WEEK 3

     Monday was a slow day. I mainly organized different areas of the materials library. We have a drawer system for the wood samples based on the company. I learned that after 2-3 years the wood samples must be taken out and replace with new ones because the color fades. I also ordered some samples for a designer, and learned that a conceptual design pricing list is a list of all the materials that will be used in the space. It also includes material and install price, the company name, product number, and contact information. It also includes finishes that are existing and will remain in the space.

     Tuesday I continued the library filing. I also pulled together some samples for a designer, as well as alternate options that could be shown to the client. The alternate finishes needed to be same color, similar quality, and lower in price. I learned how to look up install prices for each carpet. In the morning a finish rep came and gave a presentation about their new products. In the afternoon, I went with a designer to help with field verifications. The space had already been completed but dimensions were needed to finish the as-built drawings in AutoCAD.

     Wednesday I ordered samples for two designers. I then took the measurements from the field verifications from the previous day and produced a CAD drawing. The space was around 4700 square feet. After I finished the plans, I started working on a finish plan for a different project. A pricing narrative was provided that allowed me to figure out where each material went within the plan. Some materials were not specified on the pricing narrative, and I had to select where the finish would be in the space.

     Thursday I continued to work on the finish plan for a short while. Most of the day I helped a designer scan paperwork and drawings for a large client, HCA, of IDS. They are trying to consolidate their paperwork, and make everything digital. I also sorted through the finishes for the same client. Because the client is a healthcare group and a repeat client, all the finishes are kept over the years for future information. I am helping the designer reorganize these finishes into different folders.

      Friday I finished up the scanning for HCA, and then also finished up the organization and sorting of the HCA finishes. For lunch I got to eat with Laura Hood and Emily Goins (former ID students). It was good to talk with them. After lunch I did some library filing in the materials library. I continued on my project of cleaning out the wood samples. I look forward to what projects come in for us interns on Monday and next week.

IDS is also a showroom for Steelcase so there is a lot of moving around of furniture for mockups for clients. Friday the installers were delivering new furniture to the office.

There are two licensed architects within the company that work simultaneously with the designers to make sure all the drawings are approved and stamped. IDS does pay for the first attempt at the NCIDQ exam, as well as other tests depending on what they are. Since IDS is mainly interior designers, they firmly believe that interiors are an important part of the design phase and community.

Because IDS takes part in all phases of design, the designers also communicate and work with other professions within the community such as: engineers, contractors, installers, etc. IDS does have their own installers for all of the Steelcase furniture that is used throughout the different projects.

Registration and certification: Many of the designers have their NCIDQ license as well other licenses such as LEED.

Professional organizations: Many of the designers are members of IIDA, LEED, USGBC, and AIA.

IDS does take part in life long learning. Every few months, Steelcase comes to the office and has a one hour training session to keep the designers up to date on the new products and information. The office also has opportunities to train for LEED. There are also opportunities for CEU’s. The company is involved in Silver Lining which provides support for the interior designers between positions with networking and continuing education opportunities.

Public service: There is an A&D Liaison team that works with IDS to work directly with manufacturers to get product information to designers and architects within the community.

Conflicts are not too common but they do arise, both between the client and designer and designer and designer. Typically, if the conflict is between the client and designer there is some kind of compromise established, or if there is an obvious side at fault then the conflict is resolved that way. If there is miscommunication, then the designer tries to determine the issue by asking specific questions and determining the best way to handle the situation.

 Name: LIza Newbern

Liza is part of the design studio at IDS. She is currently working on a design for a new Sweet CeCe's. She graduated from the interior design program at University of Alabama. Liza was also an intern at IDS for a summer before being officially hired at the company. She is a great person to go to when you have questions. You can also see some of the materials library in the background!

Week 1: Organizational Structure of Lauderdale Design Group

Week one of my internship finally arrived! On Monday I drove out to Lauderdale Design group not really knowing what all I would be doing.  When I arrived the company's IT guy set up my laptop with LDG's outlook email, gave me access to the server, and set me up to print on the printers in the office.  Then I helped Danni and Joy, one of the Principals, pick out options for lounge furniture to be placed in the new UT residence hall.  All of the design has to be done in three weeks, so we can only choose furniture " on contract".  On contract means that the furniture can be ordered and brought in more quickly since UT already has a contract with them.  Once several furniture options were chosen, I sketched up some space planning options for the main lounge areas, large study rooms, and smaller study rooms and passed them off to Danni to check and make suggestions.  I also helped to update file locations and made new files on the server to help make it a more efficient system.  Then I had Revit class Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  This week, I also had another first, I broke my collar bone playing Ultimate Frisbee Summer League.  This has made things a bit difficult, but I'm getting pretty fast at typing with my left hand, and I'm determined to not let it slow me down too much.  On Friday, I went back to my internship.  Most of the day was spent ordering about 100 different samples from several different companies.  We also had about 50 carpet tile samples delivered. 

Lauderdale Design Group is a small interiors firm that is a partnership between Joy and Deborah.  Then there are two designers, Danni and Jess, and me, the intern. 

Meeting new people:

Several Reps came into the office while I was there, but I didn't get to take picture because I was doing other things.  A very nice UPS man came in both days too.  I will get names this week though!

Week 4: Rep Central

Another week has flown by! This week there were a lot of reps that filtered through. The different reps were from Contract Surfaces, InterSpec, 3-form, Spacia, StonePeak, and HermanMiller. It is interesting listening to all the reps present their product because you can really tell who believes in their product and others who could careless. Why would anyone want to specify a product a rep doesn’t even believe in? I think there were so many reps in this week because they were trying to make their last visits before they head to NeoCon. Every rep also brought some kind of food so, my will power needs to kick in soon or I will be gaining a few more pounds this summer. Tuesday I got my first package! This week I spent most of my time in the materials library working on various things like selecting vinyl and making boards. I didn’t quite memorize all the vinyl patterns, but give me a few weeks and I am sure I will! Along with pulling materials I made contractor boards (see photo below). I made two boards for each project so the contractor can have one board on site and one can be kept at the studio as a reference.  While doing the contractor boards I also learned how to properly print labels on the sticky back! Does anyone else remember the tragedies we used to have printing on sticky back freshman year? I had another great week! My goal for this week is to accomplish more than I did this past week. There is already a stack of things for me to tackle Monday when I get back to work. I can’t wait! I hope everyone else is staying busy and has a great week.My Package!

Contractor Board

Marketing

Until a few years ago Rebecca didn’t have to do much marketing. But she recently brought in the Bradford Group to help Inner Design Studio market to their target market. The Bradford Group helps Inner Design Studio get published in magazines, interviews in the paper, and also just helps Inner Design Studio keep their name out there.

Hopefully you all know from my previous blogs by now that Inner Design Studio’s target market is healthcare.

 http://www.innerdesignstudio.com/

When it comes to the strategic planning Rebecca looks at each quarter and evaluates it to make sure there have been enough billings to bring in enough revenue to properly run the company. Rebecca also constantly has to make sure there are projects a few months out that will be bringing in revenue. She can’t wait. She has to be proactive and get future business.

Anni handles all the accounting in-house. During each project there are always reimbursements like travel and presentation boards that are entered to be billed against a project (meaning all these expenses are added to a clients monthly invoice).

The designers log a weekly timesheet against billable time for projects. That way at the end of the month they can evaluate the amount of time they spent on each project. Then monthly the designers sit down with Anni to review their projects and percentage of project scope they will bill. (I think that means what portion of their work they will bill the client). Next Anni writes up the invoices. Then the invoices are submitted to clients based on percentage of project scope on monthly bases. 

Below are two HermanMiller reps that gave a healthcare focused presentation at the office Friday afternoon.

From left to right Lorraine, me, Jodi, and Donna

Update on Friday, June 15, 2012 at 12:31PM by Teal N

Follow-up to the HermanMiller reps Jodi and Donna. Jodi frequently collaborates with the people at HermanMiller who research healthcare. She was at Inner Design Studio trying to share her combined knowledge of healthcare and furniture. Donna did not do much talking, but she is the local rep, so she helped Jodi get an appointment. At Inner Design Studio they use very little HermanMiller systems in their projects, so Jodi and Donna were there trying to sell their products.

I also learned a few things about the women in my short visit with them. Jodi  is from Florida and has a beach house for rent if anyone is intrested? And Donna, the sales rep, is not allowed in her kitchen at home. Her husband does all the cooking.

week 3: how is it already week 3??

This week has been so busy and I've loved every minute of it! Monday I spent the entire day assembling 2 sets of contractor boards for Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. Tuesday and Wednesday I started working with another designer, Jenny (so cute and pregnant with her first baby, a little boy due in August!) She is currently in the design development stage of a project for a new inn on Sewanee's campus. I put together some furniture boards in InDesign for her to take to a meeting with the client. I also mounted a bunch of renderings on foam core for her presentation. Tuesday we had a rep come in for a luncheon, but it was a really different presentation that what I've seen so far. The rep had 2 proposed patient treatment chair designs  and he asked us to critique and discuss each one, aesthetically and functionally. He is trying to get designer opinions in order to make the product as best as it can be. It was really interesting for me though, because he asked them questions like, how do you spec furniture in hospitals?, what are important qualities in healthcare furniture?,  etc. I really learned a lot from the presentation, and the designers had a TON of opinions, which was entertaining to hear. They don't get asked what they want very often! Thursday I got to go out on the job site at Brentwood Academy, a private high school that ESa is renovating, and walk around the construction site checking progress with one of the school's principals, the interior designer, and the contractor. Friday I spent rendering a floor plan of a whole wing of the Memorial Glenwood Hospital in Chattanooga. I had to go back and forth between the noted finish plan, and finish spec list to determine which finishes went where. Then I had to use the spec information to find the materials online, save an image of them, place in Photoshop, then I could use them to render the floor plan. Quite a process! The interns and a couple designers celebrated the end of the week with lunch at Jackson's (go if you're ever in Nashville!). This was the last week that I will get to work with Carolyn and Lauren before they head back to Cincinnati, kind of sad!! But 3 new girls (2 from Cincinnati, one from Mississippi State)are coming after they leave so I am excited about meeting them!

ESa has both architects and interior designers, they work together on almost all projects and it is accepted that the interior designers are necessary for the project's success. This is just the attitude of the company. Because of this designers are required to be licensed and ESa pays for the exam and annual licensing fees.

Designers are constantly working with the architects, contract administration groups, project managers, contractors, subcontractors, engineers, the client, and many more to make a project come together.

Designers belong to one or both ASID and IIDA. The company also pays for annual dues for professional organization membership because they really value their employee's involvement. The designers are involved in lifelong learning and they have very up-to-date knowledge of new materials and trends. Reps are constantly coming in, 6 to 8 times a week to present new materials and products. Designers also are required to get CEU credits.

ESa is very big on community involvement. The owner, Earl Swensson, is rarely in the office; he spends most of his time in the community and earning a great reputation for the company with the public. The firm participates in many charities including $5 Fridays where employees pay a $5 donation to a local charity to wear jeans on Friday. The interiors department especially is involved in a program called the "Pencil Box" similar to ZeroLandfill. The office has a huge box that old material samples get put in and picked up regularly to donate to  local schools.

As far as conflicts on the job, I was able to witness some fairly small conflicts when I went to Brentwood Academy on Thursday. There were many things that the school principal was very opinionated on and he changed his mind many times on the design, even when being almost completed with construction. It was great to see how Leslie, the designer, reacted very patiently to this. She explained on the way back to the office that it's all about making the client happy with their space and that if you keep that in mind throughout the process, it will turn out for the best in the end.

"Professional" is one of the best words I can use to describe ESa. They make sure that everything they do is done right and appropriately. The company is strict about computer and internet privacy, for example. To try to avoid inappropriate activities connected to ESa via internet, there are strict rules described in the handbook. This is just one example of how ESa values professional ethics in everything they do.

Stephanie at her desk

This is Stephanie, also cute and pregnant with her first child, due in September! Her and her husband are not finding out the sex of the baby because they want to be surprised! Stephanie graduated from UT. She is currently working on the NEA Baptist Hospital Cancer Center and the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis.

I am loving getting to hear about all of your different interning experiences!!! Tomorrow morning (bright and early...) I leave for a family reunion in Pensacola, Florida so I'll be off work for the week! I hope everyone has a great week!

week 1: fallen in love

I started my internship at Nashville Civic Design Center last Tuesday after Memorial Day, and I absolutely love this place!  The people here are so friendly and helpful, and they really seem to value their interns.  For those who do not know, NCDC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to respect Nashville’s built and natural environments, and create a more beautiful and functional city for all.  So basically it is a lot of urban planning/city development, but I love the work they do, and everyone here is so passionate about Nashville and making it a better city.  It has also been really neat to see design on such a larger scale. 

The Executive Director is Julia and under her is Gary who is the Design Director and my supervisor.  Under them are Ron, an urban designer, Stephanie, head of communications/public relations, and Patricia who is a project manager.  There are also a few Design Fellows, which are people hired temporarily for specific jobs.  And of course all of the interns, the number of which seems to vary daily between two and six.

The week I started was somewhat of a hectic week because NCDC announced their newest design competition on Friday.  This competition is called “Designing Action” and is basically an ideas competition for an undeveloped area of downtown Nashville to turn it into an alternative sports area.  The location of this is a 75-acre plot of land close to the Titans stadium and cannot be built up since it is in the flood plain.  Creating energetic spaces like these are a new trend in a lot of big cities to promote healthy and active lifestyles, and since Tennessee is currently the fourth most obese state in the country (wow), this is something we could really use.   

So for most of the week I have been helping them get ready for the competition opening which involved a lot of office work such as addressing and mailing posters, posting the competition on various websites, setting up for the press conference on Friday, and whatever other task they ask me to do.  My main job this summer will be to help with the exhibit in September that will showcase the winners of this competition, so updates on this to follow.

This is Ron, the urban designer and person I work closest with, and today is actually his birthday!  He was an architecture grad at UT and then studied urban design in Switzerland.  He started off as a Design Fellow here at NCDC before he was hired on as full time a few years ago.  He has done a lot with their newest book, “Moving Tennessee Forward” which has to do with making the transportation system more efficient.  Ron is always so great and helpful, and we share a similar passion for HBO’s True Blood (which starts June 9th for those who are interested).

We are actually closed this week on Thursday and Friday because it is CMA fest in Nashville, and since our office is on the Riverfront of 2^nd Avenue, it can be extremely noisy/distracting.  There is literally a stage right outside our window and they have already been doing sound checks all week.  So between last week’s holiday and CMA fest this week, work has really gone by fast!

Took a quick break to watch Little Big Town from our office!