I have had Apple computers since the late 80s.  I drank the kool aide and have been a Mac advocate ever since.  Unfortunately, about five years ago, I moved to a PC for work.  We were using software that just plain worked better on the PC.  With angst I agreed that I needed the PC.  I’ve hated it ever since (except for the Apple sticker I put on the back).

This week I got an iPad.  I am happy.  The world is a better place.  I’ve now decided to consolidate everything and am going back to all Mac all the time.  I have my MacPro, my iPad and my iPhone.  By the end of September I’ll have transferred everything off of this PC and will be done with it!

What is it that draws me to Apple to this degree?  I’m a logical, reasonable, numbers oriented person.  My conclusion is it is beautiful.  Beauty causes an emotional attachment.  I want to use it.  I want to look at it.  I want to carry it around.  Donald Norman speaks of this in his book Emotional Design.  I like how he describes his teapots,  “These objects are more than utilitarian.   As art, they lighten up my day.   Perhaps more important, each conveys a personal meaning: each has its own story.”  He postulates, “…that aesthetically pleasing objects actually work better.   As I shall demonstrate, products and systems that make you feel good are easier to deal with and produce more harmonious results.”

If a product can make you smile and lighten up your day, it must produce better results.  I’m a results oriented person.  Happier people produce better results.  Beautiful things create a positive emotional response.  When in a positive emotional state, I make better decisions.  This is why Apples are better than any other computer out there.  Just take a look at this iPad with its beautiful wireless keyboard.  It is a beautiful design.   I’m looking forward to my iLovely future.

What things do you have because they are beautiful even if something else may be more functional?

Posted by: Myrna Webber, Account Coordinator

With the recent news of a JetBlue flight attendant quitting his job in the most unique way and the media reporting a high average of employees unsatisfied in their jobs, one may wonder if there are any workplaces with a welcoming and friendly environment.  There is in Rantoul, Illinois.  It has been three months since I accepted a position with Taylor Studios and I continue to be amazed at the attitudes in the office and at the fabrication shop.

The atmosphere here is refreshing and it is a great place to work. There are no yelling matches or disgruntled looks and no one plays the blame game.  No one takes themselves too seriously and often laughter can be heard from the conference room.  E-mails are sent company-wide announcing that ice cream is in the freezer and if someone is making a trip to Dunkin’ Donuts you’re typically asked “Need anything”?  Late in the afternoon you can often find the designers throwing a Frisbee outside for a few minutes.  All of this is great but it’s not all fun and play.  Walk through our offices/fab shop and you will see dedicated employees working hard to make TSI the best design and fabrication firm in the industry.

In addition, how many workplaces can boast that they are animal friendly?  Betty’s dog, Inca, is here every day following her around.  You know when Betty is near by the sound of the dog tags clinking together.  If you need to concentrate, shut your door as our resident kitten, Plyboo, is running around.  She has been known to pounce on electrical strips causing  computers to shut down when she hits that on/off button.  Occasionally your computer mouse may disappear as she plays with the cord or she may grab your leg in order to hoist herself into your lap.  Hopefully, when that happens you know she is in the room, otherwise it’s quite a surprise. It’s really nice to have these animals in the office and it only takes a few minutes of petting them to realize that they are enjoying it here, too.

TSI is not fantasy-land and not every day is perfect. There are still deadlines to meet, project delays, and numerous other issues that can be stressful.   However, it is the teamwork, dedication, and attitude of the employees that makes TSI truly unique.

Debbie Sharp points out a lot of similarities in her article for the July/August issue of Museum, “Blockbusters and Flops: What Can They Teach Us About Exhibit Development.” Debbie is a one-time movie producer turned interpretive planner, giving her a unique perspective.

So what can they teach us?

1. A solid foundation is vital. Movies and exhibit designs should both be driven by the story, not the other way around. This is why we begin every design project by developing a central theme and a content outline before we ever start sketching.
2. Dramatic openers engage visitors. The author writes that she always gravitated towards scripts with clever openers-they kept her interested in the rest of the script. Similarly, hooking museum visitors with an awesome entrance experience can make a huge impact on how engaged they will be throughout the exhibit.
3. You have to edit, edit, edit. As the author described the process of cutting down scenes to leave only the ones that really move the story forward, it reminded me a lot of writing for exhibits. No matter how clever or interesting something is, if it is not vital to the story it has to go. Just like movies can’t be five hours long, you can’t write a 1,000 word exhibit label.
4. Different media should be used to tell different stories. The author writes that dialogue sets the tone for a movie, but shouldn’t be used “to describe a character, background story, or event.” Similarly, exhibits should never rely on graphic panels to tell every story.

So how similar are movies and exhibits, really? The articles sites the difference in the tools available for storytelling-movies are restricted to a passive, audiovisual medium while exhibits have a lot more freedom. But the fundamental difference probably comes down to intent. Sure, there are a lot of movies out there that try to make a difference or provoke a conversation. But there are a whole lot more that offer pure entertainment and little else. Interpretive exhibits are intended to provoke and inspire, to connect visitors to significant stories and places, and ultimately to achieve the goals of interpretive sites-whether that involves preserving a fragile ecosystem, creating future scientists, or spreading awareness of a tragic historical event.

Can you think of other major differences and similarities? Should exhibit designers utilize more time-tested cinematic techniques, such as flashbacks and suspense-building?

We recently bid a project along with 20 other firms.  Within a couple days, we received the bid tabulation sheet.  The bids ranged in price from $150,000 to $675,000.  Our bid was in the middle.  This was a fabrication-only project so each firm was provided the same drawings.  How could the bid amounts vary so greatly?  Some of the things I thought of were:

• Lower quality product
• Less service
• No warranty
• Lower labor costs
• More efficient
• Plan to change order for everything along the way
• Do not plan to follow the specifications they bid
• Materials are less expensive
• Different fabrication method

I decided to do some follow-up on jobs we had lost because of a substantial price difference (over $100,000).  I sent some of my staff on the road to look at our competitor’s work (see Jason’s recent post).  Some of the clients they visited were our past clients, so these clients were able to compare their experience working with us and their experience working with the firm that underbid us.  When the clients began talking about their most recent experience, they made statements that included:

• They did not meet their dates
• They did not involve us in the process (e.g. weekly phone calls, approvals, website posts of progress, etc.)
• They gave us samples of what they were going to produce and did not produce it
• They asked for their money without providing the deliverable
• They were on the phone during our meetings
• We asked them to redo it several times
• It isn’t what we wanted

At one of the sites we visited we noticed the other exhibit firm used a different fabrication method than we do.  In the coming weeks, we will analyze whether that is a more efficient method.  At this point, we do know it does not offer the opportunity for the client to critique the work along the way and the natural elements were not the quality we produce - from the species of trees to the undulations in the groundform to the transitions into the mural.

We talked to another client about the design process and whether they got the same level of detail in the design deliverables.  We were told our deliverables differed significantly.  We have seen the lack of detail in other designs.  Many lack even the simplest of measurements or the quantity of graphic panels.

As a company that has a foundation of being frugal and efficient, it can be frustrating to lose work to a substantially lower-priced firm.  We have a core value of high integrity and back up our commitments.  This means we will not buy the job and change order it later to make up the difference.  We will make it according to the samples provided, etc.

We will continue to conduct research and will attempt to show the marketplace the differences in deliverables.  When bids come back ranging drastically in price, there is no way the bids can be apples to apples.  If the project is awarded to a company simply because they offer the lowest price, one must ask how that firm can provide the same product and service as the other firms.

If you have chosen to work with a firm based on the low price of their bid, how was your experience?  Are you happy with the finished product?

I have talked with many business owners who offer incentives in some fashion.  I have also heard stories of how many of these have backfired or the owner is frustrated with the entitlement mentality that develops.  I will share my story.

Many years ago, one of my managers proposed an incentive he thought would highly motivate our sculptors on a particular project.  I thought it was a good idea and we presented it, in writing, to a few of our lead artists.  We told these artists that if they beat their time goals by 5% we would offer so much, if they beat them by 10% we would offer them a little more and if they beat them by 15% we would offer even more.  Beyond that we thought quality would suffer.  Their work had to be approved by our Art Director.

The project went very well.  The work was some of our best and the team beat their time goals by more than 20%.  As we had agreed in writing, I gave out checks to this small group of artists for the 15% bonus amount.  I had also recently given an end of year bonus that was quite large.  Right after giving out the checks the artists came into my office together.  They had checks in hand and demanded more.  I was shocked.  I thought I had been extremely generous.  I paid them more than our agreed upon salaries to do what their job descriptions required in the first place.  I had just given out other bonuses, too.  They took home several thousand dollars more than usual.  I, of course, said “no” to their demands and was hurt that they were not more appreciative of the extras I had given already.

On the next several projects, productivity and attitude spiraled down hill with some of these artists because  I was not offering the same incentive.  I assume they thought they should share in all profits going forward.  Of course, they didn’t think of paying for the losses and taking the risks, too.  Behavior really began to become unprofessional as time went by.  One of the artists wrote FU on the back of a groundform we fabricated.  Another took a knife to insulation in one of our newly constructed buildings.  Their attitude and behavior was shocking.  In the end, after several months, two of them were let go from the company.

I have never offered this type of incentive again.  Since then, I have read articles like the this one by Alfie Kohn that discusses why incentives don’t work.  Daniel Pink’s latest book Drive also discusses how some rewards do not motivate us.  Personally, I have been motivated by potential rewards.  For instance, I chose to study business instead of equine science, so I could buy my own horse.  Even so, I am still leery of offering incentives.

What motivates you?  Would you offer incentives?

Last Year my mother asked, “What do you want for Christmas?”  I answered “Why a cigar box and yardstick of course.”  Box and yardstick in tow, I searched for scrap wood, a slotted spoon, a fork, a skeleton key, some suspenders, a belt and whatever else I felt thought I could use. Within a few weeks, I had a good sounding acoustic three-string guitar and a whole new appreciation for common utensils. I then took on the challenge of amplifying the guitar since I play live music every weekend and I wanted this thing to be heard. I learned about alnico - a system of five magnets, thread size wire and the workings of magnetic pick-ups.  I cut a bobbin out of wood, put six to eight thousand wraps of wire by hand around it, soldered tone and volume knobs, plugged it in and let her rip.  I couldn’t believe all the great sound that came out of that little box. It was capable of producing sound that was sparkly clean all the way to the heaviest of distortion.

I’ve been playing the red one quite a bit and it almost never strays out of tune and it’s extremely durable. 

I plan to keep making a variety of these unique instruments to sell so that other people can have fun with them too.  Thanks for checking them out!

Tony T

Tony is our metal shop lead and has been with TSI for 10 years.  Check back soon for his bio in Meet the Staff Mondays.

I just got back from Arkansas where my teams presented Design Development for Jacksonport and Logoly State Parks.  Our designs for each of these parks are substantially different, as they should be, to represent the uniqueness of each site.  The teams are also different.  Jacksonport’s story is driven more by artifacts and Logoly’s is more natural history.  Both teams are passionate about their sites.

Jacksonport Renderings:

Jacksonport State Park Gallery Intro

Jacksonport State Park Prosperity Exhibit

Logoly Renderings:

Logoly State Park Entryway

Logoly State Park Sound & Discovery Exhibit

We really enjoy working with Arkansas State Parks for many reasons:

• They are passionate about their parks.
• They understand interpretation and work hard to educate and engage their visitors.
• They keep us on our toes by asking tough questions during the design process. This helps assure a successful project.
• They are polite and fun. We feel at home and comfortable working with these teams.
• Some of their staff members have worked in Arkansas State Parks for 40 years. This means they know their stuff from how durable an exhibit needs to be to what will keep a visitor enthralled.
• We love visiting Arkansas! It’s beautiful country with great people, lots of parks, lakes, streams and 2.6 million acres of national forest.
• They have very special stories to tell, from the only diamond mine in the world open to the public to having the oldest national park (Hot Springs).

I really love working with the folks in Arkansas and hope to continue this relationship for years into the future.  Many years ago we designed and fabricated exhibits for Crater of Diamonds.  Within the next year we will install exhibits at Prairie Grove State Park.  Plus, we will continue our work for Jacksonport and Logoly.  I highly encourage you to choose Arkansas for your vacation.  What a beautiful state to meander through.