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When I rang Jake Arnold, the AD100 designer was in LA traffic en route to a site visit. The distant car horns seemed like a fitting backdrop for our conversation, a sound-off on his current industry pet-peeves. The ever-candid Arnold opened up about workflow frustrations and client boundaries, as well as the processes his firm has implemented to help navigate them. Buckle up, busy readers, and prepare to take notes!
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Mel: To say you’re busy is an understatement. Shuffling between A-list client projects, numerous product collaborations, and helming The Expert, you make it look easy! At the end of the day, what’s causing you the biggest headache right now?
Jake: I think the biggest pet peeve for me—I mean, there are so many—is the constant need to pivot and be flexible. With clients, their lives change: One minute they are ready to move forward with the renovation, and the next minute they want to pause. You’ve designed a full house and then all of a sudden you need to pivot, and that’s very challenging.
I can almost hear Ross Geller yelling about it. Is this a pattern you’re noticing more now?
It’s recent, and more so with the clients who have multiple homes, so there are more options of where they want to spend most of their time. It’s not that the projects are on hold—it’s that there’s this time crunch mixed in with it. The design process becomes a challenge. I think that the pandemic allowed vendors to have more pushback on timelines than they've ever had before, understandably. But those delays require us to be a little less flexible. And our project timelines have naturally become longer to allow for the contingency in case we have to pivot really fast.
And your contracts reflect that?
Yes, all our contracts were updated at the beginning of the year to give us that flexibility—because even a few years ago, it was a lot easier to set a precedent and have some type of forecast. Whereas now, there are so many moving pieces that are outside of our control. I also now have a more robust kick-off with clients to set healthy expectations for everyone. The selection process becomes, “Here are options based on the timeline.” And sometimes, having the project on such a strict timeline can have the potential to take some of the magic out of the process. But healthy expectations are the key.
Speaking of healthy expectations, how have you learned to set boundaries with clients during off-hours—or have you?
When I was building my business, there were no boundaries. I was answering emails at 2 p.m. on a Sunday. I was doing FaceTime on a Saturday. When you’re just starting out, that’s the hustle nature of the business, and I don't think there’s anything wrong with that. Now I have a team of 15 people, and it’s more about creating that balance for everyone. A great tool for my studio has been creating an alias email address for each project. Any question a client has goes to that one email address, which is sent to every employee involved in that project. Whoever is responsible for the ask picks up the conversation. I avoid text messages as much as possible. And we tend to have project text groups with people in the office so others can jump in if I’m not available.
I’m loving this email alias tip. Tell me more.
What’s great is it keeps track of everything pertaining to that project. So if someone was out sick one day, if someone has to leave, if you have a new team member, you’ve ultimately compiled all of your project correspondence to one email address. And for clients, they don’t have to keep track of who’s the right contact for questions on budget, install, or even small, punch-list type items, because it all goes to one place. I think one of the biggest issues in our industry right now is a healthy work-life balance. This business requires a lot of time and energy, and it’s a passion for most, including myself, so we tend to work outside of regular work hours. But keeping communication set to a specific alias can help people’s personal accounts from getting bombarded.
What skill does a designer need to succeed in the industry today?
It’s having the attitude of: What’s the fire, and how do we solve it? Part of that is just being a people person and recognizing that while design is the job, you’re working with tons of people—from craftsmen and artisans to contractors, architects, clients, and other team members. Having the ability to connect with people and build authentic relationships is everything, especially when trying to build your business.
This interview has been condensed and edited for brevity and clarity.
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