Blog

The best part of our job is seeing the amazing work our industry creates.  One of the best ways to do that is Instagram.  Here are five Architecture Instagram pages we are obsessed with right now. Architecture_minimal (https://www.instagram.com/architecture_minimal/) Why we love it!  Living the mantra that less is more.  We [...]

As designers when you start a new job the real work starts day one.  Schedules are always tight.  Budgets are always razor thin and there is always something to do.   As owner of DBI, as well as my time at Callison and working to hire architects at Starbucks, I know [...]

I am SO excited about this one!  Many of the MadMen props are up for auction.  From Christmas tree skirts to Don’s 1964 Chrysler Imperial.  It can be yours if the price is right!  But act fast, the auction ends on April 6th! https://auction.screenbid.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/93  

Countless books and articles exist discussing the qualities of leaders and what make a good leader that build effective teams and how they differ from those who are not as successful.  In this article we will discuss how success as a leader is defined in the thousands of daily interactions [...]

  While attending the recent Bisnow even, Seattle: Retail and Mixed-Use Breakdown, Maria Barrientos (co-owner of Barrientos RYAN, www.mbarrientos.com) was speaking about retail projects in her mixed-use projects around Seattle. *A bit about Maria.  Her firm has been developing residential, mixed-use projects in the various Seattle neighborhoods for 15 years.  [...]

What is the home of the future in San Francisco?  Is it a Victorian era beauty?  A gleaming high-rise? Or has the home of the future yet to truly be defined?  If you believe that the true home of the future is yet to be defined this Senior Project Manager [...]

I have always been attracted to simple, functional design.  Living in Seattle, in a 1926 bungalow, space must be maximized, utility harnessed, and aesthetics never compromised.  The Twofold, by Studio Micheal Hilgers, it all of these things. Enjoy!    

DBI is hiring a Project Director of Recruiting for Seattle.  At DBI we truly embrace the firm within a firm approach to growth.  If you are a self-driven, creative entrepreneur with the desire to truly build your own book of business but have not been able to generate start-up capital, [...]

As we start 2018 DBI wants to start sharing back with the larger design community we support.  Through our relationship, interactions, training, and speaking we learn a great deal about architect and interior design.  This effort will be the action behind our pillar of being a Strategic Resource. We hope [...]

Collaboration.  Encouraging.  Entrepreneurial.  These are the words used to describe our client in Boston.  This client has a remarkable team with leadership that is open, accessible, and fun.  This firm has a passion for team members, friends, family, and the community.  They blend all of these in a collaborative work [...]

I have seen this around my feeds for a week or so and I have stoped to watch it each time I see it!  It is fascinating.  I first noticed it on Geekwire. In 2015, a 360 degree camera was placed on the Space Needle.  The purpose, to capture Seattle’s [...]

DBI is working with an exciting, growing firm in Seattle. The need is for a very self-directed and self-aware Project Architect. The right candidate will have experience with mixed-use housing project in the Seattle area. They will need to bring a blend of technical and design skill to the role [...]

DBI is working with an established and growing architecture firm in the heart of Seattle. Our client is a horizontally structured firm. All employees are licensed architects and shareholders! This structure drives the core value of our client, collaboration. It also works to build strong client relationships. The large scale, [...]

It is that time of year.  The team at DBI made our annual trip to the Seattle Gingerbread Village.  This year was the 25th year of the event and the firms and chefs did an outstanding job! Each year the Seattle Gingerbread Village raises money for JDRF, working to cure [...]

A well-established and growing design firm, located in Seattle, Washington, has contracted with DBI to find and hire an Interior Architect. This firm is unique in their aesthetic and their design approach. With a deep interest in meeting and exceeding the design needs of the client, and with deep regional [...]

Keep it professional and positive: This may seem obvious but it is worth developing a few guidelines for a social media recruiting campaign.  I am developing another post to go deeper into this topic.  The bottom line, give employees a small set of rules, be professional, positive, etc. but little [...]

While visiting clients in San Francisco last week I had a great conversation about social media and how social media can be an outstanding tool to hire design talent. *BTW, this is one of the things I love about designers, they are open to robust conversations and are genuinely curious [...]

Part 2 in our series for job hunters considers the portfolio. Make sure there’s context for each image—and that the print version is user friendly. By EDWARD KEEGAN More than a visual complement to the text-only résumé, the portfolio needs to communicate a designer’s experience and skills on its own. Recruiter David [...]

DBI has been retained by an outstanding firm in downtown Seattle.  Here are the details of this exciting role! Company Established and growing firm with loads of room to grow a career Firm built on a foundation of collaboration, with team and clients Leverages entrepreneurs to the front line of [...]

I was checking out one of my regular sites, The Awesomer, today and learned something new, which I love to do.  The 80’s style has an origin!  In fact it came from one design house!  The design house that started the trend was called The Memphis Group.  This group truly [...]