Tag Archives: PR

#219: FUEL FOR FIRE | CLIENTS AND PROJECTS

January 30, 2026

upper left: Anthony Poon’s sketchbooks (photo by Anthony Poon); upper right: Poon Design Inc. (photo by Grant Bozigian); lower left: Poon Design’s awards (photo by Grant Bozigian); lower right: closing the deal (photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash)

Within the many facets of the architectural profession, four distinct aspects stand out.

1) The most obvious aspect is design. No doubt, architecture is a creative endeavor.

2) As a business, next is management. The organization of projects, schedules, and staff is critical to business objectives like stability, growth, and profit.

3) PR is third. Marketing provides exposure and recognition.

4) The most important, arguably, is business development, as in obtaining clients and projects.

Whitefish River Run, Whitefish, Montana, by Poon Design (photo by Heidi Long)

Without projects, there is nothing to design. This is the critical thing: projects. Without fees from projects, there is nothing to manage and no profits. And without projects, there is nothing to show the world.

An architect can be the most talented designer in the industry, but without a project to design and client to serve, such skills are squandered. Sure, one can submit ideas to architectural competitions, or design speculatively hoping to be published or win an award, or maybe just for fun. But such activities make up a small percentage of work within architecture firms.

Budget and schedule tools (from Poon Design)

I have worked with a few business consultants over the years, as well as implemented various management software, such as Harper & Shuman, BQE, and Procore. Such resources assist in the oversight of projects, as in architect A worked X number of hours this month. Does that fit the allocated fee? Are we on schedule? Did we make a buck? But without a project, such powerful assets have little purpose. Such tools do not generate projects or bring in clients.

Anthony Poon speaks at Modernism Week 2023 (photo by Olive Stays)

To see one’s accomplishments in the media, it always excites. PR gets one’s name out there, shows off the work, maybe gets a speaking engagement, but in and of itself, PR is abstract, rarely landing a client in a one-to-one fashion. Most architects see PR as an end in itself—bragging rights as the reward.

(photo by Anthony Tyrrell on Unsplash)

So the sustenance of a firm, the food that fuels all activities from design to management to PR, is having clients (who pay on time) and projects (with good fees). The rest then falls into place.

Think of it this way. A company can always hire an office manager or CFO-type. For PR, an employee strong in marketing and social media might be able fill this role. Also, that company can hire one of the many PR firms out there. And companies are always shopping for design talent, whether the fresh young voice or the senior visionary. But it is rare to hire an employee that brings in projects, and the number of business development consultants are rare. And those in this space have limited success.

Meaning, the act of obtaining clients and projects should be the foundational purpose for business owners, entrepreneurial principals, and seasoned executives. Their success is critical to the company’s survival.

Car from Back to the Future, 1985 (photo by Anthony Poon)

Without clients and projects, it’s like trying to drive an automobile without gas. You may have the coolest car, you may know where you want to go for the three-day weekend, and you may have invited your friends to join But without gas, you are going nowhere.

#185: WHAT IS ARCHITECTURAL SUCCESS?

April 5, 2024

Lincoln Studios, Santa Monica, California, by Poon Design (photo by Gregg Segal)

As an architect, are you successful? How should we measure success?

(photo by SK on Pixabay)

Making money is an obvious gauge, but there’s more to life than a paycheck.

Good design should count for something, but design is subjective. So success might look towards an architect’s accolades, like design awards and national honors. But there must be more than bragging rights and industry fanfare.

FAIA Investiture Ceremony, 2022 AIA National Conference, Chicago, Illinois (photos by Olive Stays and Poon Design)

We architects enjoy seeing our name in the headlines, as well as photographs of our work gracing magazine covers and online features. But is this the result of being a successful architect or having a good PR agent?

Feature profile on Metropolis (photo by Grant Bozigian)

A portfolio with depth—with projects big and small, local and national—is surely a critical marker of success. Victory might also be evaluated on one’s international projects, evidence of a world traveling architect who jets off to yet another country in demand.

(photo by Sasin Tipchai on Pixabay)

Often, the success of an architect is simply having a happy client. And the more clients, the more successful this architect must be. How many new clients did you close this year? But keep in mind that quantity isn’t quality

Design Roundtable, founded by Anthony Poon, at EYRC, Los Angeles, California (photo by Design Roundtable)

Success should come from both collaboration and being part of a team, as well as leadership and managing a team. One’s contributions to the industry should count for something, whether a thought-leader, teacher, community service advocate, or respected professional.

Poon Design Inc., Los Angeles, California (photo by Anthony Poon)

Perhaps, success is identified with the entrepreneurial path, being one’s own boss, having one’s name on the door, and having 10 employees or maybe 100. Or success can be within a corporation with an architect reaching the top of the company ladder, being named partner. Or perhaps doing either quietly under the radar without the need for the spotlight of conceit is worthwhile.

Poon Design Inc., Los Angeles, California (photo by Grant Bozigian)

As a struggling (starving) artist, can an architect be successful? Being part of a creative journey, searching one’s soul for answers, or mining the world for abstract ideas—such ambitious endeavors might be a measure of success regardless of the outcome.

For many, success in architecture comprises the simple things: being challenged and learning new skills.

Poon Design Inc., Los Angeles, California (photo by Grant Bozigian)

Happiness is often one of the more authentic measures of success. I believe most architects are happiest when getting to design, to be creative, to think back to how as a child, they could build things with Lego. It is about being part of open-ended travel through an existence of glorious ideas and imaginative designs, and then seeing such a vision come to fruition.

(photo by StockSnap on Pixabay)
© Poon Design Inc.