because it’s late fall. It is because a few of us are here banging at the keyboards, moving the mouse and scouring the resource library to get just the right fit for a design proposal.

It’s funny how true it is that intense focus is inherently insular.

A burst of delirious laughter snaps me out of my fugue.

What the heck is going on over there?

It must be a release of tension. Someone is clearly holding court.

A nerf ball flies past. Do you remember those?

“Snap out of it, Ralph! We need to discuss this direction with you.”

“Right! Be right there, Clare.”

Hehe, that rhymes. Do I ever feel like Dr. Seuss right now.

Deadlines and a tight resource pool of staff will never go out of vogue in this industry and as much as us design folks say we can plan for resource crunches the pendulum always swings further than we anticipate.

Does that mean we poor at planning? No. We are exceptional at refinement and change.

Iteration is our utopia.

Regardless of the attitude a business takes toward its resources, work flow in the design industry is very difficult to predict primarily because the wins are rarely predictable. We always work hard but we always push the extra mile because we know that when the train has left the station it is gone. It’s a straight line away from here so you better get it right because it’s your only shot.

Period.

We work to the extreme to test our theories and expectations of those a-ha moments.

Middle ground breeds mediocrity and the last thing a designer wants to be told is that their design is mediocre. Too much iteration is unheard of and that is likely why the most talented are usually playing around at the edges of reality; day and night.

Tempering talent to maintain a level of profitability without dissuading creativity is tricky work indeed. It requires a sensitivity to the needs of a design team and a strong voice to challenge direction in order to keep the train moving in a forward direction. That is my challenge.

• Speaking of that, I need to scat.
• Get over there, from over here.
• Let’s see what has transpired.
• I am confident I will be inspired.

Dr. Seuss ain’t got nothin’ on me.

Extremes, I wonder, as I make my way across the studio.

• From the storyline: What gets you in your flow and how do you maintain your focus?
• From the storyline: What drives you to make your work the best it can be?