In school, you design for yourself. In profession, you design for a client. Students see client as annoying person who ruins good ideas. Frederick says: The client is your most important design constraint, not your enemy.
The client knows things you don't. He knows how his family lives, how his business works, what his kids fear. If you listen, you get information that makes design better, not worse.
There are two types of architects: Those who present and defend, and those who listen and translate. First type says "This is my concept, you must accept". Second says "Tell me how you wake up, where you have coffee, where kids play". Second type gets repeat clients and referrals.
Rule: 70% listening, 30% talking in first meeting. Ask: What do you do at 7am? At 3pm? At 11pm? What bothers you in your current house? What is your favorite hotel and why? The answers are your real brief.
For your technical office role, this is daily. Site engineer, owner, consultant each is a client. If you listen to their real problem (not their requested solution), you solve correctly. Owner says "make column smaller" - real problem is "corridor too narrow". Solution is not smaller column but moving wall.
Instagram post: Show client brief vs final design and how listening changed design for better. Title: "My client hated my first design. Thank God he did."
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