A very late night report,very late. Apparently there was lots of networking and I had a 1st person view of the entire event. Well a lot of the networking, anyway.
The APLD meeting went very well, the highlight was a designer from the SWestern part of the state-John DeVore. John packed so much good info, and material into his 20 minutes that I thought it was the best presentation of the day. If the CENTS people would get it together John would/should be on the program.
It’s great to hear a Designer/Installer talk with passion/desire/integrity, and enthusiasm for the work. Showing real World problems and solutions.
Great networking at dinner tonight. The best piece of advice out of the dinner conversation was the agreement on coming up with one solid solution for the client. When showing a landscape plan, or conceptuals, renderings etc. Give the client your best work, not your best guess.
Designers are paid to solve problems and come up with solutions-not options for the client to choose from.
This is great advice for you younger or beginner Designers out there.
- Listen to the client
- Follow your instincts
- Follow your convictions
- Trust your experience
- Bring solutions to the client-not options.
This is even more important as you advance your career and work your way into more complex, difficult challenges.
Higher end clients are not only paying for your expertise, and knowledge they are also paying for you to save them time. Time is the most precious commodity.
Enough, time for a few hours of shut eye, back at it tomorrow . . . er, later today.
The Whispering Crane Institute 