Narrowing the Space Between Designer and Client

The recent shift of expanding roles for dealership interior designers that move them closer to their clients is happening because it works.

How these roles have evolved and the reasons these evolutions have succeeded are the subject of this two-part series. Part One is a discussion of marketplace expectations, relationship building and technology for friction-free collaboration. In Part Two, we’ll discuss the psychology that drives responses to expectations, enriches relationships and gives a warm touch to cool technologies.

Beyond the how of the matter is the seemingly basic idea of clear, informed communication between those who seek resources and those who have resources to offer. The idea is necessary to realize, but executing on it is now smoother than ever for interior designers who choose to embrace their changing role.

2016.0201.NarrowingTheSpace1.Quote_LeadershipBusinessSmoothly shifting executives from spectators to design decision makers is no small feat. Having them fall in love with their project’s design may seem unlikely, and with certain clients, even unrealistic; but it happens.

One interior designer making it happen is Chrissie Dimmer, NCIDQ, at Christianson’s Business Furniture, a Haworth dealership in Fargo, ND. She takes design to her clients in ways that draw them in – that create excitement for their projects-to-be.

“We are showing them how amazing their space can be,” said Ms. Dimmer. “Design is emotion-filled.”

2016.0201.NarrowingTheSpace2.ChrissieDimmer_Christianson's
Chrissie Dimmer, NCIDQ, interior designer, Christianson’s Business Furniture

By involving herself in the meetings and conversations preceding the design work, she absorbs the client’s hopes and intentions for their new space. She returns concepts that provide clients with three-dimensional views of their space, renderings that capture the look down to the textures of the materials, all backstopped by physical samples of materials. Then it happens.

“Clients start taking ownership of the design, asking questions, talking what-ifs,” said Ms. Dimmer. Then, she directs the energy of the moment to making real-time changes to the design that immediately render. “Clients see in seconds what might have taken a couple of days not that long ago.”

Ms. Dimmer understands that clients, conditioned by the technology in their personal and professional lives, expect high-production values. Still, they are surprised at the speed by which they can see changes.

“We’ve streamlined communications with clients to where we can exchange a revised rendering over email quickly,” she said. “We create ownership value within the clients; they’re invested in the process and excited by the result.”

2016.0201.NarrowingTheSpace3.Quote_ClientSeesDesignerAsExtensionThe investment in the process and subsequent excitement when the project finishes reflect well on the design team. Their contributions mean the difference when other factors seem more or less equivalent.

While not including those who make a living in the contract industry, to many, the product offerings may seem similar, or undifferentiated. What is it, then, that may connect a client with a particular product line?

For Nicole Vensas, NCIDQ, at Forward Space, a Steelcase dealership in Chicago, showing clients the customer experience the new design will provide is a differentiating factor.

“I think of it as bonding,” said Ms. Vensas, who is the Director of Design and Applications at the dealership.

Nicole Vensas, NCIDQ, director of design and applications, Forward Space
Nicole Vensas, NCIDQ, director of design and applications, Forward Space

She explains that in a marketplace rich with products that clients may find hard to distinguish among, Forward Space distinguishes itself through its people and the experience it creates for its clients.

“We can sit with the client, build a relationship with them and use our technology to step them through the project,” said Ms. Vensas. “This is because of the people that we are and the experience we provide for them.”

She considers the process one of taking the intangible of a design concept into something that clients can see, can react to and make contributions. Clients who experience the interactivity of a design charrette with Forward Space will want future projects handled the same way.

“We’re asking clients to invest significant dollars in our design concept, so we want to make that proposal as visual, as involving, as inspiring as we can,” said Ms. Vensas.

“Technology is a huge driver,” she added. Having design tools that allow our clients to visualize spaces in three dimensions pays off in day-to-day situations, pointing up issues when they remain adjustments in pixels versus on the job site.

Is every interior designer eager and/or capable to present with that technology when the client is in the room? Ms. Vensas says some more than others. Donning the “sales-hat” can become more comfortable with training.

“Steve Eriksson at Steelcase heads up a Community of Practice group for designers, and one of the topics we discuss is the ever-changing role of the interior designer,” said Ms. Vensas.

Mr. Eriksson, who serves as principal consultant for channel development at Steelcase, says that new career paths are breaking fresh ground for interior designers, both internally at Steelcase and in the firm’s dealerships.

“We have heard from some dealers that they are developing dual roles for designers,” he said.

Designers have “moved forward in the sales process”, with titling under consideration that includes Design/Sales, with a design emphasis, or Sales/Design, with a sales emphasis.

“In the future, design will be even more critical to the sales process – at some point, it may be hard to tell the two apart,” said Mr. Eriksson.

These shifts at Steelcase are happening in large part to improve response time for their dealership’s clients and were enabled by the creation of SmartTools, a Steelcase-specific extension used with CET Designer software. One of a family of software products from Sweden-based Configura, CET Designer offers specific extensions for a number of manufacturers, including Haworth, Inscape, KI, OFS and Teknion, in addition to Steelcase. An extension for Herman Miller’s global product portfolio is in the works.

There are other technologies supporting interior designers who are crossing into the presentation arena. Sometimes presenting a design concept needs more than a screen. It needs a wall.

Lorna Marcuzzo, senior mobile marketing designer, Price Modern
Lorna Marcuzzo, senior mobile marketing designer, Price Modern

Lorna Marcuzzo of Baltimore’s Price Modern, a Haworth dealership, specializes in presenting, and doing it in a big way. Among her long list of to-dos as the firm’s senior mobile marketing designer is overseeing technology integration.

Primary to that task was the installation of a Bluescape wall, a content-sharing device especially useful with a large amount of information to see and manipulate. Bluescape, founded in 2012, is a subsidiary of Haworth.

Price Modern’s Bluescape wall powers what Ms. Marcuzzo calls “Design in Real-Time” sessions. Content that might include floor plans, inspirational renderings, potential product selections, photos and other digital assets is loaded from laptops or tablets onto this huge, touch-screen monitor.

“The real power of Bluescape in our industry is the ability to see an entire project at one time,” Ms. Marcuzzo said.

When a client comes in for a design meeting, the project has been pre-loaded onto the wall, located in Price Modern’s recently renovated 53,000 square foot showroom and headquarters.

2016.0201.NarrowingTheSpace6.Quote_LeadershipUnleashingPowerOfTheTeam“During these client meetings, one of our designers always sits in, laptop at the ready, screencasting the client’s project plan onto the wall,” explained Ms. Marcuzzo. “As the sales people and the client work through the presentation, our designer is working in CET Designer to update the design.”

“This saves us countless rounds of emails and follow-up,” she said. “Our client sees their project, with the ideas and changes from the session, come to life in front of them.”

These sessions are archived, with access provided to clients for review later with other members of their team using their computers or tablets. The combination of the Bluescape wall, the Haworth extension for CET Designer, and the interior designer in the room make a full-scale collaborative experience for client leadership.

“We have a client group that came in for a design meeting wanting to redo their nationwide standard-typical, and they left with a finalized design in less than a day,” said Ms. Marcuzzo.

What Price Modern has and how they deploy their blend of technology and design know-how is not commonplace. The firm has built their process around it in the same way another Haworth dealership about 1,000 miles to the west has done inside its firm.

Amy Wright, IIDA, project manager/designer, encompas
Amy Wright, IIDA, project manager/designer, encompas

In Kansas City, MO, a firm whose name begins with a lowercase ‘e’, encompas, was founded by interior designers and architects and staffed with two-member teams, where both members are interior designers.

“A Project Lead, who spends the most time with clients, and a Project Manager, both with degrees in interior design or architecture, form a team,” said Amy Wright, IIDA. “The team sees each of its projects through from start to finish.”

Starting projects includes bringing the business to the dealership. The firm’s approach offers what Ms. Wright describes as a better way to approach the marketing and presentation of commercial furniture.

“The [firm’s] founders wanted to do more than ‘push furniture’ by helping them figure out how a client is working, how furniture can support that, and how we as a firm can be their resource,” explained Ms. Wright.

The dealership positioned itself less as selling furniture and more as making workplace and furniture knowledge available to the surrounding A&D community, as well as to end users.

2016.0201.NarrowingTheSpace8.Quote_RainmakersNewBusinessIn her project manager/designer role, Ms. Wright works directly with major corporations in the Kansas City area.

An aspect that further distinguishes encompas among its peers is that the two-person teams are the only ones touching their orders. Clients know who to call for answers, and when called, the team members have the needed information.

The teams not only resolve routine questions easily, but also provide the extensive knowledge clients need to become educated about their projects.

“We’re trained to think in design terms, to think regarding solutions,” said Ms. Wright.

Resolving project issues within the team extends to personal growth, as well.

“What we offer that might be unique among dealerships is the opportunity for women who are interior designers to get where they want to be in their careers,” said Ms. Wright. Designers have oversight not only on their projects, but also on their career paths.

In a firm full of designers talking furniture with clients who have a vested interest in hearing more, becoming enthralled with the exchange of energy happens quickly.

“It’s getting into the details, and the interaction between designers and clients, that I love,” said Ms. Wright. “I’m fascinated with the psychology.”

Stay tuned for Part Two, to appear in our next issue!

As researcher, writer, and commentator, Stephen Witte reports and advises on trends shaping the future for the A&D community, manufacturers, and distribution channels. His background includes corporate roles in product management, product development, and public relations.  He can be reached at switte@stephenwitte.com.