Sometimes we all need a pick me up. As designers our pick me ups most times include looking through a magazine, walking around your favorite art museum or scrolling through the web and Instagram. Gazing at colorful graphics, photography, pottery, interiors or sometimes your guilty pleasure of watching typists create their finest lettering is just what we need to rejuvenate ourselves and our minds. If you have no idea what we meant about watching videos on hand lettering… watch the video below.
Pretty good, huh?
No matter what profession you work in or are interested in, there’s always something that you enjoy referencing for inspiration – we hope. As Architects, Engineers and Interior Designers we’re always researching unique and innovative products or what the latest and greatest design firm is up to. Sometimes we don’t even realize that we’re problem solving and looking for inspiration because it’s just ingrained into us while we’re in design school. Every year while we were in school there was the newest, most sophisticated products, graphics, or style of design. Every one of your classmates seemed to be up to date on the latest prodigy in the field. You realize that while you were in school, you were on it – and what we mean by on it, is that you were always refreshed with new design and who was doing it and by god you were going to find out how to achieve that style and level of greatness. You always had that under the table competition with your peers too. It’s not like there was ever a “winner”, except during competitions, but in some way there was a winner deep down. The under the table competition wasn’t a competition in the outward sense but it was something that always kept you on your toes – it made you better and push harder. You most definitely didn’t want to spend all night in the studio but you did because 1. you had a lot of work to do, and 2. Your work was better because you were working among your peers. Of course you learned in the classroom but you learned so much more in your studio because of your peers. I think that’s why we love architecture so much. The way a student learns from their peers and themselves is something that you don’t always achieve in other professions. It’s something so special that it’s hard to describe to someone who hasn’t gone through the studio setting. Its incredible how much your peers make you better and how much information you’re exposed to through sharing information like publications, websites, books, etc.
At HOCH, we try and maintain pieces of the studio environment and sharing of information like it used to be when we were in school. Of course other firms try and achieve the studio environment in their offices because, who wouldn’t? It’s almost like a drug that you didn’t realize you were taking until you graduated and you’re not in your studio environment anymore. You start to realize that those late nights really stunk, but it was so incredibly worth it.
Architecture firms today don’t fully function like students do in architecture school - because the real world and real life is a factor – but they try to achieve the real studio environment as best as they can. Recently, we’ve updated some of our interests under the Research + Blog section of our website. Just like we shared drawing styles, furniture design inspiration, and the best pen in stores at the time while we were in Architecture or Technical school – we try and achieve that in the office as well. Some of our favorite inspirations for design come from magazines like Monocle, Log or Ernest and some of the best websites for updates on architecture and design everyday include ArchDaily (a classic), Dezeen and StrongTowns. Take a look at the Research portion under Blog + Research on our website and be sure to check out everything that interests us – you might find something that interests you. If there’s something that we missed, be sure and let us know and we’ll take a look. Let’s share our thoughts just like we did in school.