The highlight of my year so far was getting the chance to spend some time recently with a professor from Stanford’s design school who was here in Bozeman for vacation. He has the enviable position of working with the best and the brightest in a multi-disciplinary course that tackles design problems for some of this planet’s poorest citizens and gets further built upon with a program called KickStart.

Summary: The course takes some really sharp students, throws a complicated problem at them, and the world gets changed through innovative designs and entrepreneurial know-how.

I asked him what his one-piece of advice is for students when they delve into design problems.

His response?

Prototype. Prototype today. Prototype often. As soon as you can, get it in a 3-D model and start finding the flaws in your design and having conversations.

Now these tools don’t have to be expensive…simple cardboard and Scotch tape works. (Check out the documentary: “Sketches of Frank Gehry” and watch the part where he builds a model…it’s hilarious and yet awe-inspiring to watch him crinkle a piece of paper just right and achieve his vision.)

I think the cross-over for architecture is using a laser-cutter. If you’re old school and doing it in 2-D, it’s a piece of cake to export a DXF or DWG file and crank out terraced topography or walls. The accuracy is amazing. Plus, it’s a really cheap way to build a model from a raw material perspective. *If you’re working in 3-D BIM, this might not be the best solution. Kinda like buying a car and then riding a horse to work.

However, the trade off is time and quality. It takes time to punch out each wall and assemble it to make a space. But the quality of the conversation that takes place with a client is measurably better. Imagine what it can do for you word-of-mouth for your firm as well.

Letting a client touch, feel, and take apart your designs with their hands is an experience not too many firms are providing these days. The tools are here to make rapid-prototyping a viable option and give you a competitive advantage.