20 Questions with Alex Thomas

Title: Project Designer

Years in the Industry: 1

Been Loving Life at Form Since: Day 1. The energy around the office is palpable; it makes it such an exciting place to work!

Favorite Destination: A tie between Monaco and Paris

Hometown: Fort Myers, Florida – the City of Palms

Currently Living In: Chinatown, DC

Alma Mater: University of Florida – Go Gators!

Couldn’t Live Without: Cheese. My girlfriend and I have started buying Parmesan in bulk because we use so much of it.

If you were a drink you’d be: A margarita. Rocks. With salt.

Hidden Talent: Chef! My girlfriend and I cook together almost every night. I’m pretty good at it…I like to think. Spaghetti Carbonara is my specialty.

If you were a song, you’d be: What’s My Age Again by blink-182. I’m a kid at heart (plus I saw them live in 2009 – that was an awesome concert).

Last Meal: Chicken Tender Publix Sub, with a glass of Strawberry Orange juice from Sun Harvest Citrus in my hometown, Fort Myers, FL. Seriously, if you haven’t tried either of these, put them on your bucket list.

If you weren’t a designer, you’d be: a judge on the Food Network show Chopped. I would love to try all the crazy, delicious dishes they see from episode to episode!

Favorite aspect of design: I excel at and love architectural visualizations. I think it’s  an underrated part of our industry. For designers, lines and shapes on a screen make sense, but sometimes we need to convey that information in a more relatable, visually appealing way to clients. It’s so great to see a client react when their vision becomes a (relative) reality for the first time.

First thing you’d buy after winning the lottery: Meals at Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy; Faviken in Jarpen, Sweden; and Alinea in Chicago – three of the best restaurants in the world. By now you can see a common thread – I’m a bit of a foodie.

Best spot in DC/VA that only the locals know: I’m still pretty new to the area, but my favorite brunch spot so far is La Tasca in Chinatown!

Salty or sweet: Can I vote for sour?

Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter: Fall. I love turning leaves, Halloween, and the return of football!

The one piece of advice you’d share with someone getting into the industry: Embrace the difficult tasks. Investing time in work that is difficult or outside of your comfort zone will help to grow yourself and your design mind in ways you can’t imagine.

The first thing you do when you get to work: Wash my hands. I take the metro, so that shouldn’t need any explanation.

20 Questions with Kara Dirling

Recently, FORM had the pleasure of welcoming Project Designer, Kara Dirling to our team! We’re thrilled to have her join us and knew she was the perfect person to feature in the first installment of our new recurring post, 20 Questions, meant to reveal a different side to our team members.

1. Title – Project Designer
2. Years in the industry – 4 years
3. Been loving life at FORM since – I joined FORM this Spring, but it was love at first sight.
4. Favorite destination – Italy
5. Hometown – Pittsburgh, PA aka Steeler Nation
6. Currently living in – Arlington, VA
7. Alma mater – University of Memphis Grad, Go Tigers Go!
8. Couldn’t live without: My iPhone. I am long distance from my family so it allows me to communicate with them daily. I also use it for literally everything.
9. If you were a drink, you’d be – A Tequila Sunrise. Vibrant, sweet and strong!
10. Hidden talent – I’m an artist/painter
11. If you were a song, you’d be – Pharrell Williams “Happy”. I’m optimistic and don’t sweat the small stuff.
12. Last meal: Thanksgiving Dinner
13. If you weren’t a designer, you’d be – A life coach. I’m constantly encouraging others around me to go for the things in life that they’re passionate about and to see their own strengths.
14. Favorite aspect of design – Interacting with people and being able to use my creativity to make a positive impact on someone’s day-to-day life through design.
15. First thing you’d buy after winning the lottery – A plane ticket to travel around the world.
16. Best spot in DC/VA that only the locals know – New to the area and am still figuring this one out. On the weekends you can find me checking out a new restaurant. Bob & Edith’s Diner is one of my favorites for breakfast.
17. Salty or sweet – Chocoholic
18. Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter – Summer…bring on the warm weather, suntan lotion and cold drinks!
19. The one piece of advice you’d share with someone getting into the industry – Hard work and a positive attitude can take you places you never imagined.
20. The first thing you do when you get to work – Check my e-mail with a mug of Chai tea and make a to-do list for the day.

Introducing inFORM

With the first few months of 2016 under our belt and spring in the air, we have decided to breathe some new life into our firm with the introduction of our very own blog, inFORM. We have assembled a great, internal team of bloggers that represent every facet of our brand. Each contributor delivers a unique perspective and voice that will dial in and provide interesting insight into, who FORM is.

We’ve given free rein to our blog team to share their expertise and discuss any topics that they consider to be interesting or inspiring. We’re passionate about design but are collectively so much more than that and hope to convey this through inFORM.

In addition to design and architecture related content, you’ll also get a behind the scenes look into our office culture [something we’re very proud of]. As any architect/designer knows, hours can be long and sleep can be scarce but after we work hard, we play hard.

We’re so excited to share this new part of FORM and provide a unique platform for our team to share what they’re most passionate about.

Don’t be a stranger!