The Freelon Group

            It is always a unique opportunity to me when I get to experience a different side to design that I had previously not been aware of and visiting the Freelon Group was no deterrent to that precedent.  As designers, we tend to express ourselves through our creativity, our visual learning, but design is every bit as much about business and communication as it is art, and that is an aspect that I am beginning to understand through professional practice.  I gained a lot of knowledge about the Freelon Groups design process solely from how they presented what they were looking for from applicants.  There was a continual theme of, ‘simple is better’.  This became evident as soon as we entered their firm, with its sleek surfaces and rich materials without saturated graphics.  This philosophy is also reflected in the types of projects this firm selects, being mostly institutional, where a modernist approach is prevalent.  Even the simple yet elegant detailing of Kathryn Taylor’s business card speaks to their minimalist intent, a standard 3x2 card with the Freelon branded green and a small etching on the side are just enough to make a statement while maintaining its legibility and dignity.  In all, I gathered that their firm is more invested in a holistic design process where the goal is always looking towards the end result, which, in many respects, is how I design.

            On a quite different spectrum, Paula Carr’s firm, TVS Designs, intent lies in creating commercially eccentric and stand alone installation pieces that are meant to rethink how we interpret space planning.  From our discussion, I gathered that her firm looked for great diversity in potential interns, looking at skills ranging from hand rendering and schematic ideas to well polished digital renderings.  Their was a greater involvement and attention paid to the concepts to their designs that I didn’t receive from the Freelon Group per say. 

            However, the truth is there is no one way to be prepared for what lies in the professional arena, it is about adapting to the needs of the firm and then extended to the client.  Designers job is best described as mediators and interpreters.  We process the ideas of our clients, communities, and firm and use our creative foundation to work in a world of business.