Week 7: Holiday!

Monday was kind of a gloomy day. The weather outside was cloudy and there was some rumbling thunder for awhile, but other than that the office was kind of slow as well. The main thing I did Monday was look for track lighting options for a client. The general rule for track lighting spacing is 1 track head for every 1 foot. But as we all know it can vary like anything else depending on the function and location of the light. I also typed up a finish schedule for a finish board.

Tuesday was a full day. I started off by working on a concept/finish board for Rachel for HCA. The board is rough and is just mainly for easy display when meeting with the client. After that I went with Sarina and another intern, Maryam, to two different job sites. First we went to a job site for a healthcare company to check on the progress of construction. A lot had happened since the last time I went to visit (about 2 week ago). We talked to several of the contractors on the job to clarify any questions and concerns. After the first job site, Sarina treated us to lunch, and then we moved on to do some field verifications. Once we got back to the office I worked on pulling some finishes and finding different vendors for certain products.

Wednesday was a holiday. Happy Independence Day!

Thursday I completed the concept/finish board for Rachel. I also looked at some lighting options for a designer that would be taken to a meeting on Friday for a bathroom update. The afternoon was filled with cleaning up the library and ordering samples for different designers.

At the end of the week I went to another job site. The client wants to update all the bathrooms throughout several buildings. We also all went to lunch together. After I got back to the office I started selecting finishes for three different concept boards for the bathrooms. I am also helping the National Accounts group get their finishes organized and in one location.

Client/Staff Interactions

There are many ways client and IDS staff interacts: phone, email, and meetings are the most common. Meetings can be conference calls, on-site meetings, or sometimes the client will come to IDS. After the project has been completed the designers will call the client to check up on how the move-in went and to make sure everything is working as planned. A punch list is always completed for every project before the client moves into the space. Another way the designers learn from projects is staff meetings. Once a week the design studio has a meeting and if a problem has arisen on a project then everyone will discuss it to see how to resolve the problem. The office is also an open plan which allows for a lot of communication between the designers. IDS deals with a lot of different businesses, mostly all commercial. A lot of the larger projects come from brokers. There is a square footage ratio evaluation but it is done more on a client need basis rather than a typical service offered. Comparing the rentable versus usable space is a common service given to clients, as well as performing test fits.

Kate Bowman is the receptionist as IDS. She sees everyone who enters the buildings, from employees to clients to delivery people. She also answers the phone and helps keep the meetings organized throughout the company. She does have a design degree and interned at IDS before being hired. Kate is so sweet and occassionally brings in cookies or cakes for us to eat on throughout the day!

Week 8: What day is it?

With the 4^th of July being in the middle of the week I got my days all mixed-up. I thought Wednesday was Sunday, and when I got to work Thursday morning I thought it was Monday! I was so discombobulated this past week. Throughout the week I continued working on the F100 sheets, but most of my week was spent on art. I was helping Lorraine pull artwork. Like I said in a previous post, picking art is not as quick and easy as it may seem. We had to make sure the pieces that would be seen in a sequence would tell a story. We also had to take into consideration the various paint color that would be near the art. Once we had all the pieces picked and where they would be placed we then formatted them in excel and publisher files. The pieces are now ready to go in a furniture packet to be sent out for review. I hope you all are still having a great summer!Picking Artwork

Presentation techniques; computer applications

When the designers are trying to communicate their ideas to a client they use a variety of techniques. There are usually always meetings, emails, and phone calls that take place between the client and designer. For most projects there are two presentations. The first presentation is a loose presentation. This is where the designer shows a few schemes and ideas they have for the project. The second is a fixed presentation where all the finishes that have been picked are shown together one last time for the client to see. The fixed presentation would include a presentation board of all the finishes. Some of the things that are included in these presentations are floor patterns, elevations, 3D renderings, materials, and lighting. Artwork is picked once all the drawings are done. Then an artwork package is put together. The furniture is shown in plans from the beginning, but it is not until the end of construction documents that the furniture is actually picked. A furniture package is put together with fabrics and finishes along with plans that locate each piece. When the designers are getting these presentation materials ready some of the computer programs they use are AutoCAD, Revit, Google Sketch up, Photoshop, Publisher, Excel, Word, and Access. You all should be familiar with most of these programs except Access. Access is what they use for their furniture specifications. I have also introduced them to 3Ds MAX for their 3D renderings.

Pam is the senior project designer at Inner Design Studio. She is always the first one at the office each morning. Pam is very focused and always busy. She has three boy and lots of animals. A fun fact is that she has a turtle named Stalker because he will do just that!Pam and me

week 6: beige, beige, beige, and more beige!

This week was S-L-O-W! Lots of people took a couple days off with the holiday on Wednesday so the interns ran out of things to do multiple times during the week. I started the week off helping Michelle with a project that she has a huge deadline for. She is renovating Western Baptist Hospital and had me select milwork finishes for nurse stations and other casework, as well as do some research for her. She is using an FRL product (Fiber Reinforced Laminate) instead of normal laminate to re-clad an existing nurse station.  FRL is much thicker, thus stronger and more resistant to abrasion. She has never used an FRL before and needed me to find out what sizes it comes in as well as to find metal corner and reveal trim pieces to use with the FRL. I spent hours online looking at trim, talking to designers that had used the product, and talking with our Wilsonart rep to get the answers to our questions. It was cool because I really learned a lot about the product and was able to teach Michelle what I had learned so she could use it in the project!

The rest of the week I helped Alana with more renderings (not as rushed as last time though!) I rendered many options for floor patterns, patient rooms, corridors, etc. It was neat to be part of the whole process this time; I got to help chose finishes and then render them. And who would have thought that there were so many different shades of beige! Irish Cream, French Cream, Toffee, Cappuccino, desert sand, khaki..... and that's just wall protection. They sure love their beige and neutrals :) But it's all about what the client wants, and that's an important thing to be able to do.

FF&E

Designers at ESa are kept up to date on all FF&E resources through their constantly updating materials library. Reps are always stocking the latest and greatest products on the market. Because our firm is so large, we often are the first in the area to see certain products, especially the ones we uses often. Reps also frequently visit for lunch and learns or quick morning/afternoon presentations on new products. Along with the materials library, a resource library with magazines and book sources makes all this information accessible to all designers in the office. The materials library was once managed by an employee whose only job was to organize the samples and coordinate with reps. When the economy began to suffer, this position was cut. Now the library is managed by 2 designers,  Isaac Holeman and Leslie McClenny, with some help from the interns with filing and ordering. Reps will also come in and go through their own things to keep binders and samples up to date. Space is precious and so we only keep one of most samples; any extra samples as well as any that have been discontinued get donated to the Pencil Box, a charity that donates the samples to schools.

Erin at her desk

This is Erin Jones! She is one of ESa's newest interior designers! She graduated from the University of Cincinnati and moved here when she got a job at ESa about a year ago after interning MANY times! She is the one that I have been helping with the NICU themes.

Week 5: Happy 4th!!

This week was a little slower with the holiday and all, and everyone was in and out of the office a bunch.  As usual, I have been working on this outdoor exhibit, and I am actually getting pretty overwhelmed knowing that I will only be here another month and we have so much that needs to get done. 

I have been doing tons and tons of research on fabricators, materials, lighting, and graphics, so this week I have been on the phone a lot calling to get prices and quotes.  It is amazing how expensive such a simple design can be, and unfortunately we have a very low budget.  My design essentially is a series of 3D triangular frames that are wrapped in a canvas-type material where the graphics will be displayed.  Ideally I would like these frames to be welded metal, but I am sure you all remember how costly it was going to be to build those little mannequin stands.  And these frames are 8'x6'x8’!  So I am also looking at alternate material such as wood or plumbing materials such as metal pipes or PVC. 

Also, I have been getting estimates for the graphics and these have been ranging from $400-$800 per triangle, and we will have at least ten.  So you can see how these costs can start to add up really quickly.  Basically my budget is how much we have left over from the original grant and how much we can get from sponsors.  Luckily most of the fabrication is donated or can be done in house. 

Nashville Civic Design Center receives grants based on the projects they do, as I have mentioned before.  They have a billable rate so when a group approaches them asking for their services, they can estimate how much they will need based on how long they think it will take, how many people will be working on the project, and necessary supplies.  But as Gary was explaining to me, since NCDC is a non-profit, their goal is obviously not to make a profit so these are very rough estimates and is basically the minimum needed.  Projects can range in cost, and the project I am working on, Designing Action, is around $30,000.  This cost includes the hourly wage, website design, artist fees, printing and mailing supplies, and the exhibit.  

    

This week I thought you all might like to see some familiar faces.  The UT Summer Architecture studio taught by T.K. Davis meets in our office, and as you can see they were not excited about me taking their picture. Erin is doing a great job representing the ID program, and they are working on redeveloping an area of downtown Clarksville.  And it has been nice to have some friends to eat lunch with!

[week.04] it's already been a month?

Textile of the week :) I can't believe it's already been a month. The projects are coming along quickly and I am refreshed by doing multiple tasks at once. It's nice to have multiple things to work on. I have been selecting finishes and doing some organizing in the MRL. I drew up some diagrams for a programming book and also a drawing of a reception desk for a volunteer project at a local church. This week's focus is about starting a new project (and also finishing it quickly by the end of next week!). The project turnover really amazes me. 

The person of the week is Kristin, the Koroseal rep. She is very friendly, and was involved with the Scripps Networks project. She keeps us updated in our library and helps us stay aware of current products. 

We do most of our marketing via networking, referrals, press releases, and of course playing volleyball on tuesday nights. I havent gone to the volleyball events yet, but I hear its a lot of fun. I'm not really inclined towards coordination sports. 

We target government work, healthcare, hospitality, commercial, residential, and educational markets. We address strategic planning every week at our staff meetings - we talk about the company's future goals and aspirations. 

Elaine handles the accounting here. She is our wonderful in-house book keeper and is also a super mom! She uses standard accounting procedures. She manages all of our time sheets and helps us make sure that we fill them out correctly. 

My desk buddy: 

My plant

Beautiful Sunset from this weekWelcome ArtworkDays work in the office!