Stop Mandating. Start Prototyping.

The return-to-office debate has become strangely binary.

One side argues that culture, mentorship, and collaboration require employees to be in the office five days per week.

The other argues that professionals have proven they can be productive from anywhere.

Both sides are partially right.

And both sides may be asking the wrong question.

The Conversation the Design Industry Isn’t Fully Having…

One of the more interesting contradictions emerging in the design industry right now is this:

Many firms are asking employees to recommit to rigid 5-day-per-week in-office schedules…

while simultaneously maintaining expectations that work extends well beyond traditional working hours.

I’m frequently asked some version of the same question from commercial interior designers considering launching an independent practice:

“How did you know it was the right time to start?”

What I continue to share is this:

There is rarely a perfect moment.

Another common concern:
“How do I look legitimate before I have completed projects under my own company?”

My advice is always the same:
start simpler than you think.