Applying design thinking to interiors
One of the things that makes Vibe so different from our competitors is our commitment to Design Thinking in our work with clients. Design Thinking is a staple of modern product design and development, where you iteratively follow five steps to solving a problem: empathy, define, ideate, prototype, and test. In software development, this should lead to apps that solve real customer problems. In interiors, this should lead to a space that not only looks the way you want it to, but functions and flows in the way you need it to. Today, we’ll explore the Vibe process of design thinking for any project.
PHASE 1: Empathy & Intake
Estimated time to complete: ~30 minutes
The first part of any project we explore is intake. In Design Thinking, this is the Empathy phase. The entire goal of this first step is to understand the needs. While it’s good to understand that you want to use your dining room as an office and what styles appeal to you, it’s even more important to understand why you need an office and why you don’t need a dining room. Vibe will seek to understand the layout you think is best, and what isn’t working about your current layout in your office. There are more questions than answers during intake, but this research is crucial to defining the solution in later phases.
With Vibe, we’ll typically do most of our intake during our free 30-minute video consultation. You’ll virtually walk us through your project and we’ll guide the session with key questions that help us prep for future phases. The output of Empathy and Intake is a design briefing document that we’ll take into the next phase- Define and Consult.
PHASE 2: Define & Consult
Estimated time to complete: ~90 minutes
The second phase of Design Thinking seeks to clearly define what problem we are solving and who we’re designing for. You’re probably thinking- isn’t that what the first phase was about? If Vibe did a good job in the first phase, we likely identified many problems and opportunities, above and beyond what you initially told us was important. For example, if a client wants to redo their kitchen, part of what we might discover is that yes, they need to renovate in the kitchen, but also the pantry and the eat-in dining space could also be included. Its during this next phase that we get very clear on scope and determine exactly what and who we are designing for.
In the Vibe workflow, Define and Consult happens during the paid-, in-home consultation. Vibe will come to your space with the design brief, camera and measuring tape in hand. We’ll use this time to go space by space and clearly define what’s most important, what is nice to have, and what what the budget for the project is. We’ll take photos and measurements of each space, and go through some design inspiration images to further refine the styles that appeal to you. The in-home consultation may also include a contractor visit. When we leave the in-home consultation, Vibe should be fully prepared to begin work on your proposal.
PHASE 3: Ideate & Agreement
Estimated time to complete: ~2 weeks
During the Ideate & Agreement phase, it may surprise you that we won’t yet be working on the detailed designs. We are working on the design before the design- the big idea for the space. We will be brainstorming many different ways to solve the problem and considering how those solutions might fit into the budget. We’ll be getting estimates and pricing for our ideas, working hard to understand how it will all come together. The proposal we’re building in this phase will include your design brief from phase one, a space plan, a Vibeboard which outlines the proposed design style and inspiration images, and a four elements map. We will probably have multiple execution options and we may include sketches during this phase to help you better visualize what we expect the outcome to be in the end. We also will share a max budget for each option presented.
Our goal during this phase to align on the design concept and the budget. Vibe will present you with a design agreement which outlines the billing structure and the remaining steps of the process. Once the design agreement is signed, Vibe will present you with an invoice for 20% of the total cost of the project, and then we’re off to the next phase.
PHASE 4: Design, Protoype & Test
Estimated time to complete: ~ 2 - 4 weeks
This is arguably my favorite phase of every project. During the prototyping phase we are working on specific design selections. We are choosing the cabinet door, fussing over each element of trim, profile, door construction, and more. We are going through hundreds of paint samples to refine the color palette. We are selecting architectural finishes for your trim and hardware for your doors. We are scheduling time to go out to the stone yard to select a slab. We are choosing lighting, rugs, tile, fabric and more. Our goal is to get to the design review meeting having selected 90% of the finishes that will ultimately go into your space. We’re toting samples all over town, seeing how everything fits together. We’re ordering samples of new products to compare.
If we are doing a full construction remodel, we’re also looking at architectural blueprints to ensure the layout is exactly what you want.
This leads us to the other part of this phase: planning the installation. While we’re making design selections, we’re also coordinating how and when we’ll install your design. Depending on the size of the project, we could be planning for one week or several months. For smaller installations that only take a couple of weeks, we’ll want all the materials to be selected and to have arrived before we get started on the work. For longer projects that take several months, we have a bit more time to choose things like furniture and decor, but we need to be clear on other items like paint and cabinets early on.
When we get to the Design Review meeting, we’ll review the selections and the installation timeline. This phase is really important because once we are agreed, we’ll be ordering materials. Anything created custom can’t be returned, so we’ll want to make sure you really love what you choose. If we don’t get 100% of the selections right in the first round, that’s ok. This is what testing and prototyping is all about. We will take your feedback and revise our design to make sure you have what you really love.
Once we’re 100% good to go, Vibe will present you with your materials invoice and begin ordering, and we’ll get your install on the schedule.
PHASE 5: Installation & Completion
Estimated time to complete: Depends on size of project
We’re finally at the installation phase! We’re are in full execution mode, working hard to bring our designs on paper to life in your space. While the majority of our decisions will have already been made, it’s always good to leave some space to change some things during installation, especially if we are moving walls and spaces around. Vibe will work seamlessly with your contractor during this phase, ensuring materials are delivered to your home at the right time, answering questions for you and for the installer, and tracking the progress to make sure we’re adhering to the timeline.
One item we include in the budget for full construction remodels is a contingency. Contingency is a budgeted amount of money you agree to hold aside for unexpected issues that come up during your installation that are not caused by the installation. For example- let’s say we discover a leak in your bathroom that has cause the flooring beneath the toilet or tub to be compromised. Your contingency budget will account for the fix if we can’t fit it in the existing budget. We never want to use the contingency budget- but it’s crucial to account for it in the total renovation cost so that we are covered in case of an issue. Vibe usually allocates 8% of the total construction budget to contingency.
Once the construction is complete, Vibe will begin the furniture and decor install. All the things you loved during the design phase will be placed and made ready for you to enjoy. This finishing phase is full of little details that often go unseen such as walking the space with the contractor to identify any small fixes, getting the home professionally cleaned, having professional photos taken.
We want you to be able to walk in to your space and immediately feel like you could start living there and using the space.
Once you are 100% satisfied, Vibe will present you with the final invoice, which will account for the remaining balance of the budget.
The 5 phases of Design Thinking are important to ensuring that the investment you want to make results in a space that you love and fits your vibe. Whether its a master closet or a whole home renovation, Vibe will guide you through this process and make it easy for you to end up with a space that you can call home.