ORDERING INFO:

STEP 1. Email me or call me at 317.513.6502

STEP 2. We will discuss your project and schedule. You will need to send me your drawings and reference materials in order for me to give you a firm price.

STEP 3. I will send you a contract with firm pricing on your project.

Step 4. When you return your contract, I will make a rough draft and send it to you for your approval.

STEP 5. When you return the rough draft with your approval, the drawing/s will be completed and shipped!

It's just that easy!

Getting the Most from My Service.

Understand:
I am creating a custom product for you, that has never been done before, will never be used again,and cannot be sold to anyone else. To do this, there are no templates or previous products that I can borrow from in order to reduce the amount of time/expense. You are not buying a piece of pre-existing 'artwork', you are buying time from a highly qualified, technical service, that is producing 'artwork' to your specifications. I am providing the following suggestions, based upon 30 years of experience, in order to facilitate the production of your artwork to the greatest degree possible, with the understanding that the previous statements form the parameters of its' production.

1.
DO: Give me an idea about your budget and what you'd like to get.
DON'T: Assume that I know what that is without you telling me. As the proverb goes: ' Cheap things are seldom good, and good things are seldom cheap'...however, if we have an initial understanding about where you are financially with the project, it is much easier for both of us to begin from that perspective and tailor a product to match your budget, than it is for either of us to end up with sticker shock later. You don't want to feel screwed, and I can't pay for your project for you. I sell Chevys and Cadillacs, we need to communicate.

2.
DO: Provide complete and final information upon placing your order. For architectural renderings, that would be floor plans, elevations, roof plans, site plan, landscaping plan, materials, colors, samples, reference photos, etc.
DON'T: Provide an 'evolving' design with the thought that it will help kick start the work: it will only add more time/cost to alter it when you are sure of what you want. It is ALWAYS best to do it right the first time.

3.
DO: Provide instruction as to what you are looking for in terms of the ambience you want to create.
A reference to something you have seen in the past that you like is the most helpful.
DON'T: Assume that you and I have verbal vocabularies that match our visual perceptions/vocabularies...in other words, in a test where 30 people were asked to define the color of 'red' by selecting a color chip, the results were 30 different color chips.

4A.
DO: Learn to cut loose and trust me to do what you want me to.
DON'T: Micro-manage. The people who get the best results are not only those who have the best-designed projects, but also those who don't feel the need to have their hands in the mixing bowl with me. Doing so creates performance anxiety...and is something like having someone read your newspaper from over your shoulder. Not fun...and not conducive to creativity.

4B.
DO: Allow me to use my expertise in creating the best image for your product.
DON'T: Take my tools away from me ( light, shadow, color, layout ). I am going to be completely frank here ( as if I have never been ), and say a few things that may not feel good, but are, nevertheless true. Although you may understand your project better than me at our initial meeting, where I am deluged with a set of plans that I have never seen before, my learning curve is very, very fast, due to having done this for thousands of projects with hundreds of clients over 30 years. I will know very quickly, which angle/s is/are the best and how to best represent/flatter, it/them. The worst jobs are those in which the client insists upon an angle that he/she knows is not the best, for reasons that have nothing to do with the visual presentation of the project; or those in which someone who has little to no experience as an art director attempts to be one. Sure, if you want me to do the dumpster laden side of the building, because that is the one that faces the interstate, no problemo, just expect to see the backside of the building with dumpsters. On another note, light and shadow are what define form. Don't tell me that you don't want to see shadow under a canopy, and then not understand why it seems to have no depth. Comprende?

5.
DO: Return rough drafts with your notations promptly.
DON'T: hold the roughs for 30 days and then expect finished art the next day.

6.
DO: Plan ahead, and allow sufficient time to produce your drawing/s, and understand that lead time may vary considerably. A head's up at your earliest convenience, even if it is 6 months to a year in the future,
is helpful in planning and arranging workflow.
DON'T: Call me on Friday, needing your project on Monday....it ain't gonna happen.

7.
DO: Pay your bill promptly, I have bills to pay just like you.
DON'T:
Wait until I am forced to become someone that I don't want to be.

8.
DO: .....unto others as you would have them do unto you,
DON'T: ...do unto others before they can do unto you.

.....and that completes todays' sermon.



Lake Associates Business Policy and Other Pertinent Info ( .pdf file )

• Architectural Illustration / Renderings • Graphic Design • Photography