From March 2019, I've undertook a placement at KTM Design, an interior design and architecture company in Bournemouth. This blog will relate my discoveries at the office and help me reflect on my experience.
WEEK 1
Monday, 4th March 2019
First day at the office. The workspace is based in one of the front room of a house in Charminster, giving on to the street. It's small, but it's neat. Everyone's got their place at two opposing desks. It's easy to communicate work advancement one to another. It also feels more relaxed, and helped the first day stress to be forgotten. After I've arrived and met the staff, I was assigned tasks and from there on, always had something at hand.
My first assignment was to draw a detail for a light feature in a dental surgery. It took a lot of back and forth for everyone to settle on a solution, each new collegue coming in the office, proposing something else.
Second task, I was introduced to a bar project in Southampton to develop the conceptual ideas following the client's inspirational images, and first meeting. I found hard to get into a project you don't know, and be excepted to understand the plan and pictures of the place. It took me quite some time to just produce a moodboard, conveying the atmosphere they were going for.
Tuesday, 5th march 2019
The hardest has gone, second day in the office seems much more familiar already. First thing in the morning, finish the detail for the light feature, settle on a solution, draw it neatly on Autocad. Done.
Today was more relaxed, more time to understand the plan of the bar and the concept of the design. I then developped that concept, annotating plans with ideas, sketching perspectives...
The project is interesting, because it's my first time designing something based on a concept idea or style that I'm not a fan of. I manage to find cool features in something I would otherwise, have judge non aesthetic, and ignored.
Wednesday, 6th March 2019
Today, it's time to vary a bit and the company got enough different projects for that. I was introduced to a project for a school in Winton. The project was cut into different phases, the first one being the design of two classrooms. The client wanted themes rooms and opted for a beach room and a retro room. There again, not my style, but this is what the client wants !
Responding to the client's e-mail, some details had to be change. It is sometimes annoying to get the model/plan from one of your collegue, because they do their own stuff without realising someone else might follow up. Nothing is grouped in that SketchUp file, and it's sometimes worth starting from scratch. The clients opted for huts on the wall, which I'm redesigning, and rethinking the general layout.
The company then use the Sketchup Model to produce an animation. I definitly want to learn how to do one of those !
To change from the beach huts and seagles, I worked on a new project ! This project is a well-known theatre in London that has a ridiculously small staffroom, which really, should be expanded, but instead will be redesigned. I had a blank page, a list of objects to include from the client, it was perfect. There was an existing Sketchup file, which as always, was filled of ungrouped components. But this is what I enjoy the most, four walls, and a piece of tracing paper. A list of problems, finding the solutions.
Thursday, 7th March 2019
Today, I was back on the theatre project. Finalising a design matching flexiblity and functionality, so that the 70 people using that 12m² room could have just a bit more joy using the microwave at lunchtime. My dreams got, not crushed, but a tiny bit changed, when I was told to source everything, so I can draw it up to scale. I don't know any website to look for furniture. The company gave me a couple, but it showed how imagination must be limited by reality. It's harder than I thought to find what you're looking for, cheap, good material, good finish.
I always find more easy to communicate an idea with sketching. I think it is an important skill in architecture, and the client likes it. So that's what I did.
Friday, 8th March 2019
I've worked on so many different project in such a small period of time, it feels like I've been working there the whole year. And today is yet another project. I was told to have a look at a climbing center in Poole. They want their bar and reception to be redesigned with a theme similar to a local coffeeshop they like. I spend the morning researching this coffeeshop, their style, their ideas, concept, so I could get inspired for the climbing center. I do like the style, but I realised those "trendy" design are quite hard to innovate. It'll be easy to just end up with a copy of the coffeeshop.
Once I've grasped the idea, I went on to do a moodboard. I don't know why, I always struggle with them. Finding images that fit together, are good resolution and transfer the idea you're thinking. Not that easy.
In the afternoon we went to visit an arcade project and pick up some missing measurements for the windows. I like going on site, it gives the best insight you could want on a project.
Monday, 11th March 2019
New week, back on the theatre project. I developped the design, and learned to animate. It took 5 minutes and is such a useful skill ! The company has a layout for the concept ideas presentation to send to the client. On Indesign, I regrouped all drawing production (sketches, plan, sections...) to do the presentation. A moodboard was a missing key component, so that's what I've worked on.
I've also worked a bit more on Southampton bar, looking into wallpapers and doing a section on Autocad.
Tuesday, 12th March 2019
In the office, there's a degree of importance for each project's task. If yesterday was sending the client a presentation for the theatre staffroom first concept ideas, now we have to wait for a response. Burlington's arcades needed to go to the next stage by preparing a costing schedule. I had never worked on the project, although I've quickly visited the place. I was send 3D visual produced by other collegues to get a better grasp and tried to build a schedule on Excel. It consisted of taking each element, explaining how it's going to be constructed, the dimensions, and sourcing it with price.
The project also needed detailed drawing for the lattice work, which I started to put on plan to scale.
Wednesday, 13th March 2019
Today I continued the drawings for the lattice work at Burlington Arcades. Doing my first iso on Autocad, which is confusing, but actually really easy.
Then I went back to the Orange rooms, always trying to add new features and starting sourcing things. I ordered samples for textiles, upholstery and wallpapers. There is a huge amount of wallpapers out there, some of them very... original. Yet, I spend hours scrolling through them, not really clicking with anything... Tired from scrolling, I went a bit mad and now samples are probably going to be delivered everyday for the next 2 weeks.
Thursday, 14th March 2019
The client for Capital School of English replied to us with more queries. It's seems to be always the case, once the client's seen the conceptual ideas, himself comes up with new ideas to include. All of that might end up in a big messy room.
A big one was to find the actual tables that are going into the projects. The client send us what he wanted, so I drew them up to scale and placed them in Sketchup. Those table can easily retract and assemble in different shapes. A lot of projects require flexibility which I found quite interesting. Being able to adapt to the variant number of people occupying the space is current today.
One corner of the room was missing a feature, the client wanted storage in the shape of a beach hut, but we advised him that too many huts, is not the best. I tried for hours to find something else, until one of the collegue, back from a meeting, suggested an idea, that was adopted straight away.
Now that I knew how to animate, I had no excuse not to do it myself.
To end the day, we visited a site in construction at MDG. The project, situated in the industrial zone of Poole, design Motorise luxurious homes. They needed an expansion for their office and new workshop to present their caravan to their client. I always find interesting to see live the construction of a project and the smell of dust, the climbing of scaffolds took me back to my placement in masonery.
Friday, 15th March 2019
A bit different, I started the day by quickly straightening up the banner and flyers for the company marketing on Illustrator. The text was a bit all over the place because of bad transfer between computers.
Then I ordered even more wallpapers for the Orange Room. I found it so hard to have an interesting pattern that is sticking with the colour theme. The owner of the bar likes wacky features, so I had to go in the dark web of wallpapers
They also wanted a light feature outside similar to the one on the left, aswell as a 3D sign. I was given all freedom on this one, allowed to get as crazy as I wanted.
Week 3
Monday, 18th March
Today, the Old Vic Theatre replied, very happy with the concept ideas and adding ideas to the existing proposed plans. The Client wanted two fridges instead of one, and in such a small space, it wasn't such an easy task ! I really enjoy problem solving, although it takes so much time for simple tasks. I animated the new SketchUp plans and send.
I then continued to work with the Orange Rooms exterior, trying more and more bizarre ideas.
Oh, and I'm also starting to build up quite a collection of samples.
Tuesday, 19th March
This day was full on Orange Rooms design. I put everything done so far into a presentation and brainstorm more wacky ideas. One of them was taxidermy, which I looked into cool design and presented into a moodboard. I sketch a bit more now that we had an idea of the layout of the room.
Wednesday, 20th March
I got to admit that I'm getting out of ideas for Orange Rooms, especially when it's not my type of design, it's hard to put yourself in someone else's place. I had a look into selfie walls and how we could adapt it to the style of the room. Geometric shapes are a big trend at the moment, but how can we adapt to the design of this bar ?
I also started sourcing stools and table, putting together a moodboard with navy blue stool and gold and industrial tables.
Thursday 21st March
Today was full on marketing research. The company wants to start using e-mail plateform, blog, social media. So I spend the day trying to understand what MailChimp was, how to set it up, how writing a blog on the side of your business attracts more people to your website etc...
Week 4
Monday 25 March
First things of the week, me and the other intern, Seb, were given a bag of business cards. Those needed to be registered on an Excel file in order to be easily movable to an e-mail platform.We had the studious task of writing every name, e-mail, telephone number into the database. It sounds painful, but I made it a competition and it was done in no time !
Because I couldn't register new contacts all day, I worked on a banner for the MailChimp Welcome E-mail, following feedback from Nathan. The first e-mail has to be visual, and the first look of mine was just the company's logo so I designed a banner with the Company's main quote for commercial audience " Forward-thinking affordable furniture for hospitality"
Tuesday 26th March
Back on the database ! After finishing the business cards, we realised we needed more targeted user. Spatial Thinking sale chairs at an affordable price mainly for commercial use. So I researched local restaurants, bars and hotels and added them to the list. When it was to booring to continue, I was asked to help the project manager, Nathan, on a front elevation development for a dentist surgery in Poole.
It was a quick draw of the elevation on Autocad, addind the bay window, signage, frosting and details. But because the design wasn't set, it was all about looking at multiple options. The client for some reason, had seen a shop front with flower encased in, and so wanted the same. We quickly realised the aesthetic of a flowery design wasn't fitting but our arguments against it wasn't to unsettle the client, and the client is king !
Wednesday 27th March
I spend the morning designing more option for Dental on the Banks, giving as much possiblities to get the client's need right. Here are some of them :
Once that was done, I got back to the database, which had now over a hundred names on the list.
I spend the rest of the day researching marketing, and how to preschedule posts on Instagram with Hoots or Buffer.
Thursday 28th March
Today was out of the office ! Katie has been invited hold a panel at "The Ideal Home Show" in London and shoot a Sky TV Interview with the co-founder and footballer, Tyrone Mings.
See more on EP
Friday 29th March
Friday is usually the day we spend out of the office! Starting with a visit to MDG garage, where furniture for their offices came up to be stored while the site was in construction.
The chairs are stocked while checking all the furniture's condition. Two types of velvet chairs and meeting chairs arrived, unfortunetly not without deception.
After recording each damage items and taking pictures of them for exchange, we divided into groups to go out leafletting around East Cliffs and Old Christchurch hotels and restaurants. After walking for hours, only managing to chat to around 20 people, we went home exhausted
week 5
Monday 1st April
Week 5 is when you start to think you got use to the job, well that's what I thought on this monday, starting with the long time no see project, Rock Climbing Center. In order to prepare a meeting with the client of the project, we had to prepare a presentation with inspirational images, moodboards, layout, concept ideas...
I looked into more inspirations from Coast and developed multiple moodboards, one focusing on the possible display for organising their rock climbing gear.
We've those ideas in mind, I developped the layout on AutoCad.
Tuesday 2nd April - Thursday 4th April
Katie came with the opportunity to join her in teaching the Interior Design Course to the teenager between 12-15 years old at AUB Easter School. I've figured no one knows where the future will lead me, and I might as well take the experience.
Over the three days, the children had to design their city of cardboard, surrounding the theme of one of three fairy tales from childhood.
I was really impressed with what the students manage to do in such a short time and really enjoyed the whole experience, although on the thursday night, I was sure glad it was over !
On the right, Alice in Wonderland.
See EP for more
Friday 5th April
Back to the MDG (Motorhome Dealer Group) garage to recheck furniture. A couple more tables arrived and we needed more photos for the damaged products to be replaced.
The days sped by, unpacking furniture and going to a meeting with a furniture supplier. The woman in charge tried to sale a services and showed us different products, material, upholstery, etc...
Week 6
Monday 8th April
Check back to reality this morning, with Katie anouncing our afternoon meeting with the client from Rock Climbing Center Project, Freddy. Of course, the presentation wasn't finished at all from last week and was concretly erased from my memory.
I had the morning to complete and print all existing moodboards and layouts.
On site, Freddy made us visit the ground and first floor. This made me realise how big the space actually was compared to the plans. This meeting was all about getting the key informations in order to develop the design accordingly. Although there seemed to be some tensions between Freddy and his overlooking mother, we had to take every comments into account.
Tuesday 9th - friday 12th april
From yesterday's feedback, we had to change the layout accordingly. Once the basic layout was in, I started a job that was going to be the longuest visual I've ever done. I thought I was confident with SketchUp before, but as I started the model, I realise that as such a big scale, you had to group every detail for then manipulate the model easily. This I noticed, is especially useful if you going to render it and apply material. It is indeed much easier to apply specific texture to one chair out of 30, instead of doing every face of every chair !
This project lasted the whole week as I get more and more frustrated with the model. When SketchUp starts crashing to much I reckoned it was time to learn as much as I can on the internet.
End of the week was a little break away from SketchUp, going on site at the dental surgery in Poole.
