by Mary | Aug 17, 2015 | Design News, Interior Design, Project Management
GVSU Marketplace Designers and Owners
r.o.i. Design knows that the customers experience of the design-build process will predict whether or not they will love their new space. It is so much more than having the perfect design or the “expert consultant” on the job.
When there is a great design-build team the outcome has a much greater chance of meeting and exceeding customer expectation of the finished product. There aren’t layers of concern and stress laid on top of the customer-team relationship, making the customer suspect and wary if they are going to get what was promised them or not.
A great design team also means efficiency which saves everyone budget dollars.
- When there is trust between team members it accelerates the customer’s confidence in all recommendations where ever they come from.
- When simple oversights are managed before they become a crisis or trigger change orders, customers are saved the awkward experience of finger pointing between team members.
- Real time communication is ongoing and a shared responsibility between owners, designers and contractors that is supported by protocol documentation verses solely relying on “the system”.
- Trust creates an attitude of flexibility in the process which allows great ideas and solutions to surface anytime in the process. When a design criteria is well understood and all parties buy in, it is only ego that keeps good ideas from being executed.
r.o.i. Design strives to be part of great design-build teams. For us that has happened when:
- Jobs we share could have started with any one of the groups, whether it is the contractor’s customer, the architect’s customer or our customer, we communicate to the customer early in the process who the team is and how we would like to work with them.
- Roles on a job are defined and respected, even when the customer challenges the structure, we represent the team.
- Building and maintaining relationships is everyone’s priority.
This week a manufacturing customer, remodeling a floor in their facility to create an innovation center commented to r.o.i. Design, “So you guys actually get along with this construction company. Our last remodeling project was a nightmare – the designer, architect and contractor kept blaming each other. They won’t ever be back.”
by Ryan | Aug 5, 2015 | Design News
Getting Stuff at the Best Price and On Time.
Hotels, senior care facilities and multi-family developments all need “stuff”, but not all the time. Do properties have on-staff administrators that that can handle the periodic upgrade or remodeling purchasing, or do they look to outside sources to help them temporarily? It depends on how they want to spend their money.
- Inside administrators know the property and its processes and procedures, but they may not have a database of competitive suppliers at their fingertips to make sure they are getting competitive pricing. Those talented day to day staff administrators may not have experience in logistics and project management which may result on costly learning curves. The most common mistakes properties make in procurement include:
- Incomplete design when procurement starts
- Unconfirmed product budgeting
- Incomplete or unrealistic planning of receipt, staging and delivery.
- Outside procurement professionals know the industry and while they don’t have experience with all the particulars of a property at start, should be fast learners. They can set up the team based on the particular project needs and include a member of the current property team so site considerations are prioritized. Procurement companies have a network of companies and manufacturers to draw from to get competitive pricing. Typically they have warehousing and trucking capabilities. Some of them have designers, artists, installers and a variety of other skills that can be purchased a la carte. When hiring outside procurement professionals may not be the best solution for a property:
- Unmanaged expectation of cost of services and weak contractual agreements. (Procurement services are 5% to 7% of a total budget based on the variety of SKU’s. Storage, delivery and installation is additional to procurement.)
- Unqualified design selections. (Design and selections have to be made and approved prior to procurement)
- Tension on teams where on site contractors and owners aren’t able to share information in real time to procurement professionals due to lack of trust or financial changes that challenge the job.
So what is the best solution for a property? Exploring the options and getting information specific to a project is the only way to know how best to proceed.
- If there is a $1M procurement project for a property that has 200 beds, and a fully completed and approved design, it is likely that a currently employed administrator will spend 18 months focused, partially or entirely, on the one time procurement project. Their efficiency will be compromised and their stress increased. And it is likely that other staff will be asked to participate because of it, which means you have more dedicated staff salaries diverted from their key job of keeping customers happy and the property running. In addition to salary costs, you still have the cost of storage and material handling, which means hiring a moving company. (Hopefully they have experience in staging at this scale.) Most properties never totally realize their costs when they manage projects internally.
- If there is a $1M procurement project for a property that has 200 beds , less than 300 SKUs and your designers has given you written specifications on all products including finishes, you will pay around $50,000 for outside procurement services, and you will have at least one staff administrator dedicating 20% of their time to the project. There is still the receiving, storage and delivery costs. But costs are known and there is a greater opportunity for accountability to budget.
Download our FFE & Product Fulfillment brochure.
r.o.i. Design is a design and procurement company. We welcome your call when we can learn about what you need and if we can help you make your project purchases stay in budget and show up on time.
by Ryan | Aug 5, 2015 | Design News
We take budget, brand and beauty seriously.
We cut our teeth on hospitality and food service design in the 1980’s. We cultivated our palette on resorts, country clubs and senior care facilities through the 1990’s.
Today we delight in working with owners who want their spaces to be more than pretty. Whether it is an office, a hotel, a senior care facility, a retail store, a public or shared space, customers know that we take their budget and their brand into consideration and deliver a great looking design.
But they also may want to impact the well being, behavior and productivity of the people working, shopping or visiting the space. That could be the real “ROI” for them.
Our small team has worked together for more than 20 years and together we have completed over 500 projects, procured more than $20M in product, and managed an assortment of teams that included architects, contractors, sub-contractors, owners, investors, developers and users.
r.o.i. Design provides a return on your design investment and creates lasting customer experiences.
We are a creative team who leads the process of collaborative planning and design.
Our methods and problem solving skills produce outcomes that are based on budget, brand and beauty.
by Ryan | Aug 5, 2015 | Design News
What’s on the wall matters, and it better represent your brand!
Talcott Franklin Law Firm
Recently on a road trip with my family, we stopped at a pancake house and I was delighted to see images on the wall of children with their faces covered in whipped cream, fruit bits and syrup and laughing. The photos were artistically shot and artfully mounted. They replaced the tired landscapes that typically decorate the walls of these establishments. Most of them were close-ups of just the face, but it wasn’t hard to imagine the rest of the child, drowning in happiness.
Spin Dance, Holland, MI
Why spend money on wall art that doesn’t promote your brand when it is so easy and cost effective to do so? The team at r.o.i. Design has been in the business of custom wall art programs since 1995. But it is easier than ever with the help of print technology advancements. The current infatuation of infographics, illustration and graphic design can be linked to tech savvy generation who loves type fonts, Instagram and Pinterest. It seems pretty natural for wall art today to mimic those interests and educate the viewer on the values and brand of the property.
r.o.i. Design has used the following techniques to add interest to walls:
- Stripes and blocks as décor: Sometimes paint, sometimes vinyl, sometimes acoustical panels.
- Logos as art: Oversized, repeated, or just all by itself.
- Fonts and Words as banners, wallcovering or murals: Word clouds, message murals.
- Symbols and brand color as part of details: Custom tiles, custom art.
- Regional photos and historic landmarks: Custom art, wallcovering.
Here are more pictures of ways we added interest to walls:
Branns Muskegon
GVSU Marketplace
Fifth Third Sky Box
Jordan C. Hoyer Law Firm
GVSU Marketplace
GVSU Marketplace
r.o.i. Design Studio
St. George Tower
Stuyvesant Apartments
by Ryan | Aug 4, 2015 | Design News
Cycle
We have been to the 2015 trade shows, our sales representatives have come in to show us their new items, and there is a lot of great introductions. Here are just a few items to tempt you.
The perfectly diffused direct/indirect illumination of Cycle creates a luminous halo that fills large spaces with presence and simplicity. Seamlessly finished with rolled concentric aluminum extrusions it features high performance discreet LEDs. Eureka Lighting
Fashion Stacked Wood
Bring in the warmth of wood combined with modern good looks and environmental sensitivity with Fashion Stacked Wood solid hardwood panels. These pre-finished panels will give attention-grabbing textural interest. Fashion Architectural Products
Colorfield by Hella Jongerius – Image Copyright Maharam
Colorfield by Hella Jongerius combines multiple weave structures in a highly tactile surface. Various textures alternate in blocks: a two-toned grid dissolves into a patch of diagonal twill that then transitions to an expanse of solid basket weave. Stacked bands of color are counterposed, with broad columns of neutral texture offsetting their various rhythms. 100% wool. Maharam
Swagr Lounge
Swagr brings levity to any space and situation. Inspired by the tendency of people to retreat to more casual sitting areas for everyday tasks, Swagr offers a happy medium between office chairs and more informal seats like ottomans or bean bag chairs. The result is a whimsical family of seating made to fit everywhere from group spaces and lounge areas to private offices, conference rooms, classrooms, and more. EKO Contract
Wheels
Wheels is entirely mobile and designed to support an idea lab, where the spontaneous exchange of ideas fosters creativity. Equipped with large casters and built with light wire structures for movement in an instant the design is minimal, deceptively raw, with only essential elements included. Keilhauer
by Ryan | Jul 27, 2015 | Design News
r.o.i. Design continues its commitment to product knowledge excellence for their hospitality, multi-family and senior care customers.
We attended the BITAC Purchasing & Design EAST conference this July at Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN and made contacts that will create value for our customers as well as expand our customer base.
The Buyer Interactive Trade Alliance & Conference brings buyers and suppliers together to learn more about each other’s needs and offerings in an environment conducive to building long-lasting and strong relationships in a short amount of time. Attendees meet face-to-face with industry professionals of their choosing for an exchange of information and ideas in a highly productive two days. Stimulating educational forums and exciting activities are planned to enlighten and get people communicating on a more personable level.
While there were over 125 vendor attendees, we were able to sit down with maybe 50 of them who represented more than 20 companies. We were happy to see some of current vendors there, Mity-Lite (banquet and restaurant furniture), Wolf Gordon (fabrics and wall covering), Klem (casegoods), Kimball Hospitality (casegoods and upholstery). But we were also pleased to meet key people from other companies.
We would like to highlight just a few:
(more…)
