6 minute read
New model for collaboration
BY PAUL E. KANDARIAN | Contributing Writer
RHODE ISLAND HAS A LONG, rich and
GROWING STAFF: Scott J. Pacheco, left, owner and president of Scott James Furniture & Design in Tiverton, with his father, Rob Pacheco, head bed builder. Although the company shut down for two months at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, it has done well since then, Scott Pacheco said, especially “doing a lot more work in the wealthier coastal neighborhoods for people leaving New York,” which has resulted in more full-time employees now than before COVID-19 hit.
PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN
diverse history of design, which arguably started with Samuel Slater. In 1789, the 21-year-old textile mill apprentice in Great Britain left his homeland after memorizing the machinery design and came to America to start the Industrial Revolution that put his new country on the road to becoming a global powerhouse.
Design has morphed from those days of clanky, sometimes lethal machinery into myriad opportunities. Acording to one study commissioned by R.I. Commerce Corp. in 2019, the industry now includes industrial design driving “a rapid expansion into technology, product development and digital experiences,” which includes 3D printing technology that helps minimize costs and emphasize design.
If only Slater had a 3D printer.
“Design as we know it has been expanding in so many ways so quickly, it’s such a rapidly evolving field,” said Lisa Carnevale, executive director of DESIGNxRI, a Providence-based nonprofit that works with designers and design businesses. “There are job titles now that didn’t exist 15, 20 years ago. Technology moves fast and design is part of that.”
HIRING AGAIN
The COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the local industry, with relatively few companies hiring throughout much of 2020. But that began to change in recent months, according to Carnevale, with companies involved in web development, graphic design, architecture and interior design among those with job postings in DESIGNxRI’s email newsletter.
“I’m getting an email like once a month [for job postings] where I would get three or four a year” before the pandemic, Carnevale said.
It’s been a mixed bag, however, for companies finding help. Carnevale said small, local graphic design companies are having a hard time finding full-time help because graphic designers often prefer to freelance. Finding experienced architects is also a challenge, she says.
The pandemic reduced strategy, product and design software developer Octo Product Development Inc.’s revenue by 25%, said founder Justin Sirotin, “but we’re proud we kept 100% of our staff – and at pre-pandemic pay grades – throughout 2020.” The Pawtucket-based company added workers in December 2020, bumping the number to 17, and they’re still hiring.
“Coming out of the pandemic in the design world, the biggest thing is we are no longer geographically constrained in the partnerships we work with,” he said. “If there are positive takeaways, one is that from being stuck at home for 1½ years, we’ve broken the model of collaboration, or at least rebuilt it in a way that clients are much more comfortable [with].
“We attract employees because we do interesting work that’s quite complicated and important for the betterment of society as a whole in the world of technology and industry,” he continued. “People who are attracted to that and like intellectual challenges want to work here.”
Christine M. West, co-owner and principal of Providence-based KITE Architects Inc., is of a similar mindset, running a company that has 90% of its business in Rhode Island, and has added new employees coming out of the pandemic.
“We choose projects carefully and prioritize clients that have a great community impact,” she said.
The pandemic was a game changer for West as it was for many employers, including a shift to employees working remotely.
“We worked hard to maintain our employee level and the [federal] Paycheck Protection Program was critical to that,” she said. “We also turned to research, creating a series of white papers to link human cognition to design strategies, that helped us expand our body of knowledge.”
‘UNIQUELY CONNECTED’
Sirotin and other designers highlight the collaboration that exists in the state and how it’s helped the industry during the pandemic.
“We’re in a really excellent geographical location to be able to support people from a wide array of industries, and Rhode Island [has] a uniquely connected design community where we can collaborate with other companies without feeling like we’re competing with one another,” Sirotin said. “We seek support from our fellow designers and … because of the intimacy of the state, can cross-pollinate in a way that I don’t think exists in other creative communities.”
Because of that, he said, “I’m optimistic Rhode Island has a permanent place in the creative community and an opportunity to make a mark in
‘Rhode Island that arena that’s different from other cities.” [has] a uniquely Such collaboration also routinely extends beyond connected design the Ocean State for many in the industry, including East Providence-based marketing firm Advertising community.’ Ventures Inc. “For us, working around the world has become JUSTIN SIROTIN, even easier” during the pandemic, noted Mary
Octo Product Development Inc. founder Sadlier, executive vice president and chief strategy officer for the company, which does business as (add)ventures and has had a team in Miami for 10 years. During the pandemic, (add)ventures has collaborated with partners as far away as Argentina. “For Rhode Island, coming out of the pandemic, the opportunity will be leveraging a fantastic place to live along with showcasing the professional opportunities and challenges that creative people crave,” Sadlier said. The company now has 86 employees, including 22 hires since the pandemic began. That talent pool is fairly local, Sadlier said, owing to the pipeline from local colleges such as Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson & Wales University, Salve Regina University, Roger Williams University and Rhode Island College. Tiverton’s Scott James Furniture & Design shut down for two months at the start of the pandemic but has done well since, with more full-time employees post-pandemic (15) than before COVID-19 hit, says President Scott J. Pacheco.
LEARNING BY DESIGN
DownCity Design’s Summer Design Studio offers a design-based, summer-learning experience each year for local teenagers.
THE CHALLENGE:
In 2021, 55 high school students from across the state participated in the Summer Design Studio. They were introduced to design career pathways, including architectural design, landscape design, graphic design, fashion design and user experience design.
THE PAYOFF:
98% felt that their ability to collaborate as part of a team improved. 81% felt their visual and verbal communication skills improved. 75% felt their leadership capacity increased 93% felt the program helped them learn about design jobs and career pathways. COURTESY DOWNCITY DESIGN “We’re doing a lot more work in the wealthier coastal neighborhoods for people leaving New York,” Pacheco said. “We’re seeing a lot of people excited to renovate their new home and add their own flair to it, which bodes well for everyone in the local design community.”
PATHWAYS TO WORK
While there are hopeful signs for those looking for work, Carnevale would like to see Rhode Island design-related companies lead the way nationally in creating a more diverse workforce. “That shift needs to happen, designers need to be in the conversation with everyone [else]. It’s about creating more ways to be inclusive,” she said. “Nationally, something like 2% of architectural design has Black or brown employees,” Carnevale said. “It’s a problem across the industry, not just here.” Continues on page 24
