New week, new blog! I hope everyone had a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!
This week, I come to you with the story of our first multi-day project of the summer: Parallel Design Group, a commercial interior design company run by founder, head designer and IU grad Briana Dunkin. “We want to work with clients who are passionate about how their office space works, transforms their work culture and creates a place people love and enjoy working in,” she says, “Most all spaces can be interesting and fun to design, but it is really the client who energizes us to convey the culture of the business into the space.” It was really a beautiful thing to work with someone so dedicated to combining company culture and design and being able to capture the creativity in the end product.
When we first quoted the job, we knew it was going to be a doozy with nine locations over more than three days in two cities, and we couldn’t have been more excited; we’ve done plenty of architectural photography, both interiors and exteriors, so we are definitely in our wheelhouse with this task.
In offices created to be both creative and functional, the challenge posed to the photographer is lighting these tight spaces and portraying the creative side in angles that run parallel with the client’s artistic intentions (see what I did there?).
Our first day started off at Blue and Co., a public accountant and advising firm downtown on Meridian Street. Here, and just down the hall at Indiana Hospital Association, we encountered unique office spaces with innovation in mind – including collaboration chairs with high school style swivel desks, standing-level work stations and, my personal favorite, small file cabinets doubling as chairs that say, “step into my office”.
Because of the high volume of business Briana and the Parallel team are working on, we were unable to meet during our shoot. Instead, Briana’s right hand woman, Shannon, stepped in on location and gave us direction and insight. “The company is about two years old,” Shannon told me, “and business has nearly doubled every year.” Apparently Blue and Co. was in a bind, and at the eleventh hour, Brianna swooped in and from the first look at the space, anyone can tell she absolutely killed it.
The second day began at Hauber Law in the Chamber of Commerce Building with an open concept office space and lots of window light. Far from the typical cubicles, the design of these workspaces offered easy access to neighbors and encouraged community within the office. We then headed to lunch at one of Lesle’s dad’s favorite restaurant – Acapulco Joe’s – and enjoyed family legacy with a side of rice and beans.
Another day we headed to Digital Relevance (a digital marketing agency). This unique workspace featured exposed concrete walls, sliding barn doors, and a near 20-person conference table. This was a great opportunity for us; we always like to make and keep healthy relationships with marketing professionals in the city. This way, when people who come to us need marketing help, we know where to send them and when those looking into marketing need revamped photography, they send their clients to us.
Next on the list was Newmark Knight Frank Halakar, a commercial real estate firm. One shot was the clean lines in the kitchen and lounge area, another of the conference room, and the final of an executive’s office. Everyone in the office was incredibly accommodating, including the executive who allowed us to use her office to shoot – even to the extent of rearranging nearly every article in that room. Luckily, we used an age old trick: take a picture before you move anything.
Just today, we completed half of the shoot at our most recent location: Launch Fishers. Launch just opened it’s doors in May and has an incredible concept: provide “a co-working space for entrepreneurs working on startup, high growth and high potential enterprises.” It was an idea I had never heard of but one that makes you say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Included in the spaces we photographed was a theatre for events and special speakers, a communal lounge and work area with couches and personal desks, as well as a hallway of small rooms designed for privacy while taking business calls.
All this, plus the work we have scheduled for tomorrow with our good friends MilesHerndon, isn’t the end of the line for Parallel and Studio13! Not only do we have multiple locations left to photograph, but these images we already have will go on to showcase Brianna’s talents in the Spaces Indiana design competition as well as on her website to portray to her potential clients how she is able to transform their spaces.
It’s been a great project so far!
