You Get What You Pay For
It’s been officially six months since the pandemic has been in full swing in the United States, and I’d be lying if I said I’ve not been holding onto EVERY little and big win our team has achieved. So allow me to humble brag that we have recently received an award for our building – yes I’m talking about RED VELVET’s forever home at 7121 N Lamar in Austin, TX. The prestigious Texas Society of Architect 2020 Design Award for Best Design and AIA Austin 2020 Design Award of Excellence was awarded to our headquarters. For those who live in Texas, you can buy the September/October 2020 issue at Central Market or Whole Foods, and we are featured on page 88.
This got me thinking about the design-build process for new buildings/remodels and how there are so many parallels to what we do professionally for our clients in the live events and digital experiences space. Sure, if I was looking to save a quick buck, I could have used my vast network and project management skills to manage our own building project, but I had to apply the age-old question: “what is my time worth and what is the value of using a professional that is in this space intentionally 24/7?”
For those who are chart lovers, let me do a quick comparison to better explain the similarities and what the long-term benefit was to our team. And I should mention that this is all based on the assumption that YOU (the buyer) have a trusting and open-communication relationship with your designer (i.e., architect, event agency, etc.), as this is key to any productive and successful working relationship:
Design-Build (Architecture)Design-Build (Event Agency)Long-Term Benefit to Using a ProfessionalReceiving multiple bids from finish out suppliers (i.e., painters, tile installers, custom fabrication, etc.)Receiving multiple bids from event partners (i.e., caterers, entertainment, custom fabrication, etc.)Since this is the world the designers live in, they intimately know the suppliers’ reputation, quality of work, communication style and they can objectively assess if this is going to be a good fit for both your budget & work style - this is GOING TO SAVE YOU a ton of time and headaches. And the supplier has many more reasons to make the architect/agency happy since they most likely work with them multiple times a year vs. your one-time project.Sharing past mistakes (i.e., permit hiccups, foundation issues that only get discovered over time, etc,)Using best practices and learning lessons from actual past events.You both win because you don’t have to do multiple projects to figure out that environment temperature can actually affect your foundation pouring OR that you can’t rush order an oversized banner from certain printers if they don’t own the right equipment since modern printers can only operate so fast and have a specific width.Bringing you fresh ideas - NOT just another pinterest board.Bringing you fresh ideas - NOT just another pinterest board.Another win-win because though I consider myself a savvy designer for event spaces, and I recognize thoughtful architect designs when I see it within buildings, I do NOT consider myself an architect designer. By working with Scott Magic (our architect for 7121), we were getting the best of both worlds - someone who lives in this space and truly wants to push the envelope knowing what our style, budget and end goal was for the building. And we do the same for our clients when it comes to live, hybrid and digital experiences.
So next time you are tasked with producing a live, hybrid or digital experience, ask yourself what do you have to sacrifice if you try to do it all yourself? Do you have the in-house team to support all these areas to make it the best possible event? I can say with 200% confidence that by working with Magic Architecture, we were able to reap ROI from our investment in working with a professional, and we now have a notable award to back it up as well and an office space that is inspiring to our team and impressive to our clients.
Drop us a line if we can help you achieve new goals with your engagements especially in this new environment where it’s a lot more challenging to create powerful digital experiences that keep people’s attention. We’ve been here for 18 years, and we plan to continue to be for our clients and partners as we power through this pandemic. Stay safe friends!
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