Mile Long Trace Interior Architecture & Interior Design

We are all musing on how the built environment will transform in response to pandemics. Though we can not predict the future we, as designers, can start to toss ideas out there to see what will stick. Very much like the iterative process of design, the idea has to come from somewhere. Lets toss it out there, lets collaborate as an industry and start to see what will stick.

Curious about what other design professionals have published in response to pandemics. Read the full show notes to find out. Mile Long Trace

Do you have trends you are hearing and seeing in your networks. Please leave a comment in the show notes.

Engage with us on social at https://www.instagram.com/milelongtrace_podcast/. 

Overview 

In this episode Primo Orpilla with Studio O+A discusses:

• Design resiliency
• Designing for user experience 
• Change management strategies 
• How interior design touches lives
• Empowering designers to be design activists

“I want designers to feel empowered to make the request to push and create great environments because humanity is at stake.” - Primo Orpilla

Guest Summary 

Primo Orpilla is co-founder with Verda Alexander at Studio O+A. Studio O + A is a interior design studio in San Francisco, best known for designing stylish offices for tech clients such as Cisco, Uber, Alibaba, Yelp, Capital One Labs, Nike, Levis, Adidas and McDonald's.

Some highlights from Primo’s career include: 

• Growing a firm along with his partner to 40 plus employees by becoming an icon in corporate office design.
• Studio O+A was awarded Interior top 50 honors as a firm that is doing eye catching, game changing work.  
• Fast Company named O+A in the top 10 firm as part of the “most innovative companies.” 
• Cooper Hewitt National Design Award Winner, inducted into Interior Design Magazine Hall of Fame, is Contract Magazine Designer of the Year and ASID Designer of Distinction Award winner. 
• Published Twelve True Tales of Workplace Design. 
•  Founded a product design line working for Kimball Office, IdeaPaint OFS, and Martin Brattrud to create a furniture line called the Canopy. 
• He is a FIIDA and has served on the national IIDA board promoting design education. 
• He is currently teaching in the Master Program at IE University in Madrid and has taught Senior Advance studios at University of Texas. 
•  He is dedicated to advancing commercial interior design through not only design excellence but giving back to universities and professional organizations. 

To read the full show notes and see work from Studio O+A.

Head on over to our Instagram feed to engage! Can’t wait to hear from you.
https://www.instagram.com/milelongtrace_podcast/

To receive the latest episodes and stay informed join our email list (we promise to be respectful of your time and personal information). https://www.milelongtrace.com/contact
 
Lastly don't forget to hit subscribe in your favorite podcast feed and leave a review. In order for Mile Long Trace to deliver you credible content that meets your practice, we need to grow this platform.
 
Keep Designing Ya'll!

In this episode Sarah is: 

• Forthcoming with her ability to be resilient and strategic to grow her practice. 
• Offers professional practice tips that helped advance her career.
• Provides tools she uses to be innovative during the schematic design phase.
• Describes how she creates a sense of engagement with her clients by weaving compelling stories throughout her design process. 

“It sounds like you weave compelling stories as a tool to get the client rooted into the process of a project." - Elizabeth

"Exactly. It's about them, and we want the space to be reflective of them and for them to feel fully engaged and proud of their space. From the initial planning down to the pillows, we have found it is a way to make decisions through a project. It is something the clients can participate in and give meaningful feedback on throughout the project.”
-Sarah Weber

Guest Summary:
Sarah is the Senior Interior Design and youngest to be appointed to Associate Principal at BORA Architects in Portland, Oregon.  

• Inspired strategic thinker that excels in ideation, execution and leadership.
• She enjoys telling compelling stories through the spaces she designs.
• She focuses on intuitive and human focused solutions to complex programs.
• As a design leader she strives to support an inquisitive design culture that empowers and encourages teams to bring the design story to life.
• She has received IIDA awards for Best in Category & Juror’s Choice for the Meier & Frank Redevelopment, IIDA Oregon Legacy Award Winner for her accomplishments and contributions to the commercial interior design profession, IIDA Best in Category, Archtizer A+Awards Jury Winner, and Cannes Lions Awards of Silver Lion for branded environment for Airbnb Customer Experience Hub.
• She has worked on projects that span across the world enriching the worksplace, hospitality, educational, performing arts and government agencies.  

To read the full shownotes with images of Sarah's work www.milelongtrace.com/episodes/08-weaving-compelling-stories-with-sarah-weber

Head on over to our Instagram feed to engage! Can’t wait to hear from you.
https://www.instagram.com/milelongtrace_podcast/

To receive the latest episodes and stay informed join our email list (we promise to be respectful of your time and personal information). https://www.milelongtrace.com/contact
 
Lastly don't forget to hit subscribe in your favorite podcast feed and leave a review. In order for Mile Long Trace to deliver you credible content that meets your practice we need to grow this platform.
 
Keep Designing Ya'll!

In this episode Julianne and I go into detail about NCIDQ exam eligibility, resources available, practice exams and study tips to set you on track. 

But before you listen to this episode make sure you listen to Part 1 where you will get a background on what Creative Confidante is, an overview of the NCIDQ exam and hear Julianne’s experience in preparing for taking the exam.  

Do you have any questions that have come up while listening to the episodes, feel free to reach out at [email protected]. I will make sure and connect you with Julianne to help you get your questions answered. At the end of the day, both of us want you to feel supported in your career and hope to encourage you to take the NCIDQ exam. Happy studying!  

Guest Summary 

Julianne is a licensed Interior Designer with experience in high-end hospitality, retail, residential and workplace clients. With a science & fine arts background, she has a unique love for the intersection of the arts, culture and design and is passionate about creating environments that enrich the guest experience. Julianne earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Interior Architecture from the Cleveland Institute of Art and moved to Southern California upon graduation to start her design career. Her work has been featured globally in Business of Home, Dezeen, Elle Decor, Vogue China, Architectural Digest Spain, Wired and more.

She achieved both her NCIDQ certification and LEED AP ID+C accreditation and is extremely passionate about advocating for the advancement of interior design professionals through certification. In 2016, she founded Creative Confidante, an online resource that provides NCIDQ study tips & tricks, to support and encourage designers to pass their NCIDQ exams.

To read the full show notes visit https://www.milelongtrace.com/episodes/07-ncidq-lowdown-part-2.

Head on over to our Instagram feed to engage! Can’t wait to hear from you.
https://www.instagram.com/milelongtrace_podcast/

To receive the latest episodes and stay informed join our email list (we promise to be respectful of your time and personal information). https://www.milelongtrace.com/contact
 
Lastly don't forget to hit subscribe in your favorite podcast feed and leave a review. In order for Mile Long Trace to deliver you credible content that meets your practice we need to grow this platform.
 
Keep Designing Ya'll!

In this two-part series we hear from Julianne Rodriguez with Creative Confidante. Julianne has a career in commercial interior design and is welcomed to the show for her work towards enhancing and encouraging interior designers to take the NCIDQ exam. In this episode we will discuss her background that lead to creating Creative Confidante.

Why should you take the exam? We have a million reasons but here are just a few….

Reason 1: You know this stuff! You have spent timeless hours perfecting your craft during school and in your post-graduation practice. Now its time to show off what you know. 

Reason 2: You might get a raise and who doesn’t like a little more cash.

Reason 3: It supports commercial interior design advocacy.

Reason 4: It will help you stand out among other job candidates.

Reason 5 : You get to put a bunch of cool letters behind your name. Seriously though it helps define interior design professionals. 

Guest Summary 

Julianne is a licensed Interior Designer with experience in high-end hospitality, retail, residential and workplace clients. With a science & fine arts background, she has a unique love for the intersection of the arts, culture and design and is passionate about creating environments that enrich the guest experience. Julianne earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Interior Architecture from the Cleveland Institute of Art and moved to Southern California upon graduation to start her design career. Her work has been featured globally in Business of Home, Dezeen, Elle Decor, Vogue China, Architectural Digest Spain, Wired and more.

She achieved both her NCIDQ certification and LEED AP ID+C Accreditation and is extremely passionate about advocating for the advancement of interior design professionals through certification. In 2016, she founded Creative Confidante, an online resource that provides NCIDQ study tips & tricks, to support and encourage designers to pass their NCIDQ exams. 

To read the full shownotes visit https://www.milelongtrace.com/episodes

Head on over to our Instagram feed to engage! Can’t wait to hear from you.
https://www.instagram.com/milelongtrace_podcast/

To receive the latest episodes and stay informed join our email list (we promise to be respectful of your time and personal information). https://www.milelongtrace.com/contact
 
Lastly don't forget to hit subscribe in your favorite podcast feed and leave a review. In order for Mile Long Trace to deliver you credible content that meets your practice we need to grow this platform.
 
Keep Designing Ya'll!

Industry Acronyms! In this light hearted episode we unpack the use of acronyms by exploring the: 

• Relevance and use of acronyms within the architectural community
• History and difference between acronyms and bacronyms
• Arch-i-slang acronyms challenge
• Our role as interior designers and how it relates to the use of acronyms 

To read the full show notes and see definitions from the Arch-i-slang challenge.
https://www.milelongtrace.com/episodes/05-arch-i-slang

Summary
I challenging you too:

• Be conscious about how and when you use acronyms. 
• Make sure to define the acronym if your using it in front of your clients or consultants. 
• Double check you are not using an acronym that might have another meaning. Especially if its one that is unprofessional and inappropriate. 
• Avoid falling into the pitfall of arch-i-slang when possible. Just cause others are doing it doesn’t mean you should. Right? 

For this week’s challenge please go to Mile Long Trace Instagram feed, respond to this podcast post and add a design acronym or two to the feed so we can build our professional interior design acronym list.  https://www.instagram.com/milelongtrace_podcast/

If you have any great war stories about using acronyms please email me at [email protected]. 

Lastly don't forget to hit subscribe in your favorite podcast feed and leave a review. In order for Mile Long Trace to deliver you credible content that meets your practice we need to grow this platform.

And above all don’t let acronyms pull you down, keep on designing ya'll. 

Ellen Cusick is joining us today. She is the principle of EMC Interior Design LLC

• Designs and project manages hospitality, retail & residential interior projects from programming through construction observation. 
• She is most notably known for being the kick ass woman that can effectively navigate the permit and building code department. 
• She has her NCIDQ certificate, she has served on the ASID board, written exam questions for CIDQ, and advocated for interior design legislation. 
• Ellen has been practicing interior design for 20 years. 

In this episode we will look at:

• The attraction to becoming an interior designer
• The ups and downs from graduation through 20 years of practice 
• One's dream market sector
• Lessons learned from years of practice
• What activities you can do to shape your career

You will come away with insight into one designers path she took. Along the way you will hear about the jankety and scrappy side of her interior design practice. 

If you were to describe your design process as a cocktail, which one would it be and why?

“It's an old fashioned. It's kind of an architectural cocktail because you've got to have just the right amount of whiskey, just the right amount of sugar and just the right amount of bitters. Take these really simple, strong flavors and then mix them together to create this really complex flavor. Umm, it's a flavor bomb. A good interior is like a bomb of experience.” - Ellen Cusick

To read the full show notes and see some of Ellen's work
https://www.milelongtrace.com/episodes/04-qa-emerged-ellen-cusick

Head on over to our Instagram feed to engage! Can’t wait to hear from you.
https://www.instagram.com/milelongtrace_podcast/

To receive the latest episodes and stay informed join our email list (we promise to be respectful of your time and personal information). https://www.milelongtrace.com/contact

Lastly don't forget to hit subscribe in your favorite podcast feed and leave a review. In order for Mile Long Trace to deliver you credible content that meets your practice we need to grow this platform.

Keep Designing Ya'll!

In this episode we will look at:

o   How feedback loops play a role in office culture 

o   Importance of warming up with a new team

o   Forming a relationship with your team to balance task and process during deadlines

o   How emotional intelligence plays a role in group dynamics 

You will come away with thought provoking questions to prompt you to consider office dynamics and how you show up within design teams. At the end we will share simple yet effective exercises you can implement to support you as you work with teams. 

“To be a design professional requires us to rise up out of our self. To diplomatically work within a collaborative environment. To ethically advocate for the best project and make recommendations that sometimes do not want to be heard but you do it in a way that is receivable because you are emotionally aware of how your tone and body language can come off.” - Elizabeth

To read the full show notes and reference the exercises check out http://www.milelongtrace.com/episodes/03-navigating-office-culture

Wrap up: 

o   Take a personality quiz

o   Get to know how you show up in groups

o   Go slow to go fast by balancing task and process especially during deadlines

o   Form working relationships with your coworkers to understand how they like to operate and how your personality can complement them

o   Go on the balcony to listen more than speak. 

o   Consider the other side of the fence because it takes two to tango 

Head on over to our Instagram feed to engage! Can’t wait to hear from you. https://www.milelongtrace.com/contact

To receive the latest episodes and stay informed join our email list (we promise to be respectful of your time and personal information). https://www.milelongtrace.com/

Lastly don't forget to hit subscribe in your favorite podcast feed and leave a review. In order for Mile Long Trace to deliver you credible content that meets your practice we need to grow this platform.

Keep Designing Ya'll!

We quickly take a deep dive into the world of writing a design concept statement. The goal is to help you translate what you might have focused on in school and are now leaving to the wayside while you focus on design development, billable hours and project budgets. We will relish in the schematic design phase to emphasize the importance of having a design concept. Along the way we will share tips and tricks to help you strengthen your concept writing skills though the what, why and how process. Ever wonder how to develop a concept statement with a team? Check out the show!

To read the full show notes with an explanation of the exercise and resources visit https://www.milelongtrace.com/episodes/02-dna-of-a-project

In closing: 

·        Write concept statements and write them well

·        Write them in collaboration 

·        Advocate for rooting the concept statement into the design process

The references from this week’s episode can be found in the show notes. If you have any thoughts, insights, what has worked and not worked as part of your conceptual design process. We would love to hear from you by visiting https://www.milelongtrace.com/contact. We look forwarding to hearing from you and helping to elevate your commercial interior design practice.

To receive the latest episodes and stay informed join our email list (we promise to be respectful of your time and personal information). https://www.milelongtrace.com/

Follow us on social at https://www.instagram.com/milelongtrace_podcast/

Lastly don't forget to hit subscribe in your favorite podcast feed and leave a review. In order for Mile Long Trace to deliver you credible content that meets your practice we need to grow this platform. 

Keep on designing y’all. 

We kick off this podcast with an overview of why the podcast was named Mile Long Trace. Hint hint there is a metaphor in the name plus we unpack the term design practice and share a design process tip you won’t want to miss. 

Lastly, we begin to get to know each other. By exposing the show hosts background in commercial interior design. The raw side of it. The side no one tells you about in school. 

To read more check out http://www.milelongtrace.com/episodes/01-mile-long-trace-trailer

So what surprised you about the field? What was one thing you wish they had told you in school? Head on over to our website and leave a comment. Can’t wait to hear from you! https://www.milelongtrace.com/contact

To receive the latest episodes and stay informed join our email list (we promise to be respectful of your time and personal information). https://www.milelongtrace.com/

Follow us on social at https://www.instagram.com/milelongtrace_podcast/

Lastly don't forget to hit subscribe in your favorite podcast feed and leave a review. In order for Mile Long Trace to deliver you credible content that meets your practice we need to grow this community.