In the design world, there’s a quote from New York designer, author, and illustrator Frank Chimero that gets repeated quite a bit. It is, “People ignore design that ignores people.”
It sounds deceptively simple, but as Madison Taylor, founder and principal of Madison Taylor Design, can tell you, it’s not. “We’ve learned that providing client-centred design is complex and layered, but that it is truly the only way to deliver real, meaningful results to our clients,” she explains.
The team of experts put the client at the centre of everything they do, but they acknowledge that doing so looks very different for different clients. “Many of our clients are extremely busy people,” explains Madison, “and they want things to keep moving forward. So, we try to be efficient with everything we do so that we can take up only the necessary amount of their time, while also feeling confident that we are designing a space that works for them, not for us or for anyone else.” By contrast, other clients want to be involved every step of the way. “We’ve had clients say, ‘Hey, I’m probably going to call you five times a day, is that okay?’ and the answer is ‘Yes, absolutely!’ One of our first questions is, how do you want to work? What feels good to you?”
While this might sound like sophisticated customer service, it’s actually an integral contributing element to a high-quality end design. Think of good architecture as the cultivation of spaces that enrich the human experience. The human experience, however, is not universal. So, when the task is to cultivate a space for specific people, it’s only through understanding and communicating with those people that guiding principles can be established and applied. “The client journey determines not only the pleasure taken in of the process, but also the scale, form, success, function, and enjoyment of the final product,” says Madison.
With that in mind, all projects undertaken at Madison Taylor Design are guided by eight client-centred values: authenticity, kindness, transparency, passion, innovation, respect, collaboration, and boldness.
In an industry where the interplay between innovation and tradition can inspire and drive great design, authenticity ensures that creative decisions are always rooted in sound principles. Knowledge that the creative team will always play it straight nurtures trust and credibility, so that clients are able to rely on the guidance of professionals to translate their visions into tangible, meaningful spaces.
Good design requires good communication skills. The professionals at Madison Taylor Design understand that listening is kindness. “A client who knows they are listened to feels encouraged to take their time when answering questions, free to consider and reconsider their perspectives, able to acknowledge uncertainties, and welcome to seek the guidance of others,” says Madison. “The simple act of listening in this way fosters authentic expression and gives the client the confidence to explore their ideas without fear of judgment.”
In design, as in all professional businesses, trust is built on transparency. The team at Madison Taylor Design respects that clients invest not just their financial assets, but also emotional and personal resources on the understanding that decision making will always be driven by their best interests. Clear and frank communication about design choices, timelines, and budgetary considerations helps to establish vital mutual trust.
“Passion is huge here,” says Madison. “Great architecture only happens when technical skill meets creative passion.” Madison Taylor Design approaches each project with the goal of finding innovative and inspired ways to create spaces that are highly functional and personally resonant for their clients. “We always work together with our clients to make sure they’re truly happy with and excited about the design. Our objective is to be flexible enough not to fall in love with our own opinions.”
Every design project requires innovation. Over generations, architectural innovation has pushed boundaries, redefined the possible, and driven craftsmanship to ever greater heights. Madison Taylor Design designers respond creatively and in meaningful ways to contemporary challenges such as managing sustainability and incorporating new technology. Innovation drives all team members to meet and exceed the needs and wants of their clients in resourceful, functional, luxurious, and beautiful ways.
Like kindness, respect is foundational. It extends to the designer–client relationship and beyond. By respecting the time, energies, and intentions of everyone involved, including builders, professionals in the subtrades, and team members, a project benefits in the form of time and cost efficiencies and goodwill.
As an integrated design firm, Madison Taylor Designs has the advantage of taking a holistic approach to each architectural project. The collaborative team includes architectural designers, interior designers, decorators, and landscape architects. Their expertise helps ensure that every project is fully informed at the planning stage by all the components of the project to come, helping to maximize not just efficiency and cost, but also the functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability.
To be interesting, home design must have the boldness of self-confidence, even where it’s not avant-garde. Designers at Madison Taylor Design look for ways to create interesting and memorable spaces, including by exploring unconventional materials, forms, and arrangements.
Taken together, these eight guiding principles inform each project undertaken by the award-winning design team at Madison Taylor Design. “Because we believe every client is unique in their objectives and desires and in how they want to engage in the process,” says Madison, “we really believe in a client-centric approach. In our experience, it makes for the best outcomes. It makes for happy clients.”