Death of the Diagram?

With the large scale adoption of real-time render engines such as Twinmotion, Lumion, and Enscape it’s easier than ever to show a client what their space will really look like with a very high level of believability. Some of these software platforms even allow you to use your VR headset to more fully immerse yourself in the space.

It reminds me of this scene from Jurassic Park where Jeff Goldblum is the voice of reason (weird, right?).

“Your scientist were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” - Ian Malcom

So the parallel question is just because we CAN make something photo-realistic, SHOULD we?

Diagram = Idea

The purpose of the diagram is express a concept or an overarching idea. The purpose of the photorealistic rendering is to show the space that hasn’t yet been built. Whether the diagram is about the site, movement, or construction, it allows the viewer to have a deeper understanding of the intent. The diagram allows the designer to work through the essence of the project and express to their client, their team, and everyone the lens by which this project will be viewed.

I’m a huge proponent of the idea of showing information when the decision has been made and only show the information that you’re trying to convey. By sharing the photo-real too early in the process you run the risk (and it’s happened to me) of having a meeting being completely derailed because the rendering shows the wrong color carpet., instead of focusing on the overall space and feel of the space.

1-Stage

2-Constraints

3-Function

4-Deformation

5-Smoothed

6-Contours

Experimentation in graphics

One of the great things about diagrams is that as the author of the drawing, you have the ability to craft and tone the drawing to match the style you’re looking to convey. This has the ability to be very simple (as represented by Bjarke and the team at BIG) or terribly complex. In a photo-realistic rendering this opportunity is greatly diminished if it’s available at all. By definition, the goal is to match reality, which is a pretty tall task!

The ability to define the lens by which your ideas are presented give you a tremendous opportunity that becomes it’s own design opportunity! Through diagramming, you have the ability to mix and match various graphic presentation techniques. This type of experimentation creates a much deeper understanding of the project and breeds new opportunities.

Images created while at Bialosky Cleveland

Every tool has it’s right use

Now you may think that I’m anti-photo-real, but I’m not. Honestly, from the first time I saw Pixar’s Toy Story, I was intrigued with how the computer could generate the feeling of space and place. I started working with 3D Studio Max version 3.0 right around 2000 or 2001. In graduate school, I taught a course on rendering and graphics and created a number of blog posts based on them. Even the first few years of my professional life, I pushed toward the photo-real. As I’ve gotten older (not wiser), I have seen designers - really talented designers - fall into the trap of jumping to the end product before fully working through the design intent and the narrative of the project. Even Bob Borson posted on Life of an Architect this week about renderings within his workflow. In the correct situation, I have no issue using a photo-realistic rendering or even hiring out to a team like DBox, The Boundary, Darc Studio, and Mir which are some of the best architectural visualization artists in the world.

I firmly believe that as designers we have a plethora of tools available to us…it’s our responsibility to use the most appropriate tool for stage of the project and the intent of the discussion. If you’re working with a developer to pre-sell a few townhomes before construction, photo-real is the way to do it! If you’re trying to help an institutional or non-profit client fundraise for a project and want to show potential donors what their donations will help fund, photo-real it up! However, if you’re still working through a concept and want to help someone understand the big moves you’re trying to achieve, a simple diagram goes a long way!

Diagram from Axi:Ome llc

What is culture and why it’s more important now than ever

We’ve all heard the business buzzwords that make you roll your eyes…synergy…deep dive…culture

However, culture is critical to the success and continued success of a firm. If you think about it, it’s always been important and throughout history, the way it impacted a business may have changed, but it has remained consistently important. I’d venture to say it’s one of the most critical parts of a firm’s success or failure that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

I’m not talking trust falls or ping-pong in the breakroom or even fun cubicle decoration awards - my emphasis here isn’t on forced culture building activities, it is in the organic processes by which culture is created and is either nurtured and thrives or ignored and languishes. Culture isn’t what is stated in the office manual. Seriously, how many people (outside of HR) actually read that manual anyway? Instead, I’m talking about culture as the way in which people work, speak, and act consistently day in and day out. Culture is what happens when no one is watching.

The movie “A Few Good Men” has a scene that epitomizes this definition of culture. Noah Wylie plays Cpl. Jeffrey Barnes and sits on the witness stand, being questioned by Capt. Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon) where they talk about the difference between what’s in the manual vs. what the culture dictates. The code red wasn’t given because it was a regulation, but because it was part of the culture…just as figuring out where to go “at chow time”.

Studio Culture

Now let’s take these same ideas out of Hollywood and into the business world. If you start a new job, you spend the first week trying to figure out the social norms.

Do people eat their lunches at their desk? Do they go out together?

Do people wear headphones? Do they talk to each other? Do they play music on their speakers?

If you show up on day 1 and everyone is wearing headphones and you don’t own any, you can guarantee by day 5 you’ve already got a pair in your amazon cart!

Culture finds its way into all aspects of the office. From the way in which we talk to each other to the way in which we share news, both firm related and personally. I once worked at a firm where every personal announcement, wedding, pregnancy, etc was to be delivered with donuts for the office. Inside the office, how do you share major announcements? How do you keep your staff engaged and informed on other projects within the office (if that is even important to your firm)?

The way in which a firm teaches and mentors young staff to grow into positions of leadership is part of culture that gets passed down from seasoned to newer staff as if family tradition, no matter the lesson: drawing a detail, writing up a field report, the quirks of the office coffee maker. In turn, this passing down of knowledge and tradition feeds the studio culture in a cycle in which intentional efforts can make for a great studio - one where the energy is infectious and the staff is always growing and pushing each other for greatness!

Why now?

Now here’s the thing about culture that firms often forget…Culture has to be intentional!

Culture has to be cared for, groomed, and guided. It can’t be left to its own. As an owner or firm leader, you can control initiatives, business direction, etc. but the staff is the one that lives the culture. The staff is the reason that talent comes to your firm. Culture is the reason your current staff stays. Culture is the reason your staff pushes each other to get better and grow or culture is the reason that your staff becomes complacent and let’s ideas become stagnant.

As we have spent the last year plus figuring out how to work remotely, we all naturally created individual makeshift cultures to get ourselves through. These most often were cultures that focused around flexibility, the need to balance work and life. Firms sought to achieve balance by stacking remote meetings next to tele-conference happy hours, but it was quickly realized by many that there are aspects of a firm’s culture that can’t be grown or nourished remotely. The informal opportunities to share a lesson with a younger staff member or the way two teams will interact during a pin-up session require the organic spontaneity that happens only when teammates are gathered.

Now that more and more firms are starting to look at how to return back to a physical office space together again, it’s time to reassess the culture you knew before March of 2020, because it’s likely a thing of the past! If you had a great culture with a lot of positive energy and interactions across a range of disciplines and project teams, now is the time to capitalize on that! If it had been a while since you’ve taken a good hard look at how you’re working to create the culture you want, the good news is now is the time!

Remember that your firm’s culture is like a large flywheel, moving slowly at first, but picking up steam and momentum as more and more get involved. As your firm grows, the engrained culture is distributed to more and more people; however, take caution as it also becomes more difficult to stop or alter the course. Small adjustments and regular checkups ensure that the ship is headed in the right direction instead of having to make large, difficult, and costly overcorrections.

Firms do weekly scheduling meetings where leadership looks at the availability and upcoming priorities of the office. Firms do monthly or quarterly reviews of their financial health, ensuring viability and being able to plan for the upcoming quarter. Why shouldn’t leadership also have regular meetings to focus on intentionally growing and guiding the future of the office’s culture?

I’d love to hear your thought on the topic of studio culture. Drop a comment and let’s start the discussion about the good and bad that you see in the profession.

~Matt