As Designers, Where Do We Find Purpose?
Sep 01, 2015 • Business PracticeNow is the time to ask ourselves: Where do we find purpose? Or specifically, how are firms going to become exemplary in a new purpose-filled economy?
Tracking Internal Metrics for Greater Firm Prosperity
Aug 07, 2015 • Business PracticeThe most important advice I can offer firms looking to either institute a new system or change an existing internal system is to start by asking which metrics, beyond typical key performance indicators, are meaningful to your firm’s success.
Retaining the Next Generation of Leaders
Jun 24, 2015 • Business PracticeThe repetitive nature of conversations surrounding the future of the design and architecture professions can be frustrating.
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Structuring the Stakeholder Engagement Process to Drive Better Design
May 26, 2015 • Business PracticeAs a designer, engaging with all key stakeholders on a given project may be viewed either as cumbersome and time consuming or as an opportunity to create better outcomes.
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Implementing Data In Practice: A Profit Opportunity
Apr 03, 2015 • Business PracticeData in practice is an opportunity to increase services and provide the firm with additional revenue.
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Moving Beyond BIM: Why Data is Integral in the Technology Discussion
Mar 04, 2015 • Business PracticeDesign professionals often like to think that we are at the leading edge when it comes to technology.
Moving Practice Beyond Analog
Jan 30, 2015 • Design PracticeContract is pleased to introduce Evelyn M. Lee, AIA, as a regular columnist. Lee is focused on bringing influence and prosperity to architects and designers, ensuring their relevance in an ever-changing economy.
Obtaining the Best Insurance Coverage Will Benefit Your Firm
Dec 05, 2014 • Business PracticeMost interior design and architectural businesses have some financial and administrative components that the firm’s leadership does not properly focus on.
Understanding the Agreement With Your Client
Nov 05, 2014 • Design PracticeYour firm has won the project, and now it is time to get an agreement in place to begin your services.
Nurturing Staff to Enrich a Healthy Firm
Oct 09, 2014 • Design PracticeSound financial and business development strategies and tactics are necessary to help a firm run more efficiently, effectively, and profitably.
Developing a Fee Strategy Focused on Quality
Sep 15, 2014 • Design PracticeAll too often, I hear from architecture and design firms that they have taken a project for significantly less than what they anticipate their services and associated costs to be.
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Negotiate Services, Compensation, and Agreement to Win
Aug 05, 2014 • Business PracticeFocus on the practical and legal aspects when undertaking a project.
Financial Management for Firms: Accounting, Billing, and Budgeting
Jun 04, 2014 • Business PracticeThe most effective program is one that serves both accounting and project management functions.
Strategic Planning for the Design Firm
May 06, 2014 • Business PracticeMany interiors and architectural firms operate without the guidance of a long-term business or strategic plan.
Making Recruiting a Continual Firm Project
Apr 04, 2014 • Business PracticeFirm leaders should always be looking to strengthen staff by recruiting the best and brightest—not waiting until there is a specific need to hire.
Good Project Management Techniques for Interiors Practices
Mar 04, 2014 • Business PracticeThis month, I describe several specific techniques for good project management and, therefore, more successful projects.
Choosing a Focus in Interiors Project Management
Jan 15, 2014 • Business PracticePassion is what drives most of us to pursue a career in design.
Advice on Ownership Transition Strategies
Dec 02, 2013 • Design PracticeStrategies for effective ownership transition, including selling the company's stock, selling the firm or merging with another company, and establishing an ESOP.
Implementing an Ownership Transition: I Built a Firm—So How Do I Get Out?
Nov 05, 2013 • Business PracticeMany design professionals believe that creating their own firm would be the pinnacle of their career. Their dream is to advance their design skills and have control over their own professional destiny.
Winning Work at the Interview: It's All About Chemistry—Part II
Oct 01, 2013 • Design PracticeRichard N. Pollack, FAIA, FIIDA, writes a regular column for Contract on business practices in design and professional development.
Winning Work at the Interview: It's All About Chemistry
Sep 12, 2013 • Design PracticeRichard N. Pollack, FAIA, FIIDA, writes a regular column for Contract on business practices in design and professional development.
Tips on Developing Winning Proposals
Aug 08, 2013 • Design PracticeRichard N. Pollack, FAIA, FIIDA, writes a regular column for Contract magazine on business practices in design and professional development.
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Trailblazing Project Delivery
Jun 30, 2013 • Business PracticeBlumenfeld shares her experiences working on a series of smaller interior design projects at Perkins+Will using Integrated Project Delivery.
Making the Decision to Respond to an RFP
Jun 04, 2013 • Business PracticeWinning a great project begins with writing an amazing proposal. In this issue, and continuing in the July/August issue, I will address the steps in the proposal process and how you can win more than your fair share of projects.
Attending NeoCon® to Enhance the Knowledge Base of You and Your Client
May 07, 2013 • Business PracticeRichard N. Pollack, FAIA, FIIDA, writes a regular column for Contract on business practices in design and professional development. This month, he offers advice on why NeoCon® is valuable for designers and their clients to attend in person.
How Young Practitioners Can Present Themselves As Leaders
Apr 02, 2013 • Business PracticeRichard N. Pollack, FAIA, FIIDA, writes a regular column for Contract on business practices in design and professional development. This month, he focuses on how emerging professionals can develop as leaders within their firms and the design industry.
Gaining Projects in the Education Market
Mar 05, 2013 • Business PracticeContract has invited Richard N. Pollack, FAIA, FIIDA, to write a regular, ongoing column about business practices in design.
Far Fewer Mills Impact Textile Design and Production
Dec 05, 2012 • Business PracticeThe supply chain in the American textile industry severely contracts as demand for product grows
Designing Cultural Fluency Firmwide with the Gensler Exchange
Aug 13, 2012 • Business PracticeDiane Hoskins, FAIA, executive director and southeast regional managing principal at Gensler, speaks to the firm's latest professional development program
Designer Perspectives: A Q&A with Randy Fiser, ASID EVP/CEO
Mar 14, 2012 • Business PracticeRandy Fiser began as the new executive vice president and chief executive officer in February, succeeding Michael Alin who served in the role for more than 20 years
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Designer Perspectives: Strategies to Manage Global Design Teams
Aug 18, 2011 • Business PracticeJoan Blumenfeld, interior design leader for Perkins+Will's New York office, speaks about the challenges in coordinating design teams on an international level
Scenario Planning: A Tactical Approach to Planning for Tomorrow and Beyond
Jul 01, 2011 • Business PracticeScenario planning provides multiple options for avoiding dead-ends and enables firms to achieve a new equilibrium when thrown off track
Practice: Global Consensus
Mar 28, 2011 • Business PracticeAn international group of interior designers and architects makes history in New York with the first global declaration establishing the importance of the interiors profession to the built environment
The Inadmissible Evidence Behind Design
Apr 20, 2010 • Business PracticeResearch has become a hot topic lately in interior design especially in the arenas of sustainability, healthcare, and workplace environments.
Design Practice: Reading the Tea Leaves of Future Design
Apr 02, 2010 • Business PracticeAs alliances and collaborations combine with more frequency, and technological possibilities accelerate, how designers work and what the profession will look like will change profoundly.