December CET Designer User of the Month: Kayla Arft
As the design lead for the new business development team at Henriksen Butler, Kayla Arft uses CET Designer every day for designing, space planning, specifying, discounting and pricing. Her eye for detail and creating beautiful designs earned her third place in the Success Story category for the 2020 CET Designer Awards.
Kayla’s submission showcased how her team designed a space for the new corporate headquarters of Divvy Pay, one of Utah’s fastest-growing technology companies. The space, totaling 100,000 square feet, featured 550 workstations, 125 ancillary spaces and a four-floor install – which all had to be done within a fast timeline and tight budget.
“CET Designer was a major contributor to this project moving so smoothly,” Kayla said. “Thanks to CET, we could perform a variety of tasks – including product selection, assigning materials, specifying and budgeting – all within one software. We also designed a beautiful space that reflected Divvy Pay’s brand.”
Kayla’s passion for design began in her childhood when she would rearrange her bedroom every week. She would start by drawing it out on graph paper and then reconfigure the room in different ways.
“When I reflect on what made me want to be a designer, I think that’s where it started,” Kayla said. “I never wanted to do anything else. I knew being an interior designer was what I wanted to do.”
Kayla studied interior design at University of Wisconsin-Stout. While attending college, commercial furniture dealerships weren’t on her radar until she landed her first job at a dealership for HON and Allsteel.
“At the time, I had no idea what I was getting into working at a dealership. Looking back now, I am so happy I took that chance because being at a dealership is what I was meant to do,” Kayla said. “I love the work I get to do every day and I’m a very detailed person, so gathering all those details and specifications is right up my alley.”
Three years ago, Kayla and her fiancé, both outdoor enthusiasts, decided to move to Salt Lake City, Utah, where Kayla discovered Henriksen Butler, a Herman Miller dealership. When Kayla joined Henriksen Butler, the dealership wasn’t using CET Designer and there were many redundancies in their sales and design process. However, shortly after starting her new role, the dealership decided to make the switch to CET Designer and Kayla was part of the transition team who led the adoption of CET Designer.
“CET Designer truly improved our process at Henriksen Butler. We went from using five software solutions to deliver one product to just two software programs, including CET Designer,” Kayla said. “CET Designer has made our day-to-day lives easier and we’re able to get deliverables to clients faster. I’m grateful I could be part of the transition to CET Designer and the transformation it has made within our dealership.”
Since adopting CET Designer, Kayla estimates the software has cut her work time in half thanks to the ability to quickly create renderings and produce high-quality deliverables faster. She also says the software has enhanced the customer experience, especially with the ability to live design with customers, and has brought her teams closer together.
“CET Designer has opened a lot of doors for Henriksen Butler and it has helped our designers be more confident and feel more involved with the sales and project management process,” Kayla said. “We are more connected with our salespeople because we can do calculations one-on-one with them instead of exporting the pricing and stepping out of the process until needing to create final specifications for order.”
Looking to the future, Kayla can see CET Designer supporting her dealership with capabilities like virtual reality, 360 panoramas and live design. She says attending CET Experience has opened her eyes to the possibilities with CET Designer.
“I learned so much about virtual reality and the 360 panoramas through CET Experience, and we, as a dealership, are now looking at ways we can use these tools to win more business,” Kayla said.
What Kayla loves most about design is the positive impact she can make on people’s lives.
“I love seeing the transformation of someone’s existing space to their new space, and helping customers turn their employees’ daily lives around by creating a beautiful space to work in,” Kayla said. “Seeing the happiness on our customers’ faces when they see the final product is what makes me come to work every day and makes the late nights and hard work worth it.”
