Expanding Market

IONIC has been busy on their growth over this past year with new employees to support projects we had coming in. Project growth in our office has increased nearly 40% this year from 2012 and last year was a record breaker for IONIC. 2013 will shatter that record. 

We were very selective in our selections of new staff understanding that we would need those individuals that could easily handle our current work load in RETAIL, RESTAURANT and CORPORATE clientele. However, the emphasis was to expand into markets that we have currently less presence in. If you know IONIC you understand that we have chosen to diversify across the spectrum of design services for a broad market. In short, we do a little bit of everything.

There are pros and cons to this approach. PROS: We are able to have a nice portfolio of varying accomplished works in just about every market. It keeps us fresh and focused on innovative ideas rather than regurgitating the same old thoughts. CONS: We cannot say that we have done two dozen libraries. Some clients want to see the full embodiment of work relating to THEIR particular project type.

Time will allow us to overcome the negatives. Right now we have only three library projects in our portfolio however over the next ten years we might have accumulated over a dozen. Likewise on other areas within the design industry. We will focus on our strengths which our clients are looking for: COMMUNICATION, DESIGN INTEGRITY, TIMELINESS and the ATTENTION TO DETAIL.

So what markets are we looking to expand into? Glad you asked! And we hope you can help us accomplish this.

MULTI FAMILY projects have been one of the markets that we have been working in for a considerable time. We have one active project currently on the design boards for the first phase of over 195 dwelling units. We also are waiting on several other apartment building projects that we have proposed renovations and upgrades to gain financial and corporate approvals. Two other apartments are seeking our concepts for upgrades to their clubhouse and other adminities including adding additional units. We would love to do more within this market including: MIXED USE, ASSISTED LIVING and CLUBHOUSES.

RESIDENTIAL is an odd market to focus on right now since our portfolio doesn't often highlight our past work in these areas. We are working on changing that. Additions to our staff now give us a stronger presence in this market and involvement in programs such as the PARADE OF HOMES and HOME A RAMA. Several of our past projects have won awards. HISTORIC RENOVATION has been an on going aspect of our work in Gloucester with preservation of an old home originally built in the late 1700s. 

MEDICAL field is an ever growing market and it continues to redefine itself. With limited design resources in Hampton Roads, IONIC hopes to make an impact within the MEDICAL OFFICE landscape and the smaller specialized private practices. We don't expect to be invited into the big hospitals just yet but certainly a possibility in the future. Individual portfolios within IONIC has a strong background in these fields. We are currently waiting approvals on a large development of individual medical office spaces.

EDUCATION has much promise with so many school districts looking to upgrade older buildings or expand due to their population growth. IONIC doesn't look to be a contender with some of the firms that focus on exclusively. However we feel we have much to offer when it comes to reuse and revitizing out dated buildings for HIGHER EDUCATION. We are currently at 75% construction documents on a small private Christian school on the eastern shore. We have a fond desire to direct our attentions to LIBRARY developments as well.

As always we are still working hard on the corporate resumes, retail centers, religious and hospitality projects that we can assist developers, contractors and real estate agents in all the new and renovated development work that may need. Please give us a call to talk or take a stroll through our website. We would love the opportunity to sit down and talk with you and share our ideas.

Seeking to make our relationship a foundation of development.

Ionic DeZign Studios, Inc

www.ionicdezigns.com

Work Emails On The Weekend

Some have the thought that you should never look at your email on your time off or over the weekends. It is your time and not work time. Personal down time is necessary. Yep, I have read these before and certainly respect peoples desire to their own time. Family time is family time and work time is work time......got it......except when you are the boss! At least for me as a boss.

I cannot help myself. I stay connected all the time. That is just what I do. I want to be responsive to my clients that reach out to us. I want to be aware of any issues the others in the office are having. I just want to feel the pulse of the work all time......for fear that it might slow or even stop......Economic Cardiac Arrest!

For me it gives me peace of mind. I can see where others may certainly need that downtime. If there is a problem, then I would to know what I need to do first thing Monday morning to fix it. Or even better, I love getting an email that says I have just been awarded another project......that makes my day no matter how small the projects are.

Just like this weekend. My Wendy's client emailed me Sunday morning. TWICE! The first email told me that another location had been approved for renovation and to submit my paperwork. Great news! And then the second email.......another had been approved as well......even better news!

Some may certainly not give much credit to those small projects but we feel we have been blessed this year by all the work. All those small projects have certainly added up. They have given us the opportunity to add more wonderful staff to the family. They have allowed us to expand and renovate the office. They have given us some comfort and security that we will continue to be busy.  Sure it may not be museums or schools or other high profile buildings that architects dream of. But right now they are a dream come true.

My goal as the principal of the firm is to never have to go back to that dreadful time a few years ago where everything fell apart and we struggled so much. Never. Never. So, if that means I keep answering the emails over my weekends or evenings.....then so be it. I will do it whether times are good or bad. I owe that to my staff to make sure we all have work.

So my friends.....test me and send me a new project over the weekend......I will be sure to answer you right away. Cause that's what I do.

Success and happiness are not a place but a direction.......and I am on that highway.

IONIC DEZIGN STUDIOS

D. Eugene Thompson, AIA

www.ionicdezigns.com

IONIC Seeking Assistant Project Manager

Position: Assistant Project Manager

Type: Full-Time

Required Level of Education: High School Diploma

Required Level of Experience: Two to Five years administrative support in the A/E/C industry

The Assistant Project Manager is responsible for administering all project related aspects of the firm as well as general office and secretarial duties. Attributes required for this position are: a professional customer service attitude, ability to work in a fast paced environment, multi-function oriented, ability to prioritize, high attention to detail, exceptional written and oral skills, and strong time management skills. The individual must be able to communicate effectively with the team and clients.  Adaptable and ability to work within tight deadlines is a must. 

Responsibilities include the following:

o    Assist production staff on all aspects of a project including, but not limited to: 

§  Prepares miscellaneous spreadsheets, charts and graphs as needed for project assistance.

§  Construction Administration

§  Obtaining permits for projects

§  Maintaining project files electronically and paper

§  Edit Specifications

§  Produces letters, memos and correspondence on agreements, reports, studies, proposals, specifications, contracts, forms and all other business typing as requested by personnel. 

o    General office duties including, but not limited to:

§  Answers phones, greet visitors, typing/data entry, and filing

§  Assist in arranging meetings, travel, conferences and seminars

§  Handling incoming/outgoing mail

§  Scanning/copying as requested by team

§  Maintain company standard forms

§  Other office administration duties, as requested

Strong knowledge in the following software:

        Microsoft Word

        Microsoft Excel

        Microsoft Outlook

Please email resumes to: caebel@ionicdezigns.com

*This job description provided is general in nature. Duties and responsibilities may vary based on firm need, under the direction of our Managing Principal.

IONIC Expansion

I have mentioned briefly that we recently took on the task of expanding and renovating our office. We have truly been blessed with wonderful clients and projects. Such that we needed to bring on more wonderful designers and staff to keep up with all that wonderfulness. Oh yeah, we ran out of room in our little studio.

So first was the plan to renovate the front reception and conference area. Then before we got started we added more to our family. Then realized no more space. So then it was expand AND renovate. A daunting task that we often torture our own clients to live through.....now we get to subject ourselves to the same treatment.

Let me just say that being your own architect for your own office isn't necessarily a benefit at all. It is an ever-changing design as new ideas come to mind mid-construction. Details on the fly. Electricians, framers, mechanical......all surrounding us with hammers and drills and everything else that makes noise......while you are on the conference call. Oh yeah, had to move the phones last week too. That was fun!

No pictures until we are complete, hoping to finish everything before the holidays. Friday we moved desks into the new "expansion" area......let me clarify.....crammed them back into the new space. We needed to make room for demo of the old production area. We also piled all the catalogs, samples and other literature into the same space as we needed to make room for the new conference room.

All I can say is that the staff are awesome to juggle through the chaos and destruction. So if you call and you hear a few construction sounds in the background.....we apologize.....but it will be WONDERFUL very soon.

Thanks again for pardoning our mess,

Eugene Thompson

Ionic DeZign Studios

www.ionicdezigns.com

Truly...."creating places and spaces that enrich the lives of those who use them."

7 Things Leonardo da Vinci Can Teach You About Creativity

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that since his death, the world has never really had another Leonardo da Vinci. While his name might conjure up images of famous works of art such as the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper or Vitruvian Man, he was much more than an artist. In fact, he was an architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, expert in anatomy, geologist, map-maker, and botanist. In short, he was a genius.

Genius and creativity are closely linked. How does one make connections that have never been made before? Doing so is the essence of originality.

Michael Gelb--someone who makes his living teaching companies how to innovate--has written 13 books on creativity and innovation. His most famous, "How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day," has sold more than a half million copies and has been translated into 25 languages.

Gelb says the fodder for his book came from studying Leonardo's notebooks. In addition to all his other talents Leonardo wrote copiously and put to paper 13,000 pages of notes and drawings, much of it in mirror-image cursive.

Here's what Gelb learned from the Italian master about what you need to be most creative.

Curiosity

By nature children are curious, but as we grow up much of our inquisitiveness ebbs.

"Almost all children in their natural state ask lots of questions. That's how they learn so much in the first five years of life. But then we send them to school where they learn that answers are more important than questions," Gelb says.

Geniuses like da Vinci, however, maintain a passionate curiosity throughout life.

"When you work with an organization you can often tell, especially when you come in from the outside as I do as a consultant, whether the spirit of curiosity is really alive, whether people actually have a questing open mind or whether they're a bunch of stuffy know-it-alls."

Independent Thinking

Diversity is critical for creativity and innovation, which is why it's important to seek out points of view different from your own.

"The problem is the more senior someone becomes the more likely they're going to believe their own publicity and surround themselves with people who always agree with them. So the more senior you become, the more concerted effort you must make to seek out different opinions. Then you have a chance to think independently," Gelb says.

Sharpen Your Senses

In business this translates into listening well and being observant, simple advice that's difficult to heed in an increasingly distracted world.

"The Italians have la dolce vita, the sweet soulful life. The French have joie de vivre, the joy of living and in the States all we have is happy hour," Gelb says.

He's really talking about mindfulness, paying close attention to what's happening right now. Not only can it help you be more creative, it's the key to enjoying life, he says.

Gelb helps business people get better in tune with their senses by training them to appreciate beauty. He does this by having them listen to music, appreciate art, thoughtfully taste wine or chocolate, as well as write poetry.

Embrace Uncertainty

The ability to project confidence in the face of the unknown is a critical leadership principle because if it's going to be new it means you don't know it. You need to get comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity in order for a creative idea to emerge. It's not easy to do since you've likely been trained to believe that if you don't know the answer there's something wrong with you, Gelb says.

"But the essence of creativity is to be surprised, to come up with something you really didn't know. That's the nova in innovation. It's the newness. And if you keep doing the same old thing you won't do the new thing. But when you suspend the old thing the new thing doesn't always automatically emerge," Gelb says. "So there's a big gap and the more you're able to embrace that gap of knowing and uncertainty the greater the likelihood that you'll be really creative."

Balance Logic and Imagination

You used to be able to get by with saying you're a right-brain (creative, imaginative, intuitive) or left-brain (logical, analytical, and linear) thinker. Today you have to be both.

To show people how to use both hemispheres of their brain in harmony Gelb teaches themmind mapping, a way of organizing ideas that integrates logic and imagination and helps people generate more ideas in less time.

To do it, you start by drawing something that represents the topic you're thinking about. From there you use free association to branch words and more pictures from the center image. For example, a doodle of an onion might make you think of vegetables, so you draw a carrot, which makes you draw a rabbit, which leads to you sketch a cat, since it's another small furry animal.

What if you can't draw? Gelb says "fake it 'til you make it" and overcome your adult judgment of your drawing ability.

"You start to access that more childlike quality where you just drew without worrying about it. What's happening when you do that is you're waking up parts of your brain that have been dormant since you were in nursery school. And those are exactly the parts of your brain that are going to help you be more creative," he says.

Balance Body and Mind

You might not know that Leonardo was an exceptional athlete, widely known as the strongest man in Florence and an accomplished athlete, fencer, and horseman.

"We think of creativity as an intellectual exercise but it requires tremendous energy. Learning to cultivate your life force, your life energy is a very important part of this," Gelb says.

For businesses it means healthier organizations are better equipped to innovate.

Make New Connections

Logical and linear-thinking types--engineers, analysts, and scientists, for example--can have a hard time looking for patterns and new connections, but doing so is the key to creativity.

Again, Gelb likes to use mind mapping, although it take a while to train these kinds of folks since they're used to doing things in a formal order.

"At first it feels very messy... thinking through association and letting the mind go free and generating lots of key words and other images in different directions," he says.

Other Tips

Not convinced you can start banging out killer ideas? While creativity may come easier to some people, everyone has the potential to be creative.

A couple of things to keep in mind, though.

It's not uncreative to get ideas from other people, in fact that's where most come from.

"It's a myth to think that you have to spontaneously create something that's entirely original and no one ever thought of it before. That very rarely, if ever, happens. Almost all ideas are inspired by somebody else's idea," Gelb says. "One of the big principles of creativity is you don't have to reinvent the wheel you just give it a new spin. So if you can give a new spin to somebody else's idea you've done something creative."

Also, some people who have a hard time with creativity censor themselves too early in the idea generation process. Your goal should be lots of ideas, so don't shoot them down before they make it on a list. Generating a high volume of ideas stimulates the associative process of your mind and even if you don't get a breakthrough right away, it will likely come when you're not expecting it, like at 4 a.m. or when you're driving or in the shower. And when it does, write it down, Gelb says. Leonardo certainly did.

ART itectural Lighting

I really love my job. Everyday there are more and more things that I get to do that I would never had imagined. Along my pathway of studies, I have been fortunate to study about lighting. Lighting can truly make a project so much more. Interior spaces can change moods by providing the right types of illumination. It isn't so much the fixture selective but how to develop the concept of the "way" you light up the space or activity. 

The exterior of a building is equally important. There are all sorts of ways and theories regarding the philosophy of lighting. Do you light up the entire building? Do you focus on just an accent point like the top or entry? Do you light up from inside? The process can be different for every type of architecture. I have seen some very nice successful examples around Hampton Roads......and I have also seen some extreme failures. Those that thought, "I will just stick this fixture on the wall and it will take care of itself." It doesn't happen that way. Not even close!

I really feel blessed with having been afforded the opportunity to develop these skills over the years. A little help and encouragement from my friends at First Light and a few travels to various Light Fairs have expanded my knowledge of the RIGHT fixtures to use for a job. 90% of the time you want to see the light itself and its effects.....not necessarily see the fixture.

In so many of our projects we can study the lighting effects in our computers models. This gives us a chance to play and perfect our ideas a little beforehand. Much different than in the old days. However on critical issues we still need to do the mock up samples so we can see the effects. Just like last night. 

The thing with mock ups are they all need to take place at night. We couldn't start work until after 8PM but for this task it was super important. The study was illuminating sculptures at a private residence. I have admired these pieces for years but to look at them with a renewed appreciation was to look at them at night with just the right lighting and at the right angle. You could see the art work in a whole new light...PUN INTENDED!

Again, I love my work......oh yeah, it's not work when you have so much fun!

Have an ILLUMINATING Day my friends. If you need help on lighting up your projects, be sure to call us.

Ionic DeZign Studios

www.ionicdezigns.com

D. Eugene Thompson

"Where art and architecture come together."

IONIC: Manage Your Day 8.19.13

I don't wanna! Sounds like something kids would say to doing chores. However I think we often say it ourselves for the tasks that we are not interested in. We simply say we are not in the mood. Well, it's Monday and I'm not in the mood to go to work, not in the mood to go to a marketing event last week, not in the mood to stay up late with a client to go over details......but my mood doesn't always matter.

Honestly, my moods do matter. The key is to get my mind in the proper way of thinking. What will it take to do that? Well that depends on your brain. It probably isn't much different than trying to motivate yourself to get out of bed each morning to exercise. Some of it is rewards, some of it is habit but the majority of it believe is inspiration. 

We often speak to others and encourage them to accomplish their goals, but do we talk to ourselves to inspire what lies inside us? We should. We should seek the triggers inside us that will motivate, encourage and if need be...rejuvenate us each morning.

So my friends.....get in the mood and go be successful today. I wanna hear about it!

Ionic DeZign Studios

www.ionicdezigns.com

D. Eugene Thompson

"Creating spaces and places that enrich the lives of those who use them."