DESIGN IS COMMUNICATION

Most of our choices involve communication. What we drive, wear, listen to—and the spaces that make us comfortable. Tattoos, VW Bugs, bow ties, Frank Zappa—yurts, the Sydney Opera House, Santa Fe-style adobe, skyscrapers, and wide-open spaces dotted with the occasional park bench. We constantly demonstrate who we are, what we like, how we think, and how we prefer to live and work. Just consider the chair you’re sitting in or the mug holding your coffee. What does it say about the choices you make?

This is one reason why communication is so essential between those who want to build, renovate, or reimagine a space and the designers they choose. When we work with the built environment, we’re working with one of the most foundationally important elements of our lives. And getting the process right begins with hearing about the space’s end-users. How do they move around a space? What do they like? What do they need?

In the world of business, solid communication also includes conveying a brand—what people should know about a business and its mission. To that end, BDT has your back. In the last few years, we built a new location in Athens and opened a new office in Columbus. In the world of design, “communications” includes (1) enhancing branding concepts, (2) expressing an existing brand through color, shape, interiors, and signage, and (3) master planning and documentation. If you think about it, wayfinding—including vehicular and pedestrian signage, as well as other environmental enhancements—is some of the most important “communications” a business can express.

Communication also involves sharing ideas, expertise, and research about what works best in architecture. For example, in the healthcare field, “evidence-based design” (EBD) takes into account research that shows what works best to enhance patient healing and staff satisfaction. It began modestly, when Florence Nightingale used statistics to show that fresh air, comfortable air temperature, and clean water enhanced patient recovery. Since then, hospital design has a material impact on infection rates, medical errors, patient falls, staff injuries, stress levels, and ease of navigation through buildings.

BDT puts a premium on all of these levels of communication. And by the way: if your facility has identified specific areas of patient dissatisfaction, then let us know. It sounds like an opportunity to research a solution through EBD —by testing certain design concepts to measure their positive impacts on users. The more we can contribute to the field—and enhance your user experience in the process—the more we contribute to our environment. Both physical and otherwise.

Communication. Let’s do it.