#LandArchSD

October 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Join the Conversation in San Diego!

Thank you for visiting our site and we hope you will participate in our social media project for this year’s ASLA Annual Meeting in San Diego. The purpose of this page is to explain our project and to give a brief overview of the social media tools we will be utilizing. This year promises to be the most attended annual meeting in history and we are really excited to be a part of it. Jason Castillo (@JA_Castillo), Brian Phelps (@brian_phelps) and Boyd Coleman (@CDGLA) will be leading a panel discussion for the educational session entitled Social Media Strategies for Landscape Architects on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 1:30 PM. We hope that you will join us as we discuss the results of this project and other exciting social media applications being utilized within the profession today.

 

THE EVENT:

#LandArchSD will encourage the more than 6,000 landscape architects descending upon San Diego to participate in sharing, via social media, their experiences and perspective of the City’s urban environment and public spaces. The event will provide an opportunity to create a useful database of information about the City while at the same time raising awareness of landscape architecture. By the end of the conference, it is anticipated that the data set from this event will provide valuable insight for the City of San Diego and its citizens about their urban environment.

The event will compile location based data about the City through posts, tweets, photos, videos, and more, using mobile devices such as a smartphone or tablet computer. Information documented could include your favorite spaces and/or details, observations about the how spaces are used and ways to improve the utilization of these spaces, and/or teach people about landscape architecture through examples. As landscape architects, we have a lot of information to offer. Let’s make it known to more people.

IMPORTANT: USING HASHTAGS 

The main tool for organizing the information during the event will be the use of the hashtag #LandArchSD. It should be included in all posts during the project.

For those of you not familiar with the use of the hashtag, it is simply a word or string of letters without spaces preceded by the “#” symbol. We will be using #LandArchSD during the event. The purpose of the hashtag is to provide a searchable keyword or identifier that will allow anyone searching on social networks to see everything posted that contains the #LandArchSD hashtag.

During and after the conference, anyone will be able to search Twitter with the #LandArchSD hashtag and see all information posted that includes the hashtag.

TWITTER:

If you are not a member of Twitter, we encourage you to join; it’s free and you can sign up for an account at twitter.com. The majority of the information compiled during the event will be on Twitter. For a brief tutorial on how to use Twitter, click here.

With Twitter, you can post comments up to 140 characters in length. You can include photos or videos in your post as well. It is important that you use the GPS features of your mobile device when posting during the event. This will help others see where the data was posted.

A few points to remember, if you use Twitter, please remember to use the hashtag #LandArchSD in all of your tweets and photos related to the event. Also, for those new to Twitter, use the “@” symbol in front of someone’s Twitter name to send them a tweet directly. If you see something someone else posted that would like to re-share, use the “retweet” function (RT). If you have any questions, please reach out to Brian, Jason, or Boyd and we’ll be happy to assist you.

INSTAGRAM:

Instagram is a separate, free photo sharing application for the iPhone and it can be downloaded to your iPhone through the iTunes app store. The application allows you to post photos to both Instagram and Twitter and includes many fun photo filters to add interest to your photos. Please make sure that if you use Instagram that you use the hashtag #LandArchSD and the “post to Twitter” feature in the application. This will assure your information is included in the information being collected. If you don’t have an iPhone or you use some other photo application, you can still upload your photos to Twitter and/or our Facebook page and tag them with the hashtag #LandArchSD

FACEBOOK:

We have created a Facebook page for this project and hope that you will click on the link below and “Like” our page. This will provide you with updates as we get closer to the conference and will also allow you to see some of the things happing around San Diego. We also invite you, once you’ve liked our page, to post comments, questions, and suggestions while you prepare for the conference.

While at the conference, you can continue to use the Facebook page to leave posts or to participate in on-going discussions. We encourage you to upload your photos to the Facebook page. The Facebook page can be found here.

FOR THOSE WITHOUT A MOBILE DEVICE:

We encourage those without a mobile device to participate from their desktop/laptop. It is important to remember you can still upload to the Facebook Page or Twitter without a smartphone. You can upload your photos taken with a digital camera, add your observations on the Facebook page or Twitter or simply join in on the conversation on the Facebook page. Just remember to use the hashtag #LandArchSD so your post can be seen.

FOLLOWING / FINDING THE INFORMATION WITHOUT A SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT:

If you would just like to follow the event as an observer, you can follow through various search tools without having an account with any social media platforms. You can follow the Facebook Page and/or you can use Topsy.com to search for the hashtag #LandArchSD. The following is a link directly to the search: #LandArchSD.

We hope that this gives you a brief overview of the project. If you have any questions please reach out to us and let us know. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

 

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The Design Process

October 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Design Process

When I was first learning the art of landscape design, no one taught me the process of design. I learned about plants, I learned what bloomed when, and what color. I learned what did well in what microclimate. I learned to layer my plants according to texture and mature height. I learned about geometric shapes and how hardscape elements played off each other. I learned what looked good and I mastered layouts in AutoCAD. But I never learned the process of design and my early designs suffered for it.

I believe in the “8-step Design Process”:

  1. Identify the problem. Describe the challenge to be solved.
  2. Identify the criteria and constraints.
  3. Develop possible solutions (Preliminary sketches).
  4. Select the best possible solutions.
  5. Create a preliminary model or Prototype (Conceptual plan).
  6. Test and evaluate your solution (Did the design meet the criteria and solve the problem?).
  7. Communicate the solution (Client presentation).
  8. Refine the design.

Early in my career I struggled with starting larger jobs not knowing where to begin. Not only was it difficult starting a design, it was difficult knowing when I was finished. Not analyzing the site constraints in the beginning and having a clear picture in my mind of what problem I was trying to solve made it impossible to know when I was finished and if I had accomplished my goal. How sad is it that I gauged my success only on the happiness of the client when they wrote me a final check and not knowing if I had designed the best layout for the given site conditions?

I don’t remember exactly when I found this design process, but I am so grateful that I did. Once I truly understood and followed each step of the process, I noticed the quality of my designs improved, my clients seemed happier, and my confidence as a designer grew. I learned how to look at a site objectively and ask the right questions of my client to learn what was truly important to them from both a design and use point of view. I also found that I was able to better guide them through the design process and show them not only what they wanted in their design, but show them what they needed as well. I truly took on the role of the expert and found that I could tackle just about any design job that came my way.

I have to be honest and tell you that sometimes I get stuck when I’m in the middle of a design. This feeling is not unlike what a writer would call writer’s block. But when that happens, it is usually an indication that I need to revisit my design process, start at the beginning to make sure I haven’t overlooked something and that I’ve covered all my bases. It usually when I am going back through these steps that I find something I overlooked earlier and am able to revisit the design and develop an exceptional solution.

I know that people are different and that as designers we develop our own processes for solving challenging problems. We are all unique individuals and approach the process of design from different points of view. Do you have a process you follow that is different or similar to mine? If so, I’d love to hear about it. Feel free to leave a comment below, send me a tweet or even an email. Thanks for reading and I look forward to connecting with you.

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