If you want your clients more engaged in the design process, give them the tools to design.
Cascade Custom Pools in Austin, Texas recently installed in its showroom a 90-inch desk with a built-in touch screen monitor, allowing customers to mark up and examine pool plans from every angle.
The interactive table makes designing more collaborative, as customers now have physical control over what they see. They can zoom in and out and tap for a bird’s-eye view of a project. They can even make notes and highlight objects on the screen. It’s all very intuitive. The desk functions like a great big iPad.
“I can sit them around the table and give them their own digital plan,” says T.J. Thompson, general manager. “They can do some real-time changes and sketches and flick it across the table to me.”
The software syncs the table with Thompson’s laptop, so he can present his designs on a high-definition display with a transparent overlay which can be manipulated, doodled upon and annotated. All those actions can be recorded, giving designers a digital file to reference later.
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The designer also uses the monitor to showcase materials for consideration and present design ideas from other sources, such as Houzz. He and his customers can make notes right on the screen, eliminating the need for paper.
Thompson learned of the technology when he built a pool for the individual who owns Digital Touch Systems, producer of the product. The manufacturer supplies the units to architects, interior designers and marketers — essentially anyone who wants to impress with a flashier presentation and deliver a more interactive experience.
Ultimately, says Thompson, it’s a smoother process. Customers aren’t calling out orders to scroll up or down or waving their hands wildly while he works on a desktop.
“There used to be that awkward 15 seconds where I was trying to do what they wanted,” Thompson says. “Now, it’s ‘You guys take control. Do your thing.’”
And when it’s not being used for presentations, employees can use the big touch screen for videogames.
Air hockey, anyone?
