Charles Thomas Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 I am in the process of setting up an Architectural Visualization Studio.. I have freelanced for a while, and through some contacts have come to know an architect in my area who is a very good mentor. He has been practicing architecture for almost 30 years and has offered me what I believe to be the opportunity of a lifetime. That opportunity is to set up my own Studio in his offices while being my own business entity. The amount of clients he has is amazing, his reputation and friendliness are great. The contacts I would make just sitting there while clients walk in (which they do constantly) priceless. I was wondering if anyone had any similar events happen to them, if so how did they turn out? Positive? Negative? Would you see this as an opportunity of a lifetime not to be passed up? On another note I would like folks to visit the website I have been working on.. http://www.a3imaging.com Does it portray a good image?. make sense etc. As I am alone (at least until the funding is finalized for 2 additional employees) in this endeavor any constructive criticism would be appreciated. Many thanks and best regards, Charles Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nisus Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Hi Charles, I had a similair experience. A similar chance of a lifetime was offered to me, but I turned it down because I wanted to do the things by myself. I didn't want to be connected to a certain 'kind of architecture' nor 'group of friends' as this leaves out more than you think. Even from the first moment you are recognised as part of a certain group and therefore will lose many prospects, which is important to look for here in Belgium as the market is not big. We simply wanted to be neutral and independent and looked for a way to finance ourselves, but that is our choice of course. Btw, the urge of new proposals made me realize that there was more than just 'being helpful' to the deal. Anyway, as a tip, just check out how much information you got on the goal of the firm who's taking you under its wing. Are they only talking about your dreams, leaving their goals blank? Probably (as I've experienced). Just beware of this blinding effect rgds nisus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_A Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Hello Charles, nisus brings up a good point... If your prospective mentor and his related clientelle can provide you with the amount, and variety of work you are interested in, it may well be an opportunity you can't pass up. If you have hopes of 'branching out' to others in the design community your association may prove to be a hinderance. As you probably have experienced, competition between firms is fierce and they are typically very reluctant to put developing work in the hands of people who may (even inadvertently) show this work to rivals. There may also be a perception that their projects will not carry as high a priority to you as the firm under who's roof you work. For better or worse you have to look at how the the prospective client thinks. None of this makes it any easier, does it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Denby Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Charles You asked us to look at your website...does it portray agood image. Well I have to say no, because it is painfully slow, and I have broadband. People will not bother to wait. I would take up the opportunity, and build up your portfolio and Client base. If things don't work out you can start working from home and take your clients with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingo Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Huh ? Its pretty fast, me thinks you have a slow modem. I'm on dsl (connection, not drugs) and everything works fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siliconbauhaus Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 I think if you can get a certain ammount of work out of the relationship then by all means go with it. It will help build up your portfolio and client list. It will also mean money coming in with which you can invest back into your business ( ie better equipment etc ) As for your site a few things... Increase the font size or remove the drop shadow as its rather hard to read at my res. The lilac colour is a bit non descript and kinda clashes with you main image. As your primary focus is visualisation perhaps you should emphasise it more. If it were my site I'd go for one of my best images and use it as the background and then put the text on top of it. Perhaps you could set it up that it loads a different bg image per page. That way the potential client is seeing what you want them to see and what they came to see. best of luck with it mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelo Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Charles, The web site: The candy color is a little too playful for me--I know that the black or white look is used so often, but it does one thing successfully--focuses on the content vs. the interface. Look at some of these sites for good layout schemes, navigation, and text sizing/treatment: http://www.vize.com http://www.visarc.com http://www.amdrendering.com/ http://www.ams.be/ http://www.buenck.fehse.com http://www.mworx.com http://www.okumo.com/ http://www.screampoint.com/ Good luck, Angelo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molson Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Hi Charles, I have a couple of comments about your web page. I realise that your site is in probably in the beta stage so some of these things will be changed for the final. Take these comments for what they are worth to you. It isn't easily apparent which section of the web site you are in at any given moment. In your protfolio section Your CGarcitect link is linked to lawrence-architecture and visa versa. "Our creative process" is underlined. Only links should be underlined. People love to click on underlined words and expect to go somewhere. I think that your logo should be clickable (link to home). Just some thoughts...great site! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Thomas Posted January 13, 2003 Author Share Posted January 13, 2003 I appreciate everyone taking time to view the site and submit their opinions, it is amazing what one learns from doing this. Taking everyones comments into consideration I am now in the process of creating a brand spanking new website from scratch. Let me know if you folks believe this to be an improvement.. I do!! Old site: http://www.a3imaging.com New site: http://www.a3imaging.com/website2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molson Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Charles, Your new site is much easier to read. I like this version alot better. There was too much to read on your first site. The new one is direct and to the point. This will be a more client friendly website. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nisus Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Idd the webpage is much better now. But anyone got some comments on the 'oppurtunity of a lifetime'? rgds nisus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Thomas Posted January 14, 2003 Author Share Posted January 14, 2003 Just wanted to thank everyone again for the contributions to the new website. The old one is now offline (may it rest in peace) and the new one has taken its place, those still wishing to take a peek can simply follow this link: http://www.a3imaging.com Thanks again! -Charles- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbr Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 The new version is easier on the eyes. But it does not display correctly on my system. I am running W2000 with IE 5. The text on the left gets pushed under the rectangle. Ironically, it seems to work fine in Netscape 6.2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O+ Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 re: opportunity of a lifetime hey Charles, I have to agree with nisus and chris_a, be reluctant to work under anothers roof, it may be best to just forge/keep strong ties with the firm, and keep yourself free/detached.. (are other clients really going to want to drop by to check out their project at a competing office?...) just be realistic business wise about whether or not it is a good move for you ( I stress 'for you' because 1,000 different people are successfull 1,000 different ways..) good luck! ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dp Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 just to say think very carefully........... i did what you are thinking about and it cost me at least 4 major projects being tied in with a architect which in dollars u.s. maybe $30-40k. i also found that i was being asked to "help out" in the office and the oppurtunity to expand the 3d into a more multimedia based venture never happened through director ignorance and apathathy. They also failed on the promise of hardware and software input (i basically used my own tools for the job)also in order to obtain commercial work through the practice they would be adding 10-30% on top so to make it competive i would need to drop fees in order to win business that would have come my way in the end. it was a great experience in order to develop my skills for around six months but after that i was treeading water. get a job description in writing to form a basis for a partnership or contract so all parties know where they stand. i quit the practice in december and now run business for my own needs and now find i have time to do work a the r+d that this business needs to stay on top of the game (although i have done the past 3 days at 18 hours working to hit a deadline.......... 3dp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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