Wrapping up 2022 and turning 12 years old
The difference between than and now (2011 -2022)
In 2022, Articulated Design Studio faced its’ 11th year in business. In the last year, there have been some major milestones—both professionally and in business. It is no secret that small businesses are impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 Global Pandemic. Supply chains will continue to be somewhat inconsistent and labour markets will fluctuate. This is why our successfully completed projects invested in advanced planning and warehousing. While at the end of 2020 you saw the re-birth of Corey Klassen Interior Design into Articulated Design Studio, the end of 2022 looks very different and full of promise.
When Corey first started this interior design business back in 2011, it was on the back-end of a recession and that taught him about being lean and efficient during difficult times. Throughout this we have relied on our solid design process—it continues to be the same set of fundamentals in how we operate and facilitate projects over a decade later. Now after +300 successful projects and 17 different design awards, we continue to both learn and adapt from our experience, as well as invest in our business processes so that your experience with us is stronger, elevated, and authentic.
Here are some notable achievements in the past year, and decade:
1. Committed to investing in professionalism
Corey has always invested in his growth and professional development. He has both supported and funded the growth of his employees’ careers. At the turn of 2020, Corey was determined to complete the National Certification of Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exams he started in 2018. Life happens along the way, but this is a banner achievement and no small feat. Not only does the NCIDQ certification increase the types of interior design projects that Articulated Design Studio can work on, but it has also expanded our service regions and outreach across Canada. This pre-qualifies Corey, so clients like you don’t have to wonder if we can do the job or not. Now, we are fully prepared to launch into the commercial design sector and have already begun taking on new projects.
What is the NCIDQ and what does this mean?
“Every client is different, and so is every situation, but understanding your clients’ design needs trump the pretty stuff every time. The design solutions must be creative and they need to work for the client. Design is first about the negotiation by navigating choices to arrive at the solution, and only secondary is the aesthetic. It’s all fine to have a pretty kitchen, but if it doesn’t function extremely well then it was a complete waste of time. It is about the quality of life for our client and their long term interests.”
2. We will always provide accessible besign
This means that we can design for clients with accessible needs regardless of whether they have a commercial or residential project. Regardless of the physical, cognitive, auditory, or visual varied ability, accessible design is where human-centred design and evidence-based design meet. The most common type of project that needs accessible design is a renovation. Unfortunately, we do not often think of our future access needs, and as Corey always says to his students, “Anything can happen to anybody at anytime, and we should be prepared for that.”
From 2020 to 2022, Corey Klassen was a co-content coordinator in the NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Planning Guidelines with Support Spaces and Accessiblity. Together with eleven other subject matter experts, Corey was able to work with design professionals remotely from across Canada and the United States (sometimes Europe and India, depending on what was shaking down with the pandemic) to update accessible design requirements that exceed building codes in North America. What an achievement! This led to our founder's recognition as an Innovator of 2022, an honour that is only granted by nomination. It showcases Corey's commitment to both accessible design and the long term educational interests of interior designers.
3. Gracefully in place
Connected to accessible design is the topic of living in place. Sometimes negatively referred to as “aging in place,” this is the trend within houses, apartments, and condos. As North Americans age differently than their predecessors, their home environment affects their quality of life. Wanting to age gracefully in our own homes provides value for many who want to maintain their independence by inhabiting a space that is optimized for their current and long term mobility. This is a redevelopment of our housing supply that will continue to be needed as we live longer.
4. New ways of working
In June 2022, our client management software migrated to a new platform. While it was rough for a few weeks, we now have an iOS and Android smartphone app for client communication and project management. This has changed a lot of how we work at Articulated, because what used to be complicated to share is now collaborative and quickly uploaded from a simple sketch. It helps our clients, like you, solidify design direction without spending countless billable hours on technical design work that could be abandoned—we see this as leveraging our cross-trained skills to be responsible designers.
This means can provide hybrid design services to clients in our home region of the Lower Mainland and across Canada. Most of the non-design work is completed remotely but the finish selections, cabinetry and implementation will have an in-person aspect where you can have an immersive conversation. We will also be able to meet some of the most stringent building code requirements in Canada and better handle the permit and inspections.
5. Systemizing logistics
We have made significant investments over the past 2 years in delivery providers, warehousing, brokerage, and other methods of fulfillment. We can deliver directly to more than 60% of Canadian households. We have accounts with warehouses across Canada in major metropolitan areas like the Lower Mainland, Kelowna, Calgary, and the Greater Toronto Region. It allows us to provide a range of delivery services across Canada. This was such a worthwhile mountain to climb (during the pandemic), as this is where our values need to be aligned with our project partners.
6. New furnishing brands
We have increased the number of brands we work with by 50% to include more furniture & Styling options to service as many of our client needs. Whether they be a one room makeover or a project post renovation.
7. Design Palettes launch
We are leveraging our existing portfolio, experience, and creative practice to design our first e-design product category, which we call “design palettes.” You can purchase a curated collection of hard and soft finishes that will coordinate and match well with each other based on a colour theme. They are the same quality products you see in our portfolios, with extensive testing standards and certification data that you have come to expect from our services. This provides long term value to clients because of their durability and style. They can each be ordered through quality trade suppliers as well as qualified interior designers like ourselves.
This can save on the design fees it would cost to hire a designer to create a custom palette of finishes for a project, especially if you already like the look of an existing palette. All product substitutions are available at a flat fee (per item) as a virtual design service.
8. Designing our impact
The best way we can work with our clients is to improve our impacts on the environment. Our goal is to provide sustainable product selection and sustainable delivery and fulfillment. We like to recommend products that are not fast furniture, meaning that they are considered durable, stain-resistant, and made out of products that support green initiatives. There are many factors at play, and we hope to provide more insight in the year to come.
In terms of delivery and fulfillment, we have invested in locating alternative providers. Some of our providers utilize fuel-efficient means of transportation, like rail (rail transport utilizes 10% of the fuel requirements of a standard LTL truck). It is one of the transportation sectors that is part of the electrification transformation. Canada is one of the leaders in this initiative, with all 3 of its railways testing out their own prototypes this year. These industry transformations will reach targets over the next 2-3 years, as we will hear more and more about them.
9. Updated client resources
We have spent a considerable amount of back-end time updating our client resources. These include:
Wrapping up…
There may be a difference between 2011 and 2023 for both our clients and our design studio, but there are fundamentals that have been at the core and continue to be the reasons for our very systems and processes. The principles of integrated design will always be at the heart of how we operate and utilize technology in the built environment. While these nine items only scratch the surface of what is going on at Articulated, I cannot wait for 2023 to expand upon what we started to reveal. We have always been committed to learning over the last 11 years (Corey still can’t believe it’s been that long) and leveraging it to your advantage.