Boutique Design Magazine, April 2017 Exit Interview with Carl
1) It’s been nearly two years since you and Dolly rebranded your namesake firm as Clear on Black. What challenges—and benefits—have moving to this new identity presented?
Actually, the two years preceding our rebranding were the most challenging. We underwent an expertly guided scrutiny and self-examination of every aspect of our company. We knew the past was irrelevant, and I can’t stand complacency. What we learned is that we really had evolved quite a lot and our image didn’t begin to convey who we had become as designers or as people. Had we not undergone this rigorous introspection, we wouldn’t have had this level of clarity (Clear on Black being a description of our bringing the hidden and unknown to light). The benefit is that we now have much more freedom, a new client base and new project types.
2) You often touch on subjects that are under discussed by the hospitality interior design community. What current topics, trends or concepts should designers have on their radar?
Luxury. Why is it expected that luxury equals the use of materials that are becoming extinct? Luxury encourages the consumption of marble from mountains mined and flattened until they are no more and the deforestation of old growth forests, which causes the loss of entire ecosystems. Our company’s focused market niche is upscale and luxury, and I would like us to redefine this class of design so that the expectation isn’t precious stone columns and exotic veneers, resources that are finite and are in need of preservation. Can we foster design that does not contribute to the relentless chase of opulent materials that can never be regenerated?
3) When did you first meet Dolly? What has it been like growing your careers and firm together over the years?
We met in college, went through multiple degrees together, made homes in multiple states together…and have evolved together many times and continue to do so. One of the things we appreciate most is that we think independently and differently, and we have a great deal of respect for each other’s strengths and viewpoints. One of our biggest challenges has been in learning to honor and pay attention to each role that we play: as lovers, as husband and wife, as parents, as best friends, as business partners. We’ve learned to take time to appreciate the details and mastery in the most unlikely places. The precision and artfulness of a skilled tile-setter or the perfect home-grown tomato.
4) After 20-plus years of running your own firm, what advice do you have for other design executives on guiding and managing their talent?
For us, we had to identify our core values – those essential characteristics which every Clear on Black employee MUST exhibit. We now hire and evaluate each person here based on those core values. It’s how we manage our team. Talent, if left unmanaged, can become unruly and out of touch. Designers need coaching and mentoring. But in order to lead your team, you need to know who you are. Not the who you aspire to be, but the real you. And we believe that our core values apply to all of us. No one gets special treatment.
5) It’s my understanding that you’ve developed a “diagnostic assessment” for projects. Can you give me some drill down into your design process and what makes it different? When I was in college studying industrial design, I was taught to always have a legitimate basis of design. Something that’s indisputable, something that provides a starting point that all subsequent design refers to. Our Diagnostic Process identifies and explores all of the constraints and variables which weigh in on and influence a project. Think about it – how liberating and how valuable this is. The entire project’s experience is considered, from the environment to the culture, the geography, the spatial constraints, the adjacencies, the target market, the comp set, the budget, schedules and quality level, the team members, the leadership team and their skills and expectations. We look at all of this independently so we can openly and honestly know what problems need to be solved. And no offense to clients, but the presenting problem they give us isn’t always the true problem. It’s no different than me walking into my doctor’s office and telling him how to fix my illness or the treatment I think I need. That’s why our Diagnostic is so valuable to us – and to our clients. Some of the problems will be solved by us and some will be solved by other consultants, but we’ve got to have a holistic understanding of the project if we’re to do our best work.
6) “Authenticity” is a buzz word we see again and again. How can designers strategically create a look that feels totally genuine? What’s your take on this concept?
Everyone who interacts with built space strives to make sense of it, regardless of their station in life or their educational level. Humans want to feel good. I believe that for a space to be successful, there needs to be an intuitive understanding of it. It shouldn’t need a written narrative or a soliloquy from a hotel staff member to give it meaning. I see how good design can transform lives - how a handmade mosaic telling the island’s folkloric story of creation can spark a sense of belonging - and I also see how formulaic design can cause confusion and ruin a guest’s experience. Well-designed space speaks to our humanness. This really hit home with me when I was standing in a lobby of a resort I had designed and watched a family enter to check in. The little boy dropped his backpack and turned to his father to say, “It’s just like I pictured it, Dad!” For me, authenticity is considering all of the people who use a space - the guests, the child and his parents, the housekeeping staff, the valet, the director of engineering, the sales team, everyone. I believe that if it’s authentic, they’ll feel proud to be a part of it, they’ll take ownership, and then their care for the space will become self-generative. I don’t believe in “story” because it’s not real. A deeper, truer meaning behind design creates a culture within a space or a property that is far more meaningful to me than merely focusing on brand and story. I think culture is what brings a guest back again and again.
7) What’s the number one mistake owners/developers make when planning their projects?
Preconception.
8) Why make time to blog? What benefits does it offer beyond the creative release?
Blogging is not a creative release for me as much as it is a vignette about a problem I observe. I feel that opening it up helps me have better insight into how to resolve it. I’m interested in conversations about the elephant in the room, going to the dark places, having the hard conversations. I love the challenge of moving through these and embracing the discomfort. There is a lot of grace and beauty in traversing darkness, and I know it’s not for everyone, but I have to go to those places if I’m to evolve. I have 35 years of knowledge and experience I want to share so people can have better projects, better business relationships, better profits, better lives. That’s why I write, that’s why I host webinars, that’s why all this thought leadership is important.
9) How could media outlets covering the hospitality design industry improve? What types of stories would you like to see—and how are we missing the mark?
I would like to know more about the processes and thinking behind cutting edge people. You all have access to people from so many walks of life which you could connect with. I want to hear more diverse viewpoints and legitimate case studies rather than veiled sales pitches. I would like to see more community and collaboration. We’re one of the very few industries that is so siloed and so isolated from one another. There is rarely open collaboration or sharing of meaningful information.
