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I like to tell people that I have the greatest job in the world. It's true, and whenever I start working with a new client, I feel like a kid in a candy store. Look at it this way: As a watershaper, I get paid to use my ideas, experience, imagination and creativity to make my clients' dreams come true. Essentially, we're big kids playing with very big toys, and clients respond to our enthusiasm in a big way. And the best thing about it is that exterior designs are like fingerprints: Each one is different; every client has his or her own set of priorities; and every property calls for a
I like to tell people that I have the greatest job in the world. It's true, and whenever I start working with a new client, I feel like a kid in a candy store. Look at it this way: As a watershaper, I get paid to use my ideas, experience, imagination and creativity to make my clients' dreams come true. Essentially, we're big kids playing with very big toys, and clients respond to our enthusiasm in a big way. And the best thing about it is that exterior designs are like fingerprints: Each one is different; every client has his or her own set of priorities; and every property calls for a
It only makes sense that designers should promote themselves in ways that reflect their abilities. When we look at the materials many watershapers use to market their services, however, it's obvious that everything from business cards to brochures and web sites has often been assembled without much attention being paid to how messages are conveyed in words, images or graphics. Recognizing these shortcomings in others prompted me to reflect on my own approach to marketing and promotion - which in turn led me to pick up a copy of Marketing for Architects and Designers by Harold Linton, Laura Clary and Steven Rost (W.W. Norton & Company, 2006). As the helpfully descriptive title indicates, this 150-page, beautifully illustrated text defines what designers need to know about
It only makes sense that designers should promote themselves in ways that reflect their abilities. When we look at the materials many watershapers use to market their services, however, it's obvious that everything from business cards to brochures and web sites has often been assembled without much attention being paid to how messages are conveyed in words, images or graphics. Recognizing these shortcomings in others prompted me to reflect on my own approach to marketing and promotion - which in turn led me to pick up a copy of Marketing for Architects and Designers by Harold Linton, Laura Clary and Steven Rost (W.W. Norton & Company, 2006). As the helpfully descriptive title indicates, this 150-page, beautifully illustrated text defines what designers need to know about
One would like to think that if there was anything all watershapers were good at doing, it would be digging holes. As with many other watershaping activities, however, it is apparent that some are better at it than others and that the excavation portion of a project either does a good job of setting the stage for great things to follow - or involves errors that can project themselves all the way through to the finished product. In my view, getting things right at this stage is as important as any other step in the design, engineering or construction process and is actually
One would like to think that if there was anything all watershapers were good at doing, it would be digging holes. As with many other watershaping activities, however, it is apparent that some are better at it than others and that the excavation portion of a project either does a good job of setting the stage for great things to follow - or involves errors that can project themselves all the way through to the finished product. In my view, getting things right at this stage is as important as any other step in the design, engineering or construction process and is actually
This has been a year of changes. Consider the weather, which, in my corner of the world, saw unusual, sustained periods of freezing temperatures never witnessed in my lifetime along with inconceivably low rainfall totals that make water rationing a very real possibility on southern California's horizon. Whether these climatic extremes are, as some scientists are saying, a consequence of global warming or not, the fact of the matter is that these phenomena are worrisome and their implications need to be
One of the fascinating things about working with the different types of clients we encounter as watershapers is that we can never really know what to expect. If my years of experience have taught me anything, it's that perception is often very different from reality. Instead, what I find is that the basic assumptions we might be inclined to make about different "categories" of clients are, often as not, completely confounded by the uniqueness of every situation. As a result, working effectively across a range of project types and client economic levels means being able to withhold judgment or at the very least avoid
One of the fascinating things about working with the different types of clients we encounter as watershapers is that we can never really know what to expect. If my years of experience have taught me anything, it's that perception is often very different from reality. Instead, what I find is that the basic assumptions we might be inclined to make about different "categories" of clients are, often as not, completely confounded by the uniqueness of every situation. As a result, working effectively across a range of project types and client economic levels means being able to withhold judgment or at the very least avoid
Making Changes