Job Shadow: JAS Design

Being a student and learning skills in the classroom setting is essential before entering the design field. Applying those skills into an actual job setting is a skill I learned one must develop while job shadowing at JAS Design in Seattle, WA. This company ran by married couple; Joe and Kim, focuses mainly on residential design; including remodels, custom cabinetry, small additions, and single rooms all the way to full home renovations. This year celebrates their 20^th anniversary of business, and fortunately I was able to view previous projects, projects in the works, and visited an actual home that was being worked on. A highlight of the day was job shadowing a Washington State University graduate. It was rewarding getting to work with someone who was once in my shoes, and today is successfully following her dream.

                Arriving on site, I was quite nervous as to what tasks I would be introduced to through the day. With a warm welcome by interior designer, Kaitlin, she quickly gave us a tour of the office building and then into the conference room where introduced the company and some tasks that she was in charge of. Having one on one discussion with Kaitlin, I was able to ask her questions about the design profession, getting a foot in the door, and her role in the company. Kaitlin described when she first joined this company, she was very overwhelmed with her tasks of projects, but soon got the hang of her duties as time progressed, and of course with the help of her co- workers. Some of her tasks include working in a design team including herself as the interior designer, a project manager, architect, and work crew.  As the interior designer, she puts together a spec binder full of all the requirements of the project that need to be approved (plumbing, electrical, dates), all the lighting fixtures, materials, and plans of the project. Having everything together, she meets with Kim (owner) and reviews all the elements she has put together. In a meeting, they review all the choices and will gather all things needed to present to the client. After a meeting with the client, they get the okay to continue on the project with the spec binder.

Notes I took while sitting in on details discussed between Kim and Kaitlin.

Continuing on the day, I asked Kaitlin what would be some advice she could give me as a student entering the design field. She responded that networking, making good connections with people, and try to gain some internship experience. Easier said than done. Even living in Pullman and Spokane, she said there may not be a lot of design firms to intern, but go to as many events as possible, help out any way possible, and just be involved in the design community as possible.  Also, she suggests working on having a portfolio that demonstrates your skills you have, as that is what many employers will see first. And apply everywhere. I am now informed that there are many directions I can take with this field. Some of her former classmates range in jobs from military, hospitality, corporate and residential.

Another important part of being an interior designer I realized is having the ability to work well with others. Team collaboration is crucial because there are so many elements and specialties that go into one project and everyone needs to be able to communicate and relay their ideas effectively to continue the project. Luckily we job shadowed on the third Friday of the month because at JAS Design, Kim makes a home cooked lunch for everyone. It was neat to see everyone in the company to be able to relax and enjoy each others company. I could feel warmth within their company, and that is a main reason they all work so well together, and why their company is truly amazing.

Not only is communication key within your design team, but communication with the client is essential as well. An interesting technique I found this company used is the way their designs are inspired. An effective tool they use is to find a picture to gain inspiration off of. The inspiration picture is not always a “picture” of a room or piece of furniture, but rather an abstract picture, where the client can gain the idea of a color scheme or pull out an idea as a whole rather than focusing on one piece of a picture. This tactic gives clients more than one direction to go with their project. Kim also explains that with time and experience, an interior designer can start to get a sense of a person’s style just by talking with them.

Sketch of a bathroom and bedroom under construction in one of the companies current design projects.

Design is a process, and the overall message I will take away from this experience is to work effectively with others, network, and hard work will be worthwhile.

Ride, Don't Walk

 This blog post demonstrates an important issue regarding designing any building; wheelchair accessibility. Through a real life simulation of myself doing daily tasks in a wheelchair, I now have a new perspective of the importance of designing spaces to accommodate people in wheelchairs.
Here are some pictures, observations, and sketches of some of the tasks I completed.

Reaching for a magazine on the 3rd shelf.

Frontal view sitting in the wheelchair.

The only closed stall in the restroom was very difficult to enter. The stall was so close to the wall I had to maneuver my way in. Once I was in the stall, there was no way I was able to close the door, let alone turn around.

Washing my hands in a public bathroom. The sink height allowed me to roll under the sink ad gain access.

About to roll up the ramp, arms are very fatigued at this point.

Using the automatic door opener. All the buttons I had access to were easily reachable at arms length.

Sketch of me pressing the automatic door opener button.

A strenuous stretch to try and pick up my coffee order at the stand.

Brief sketch of myself ordering from the coffee stand, sketch shows comparison of the counter height to me in the wheelchair.

Looking straight on at the coffee stand. The top was a good foot and a half above my head.

After I completed this demonstration, I realize how easy it is to take granted the daily tasks in life, and for people in wheelchairs, these daily tasks are a challenge. As a designer, I believe everyone should have equal opportunity and access to all spaces. Universal design has evolved into a necessity in any design as the population in our society is very diverse. Designers need to evaluate the challenges that people with disabilities face everyday, and from there create a design that best accommodates those needs. Every single person in our society are equal, and the designed environment should be accessible by all, regardless of cost. With the technologies the world has come up with should make buildings easily usable by all.

Home Concept Development

Inspiration Song/Poem

Our House

Our house is a house we built together
We have laid every brick one by one
We have nailed every board one blow at a time
Our house is a house we built together

Every board is not perfect some are not straight
Some walls are built in the wrong place
We must carefully remove those boards
We must carefully remove those walls

We must rebuild them in the correct place
We must replace each board one by one
Until the holes are all closed
Until all the walls are in the right place
When we finish we can stand back and say
This is our house, a house we built together

Jamey Einrem

 

This house that built me

I know they say you can't go home again I just had to come back one last time Ma'am, I know you don't know me from Adam But these hand prints on the front steps are mine
Up those stairs in that little back bedroom Is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar And I bet you didn't know under that live oak My favorite dog is buried in the yard
I thought if I could touch this place or feel it This brokenness inside me might start healing Out here it's like I'm someone else I thought that maybe I could find myself
If I could just come in, I swear I'll leave Won't take nothing but a memory From the house that built me
Mama cut out pictures of houses for years From "Better Homes and Garden" magazine Plans were drawn and concrete poured And nail by nail and board by board Daddy gave life to mama's dream
I thought if I could touch this place or feel it This brokenness inside me might start healing Out here it's like I'm someone else I thought that maybe I could find myself
If I could just come in, I swear I'll leave Won't take nothing but a memory From the house that built me
You leave home, you move on And you do the best you can I got lost in this whole world And forgot who I am
I thought if I could touch this place or feel it This brokenness inside me might start healing Out here it's like I'm someone else I thought that maybe I could find myself
If I could walk around, I swear I'll leave Won't take nothing but a memory From the house that built me
Miranda Lambert

Home: Concept Web

 

 2D Concept/Parti sketches

 Study Model

Front View

 Final Concept Model

Side View

Right Side View

Left Side View

 Reflection

When thinking of a home, there are many interpretations of that meaning. To help me describe what a home means to me, I looked to the poem Our House by Jamey Einrem and the song The House that Built Me by Miranda Lambert. My concept is that a home is a place the you dream about and make come to life, shown by all the spirals and swirling paper. A home grows as the time goes on, as represented by the fence. As the model grows, the “fence” grows taller, stronger and fits together. A home may not be perfect, but it is a place you call your own.

I continued to grow on creating 2D concept sketches that grasp my concept. My drawings first started off being a little to literal as I drew bricks, houses, and objects. My goal was to display my idea of a home more abstractly. I was able to achieve this by piecing together a couple drawings together.

The materials I ended up using worked well for my design concept as I want to portray a fence that started small and individual pieces being distant from each other, to eventually tall and placed together. The stand represents a strong foundation a home is built on. And the color brown to me represents building materials.

At first glance, someone may not be able to see exactly how this model represents a home. Through my concept development and explanations, I believe I achieved my goal of creating a cohesive model of my idea of “Home.”

Case Study: Sustainable Design

Introducing new ways to build homes to accommodate the future is crucial in design. This case study briefly describes the use of sustainable building materials from a newly renovated home in Los Angeles, CA. This house efficiently restored over 75% of the existing structure and from there was able to incorporate the needs of their life, nature, and green quality.

Brushing up my skills on InDesign, along with the help of my three team members, we were able to come up with a layout that incorporated the elements on a case study report. Starting pretty basic, our design evolved into a more professional layout with the addition of colored text books, additional pictures, and a unity with all the posters with fonts and titles.

My strengths from this case study were leading my group in discussions, coming up with a direction for the posters, and keeping communication open. The weaknesses I came across was the fact I could have done a little more research on the types of sustainable design and how they could be related to anyone’s life. Overall, I think the concept of the poster comes across the audience.