I’m not supposed to hang out with architects
AIA’s 2026 Conference on Architecture and Design asked for my review... basically, it was worth my time. (said with a smile)
Years ago, a good friend told me to stop hanging out with architects so much. Ha! Jana had finished serving as the President of AIA California, our calendar was full of AIA events plus just hanging out with friends (that are architects). Sounds harsh, but it made sense as we were talking about business development.
So now every time I hang out with architects, at some moment I’ll recall his voice in my head telling me to “stop hanging out with architects”.
Well, last week I hung out with some architects… so here’s my requested review for the AIA’s 2026 Conference on Architecture and Design…
The graphics team is on point for these AIA Architecture and Design conferences. I even had to pause in the convention center to appreciate the full wall graphics with a circular AIA logo inside of the circular windows of the San Diego Convention Center architecture. However, a few of us chuckled over the missed opportunity on our name tags we had to stylishly wear around. When I speak about graphic design to our team, hierarchy is typically a main topic. So, what’s the most important thing about a name tag? There you go.
Swag, is there a better less dated slang term for this? Anderson Windows and Schluter won. Hands down, not even close. Anderson, a small insulated metal coffee mug. Small, intentionally not able to drink 32oz of coffee, with a handle… mug. Great for a cappuccino or gibraltar, but not a latte. Perfect. Schluter, a felt bag in the shape of their iconic void shape from their trim products. Fantastic. It looked like a runway model’s purse, bigger than a clutch and bold in shape to minimize what it can hold. And did I mention both products were orange? Oh, and I came home with neither gift… not a paid review!
People, I could go on and on about this. But human connection is why we gather. See photo above.
Jana and I interviewed with Monograph’s fireside chats. No fire though. We brainstormed with Rocky from Sherwin Williams about convincing a fireplace vendor to wheel one over as a backdrop to our conversation but I wasn’t able to pull that off. I even thought of just sketching a fire on a piece of paper to hold up. Epic ideas, poor execution on my part. Back to the interview… None of the 4 prep questions were asked, I guess it’s cool that we inspired something different out of Chris? Ha. But in the end hopefully we just shared something thoughtful enough to be helpful to our fellow small business owners.
UpCodes went from David to Goliath? But not in a bad way if you know the story. Just a few years ago UpCodes was fighting “the man” about essentially reformatting the public building codes. While that fight may or may not be in the past… they’ve grown into other products: plan check, coordination, spec writing… that essentially categorizes them as a Goliath in the industry, reflecting in their big and bold booth that was swamped at every passing by. And what about David? Because without a David, Goliath would just another big dude. I’m sorry that I don’t remember all the Davids as I walked around the expo, but to be honest many of them had terribly overly complicated signage graphics that overwhelmed my sense of intrigue. However, I do remember Rhonda. So, for the AI roundup I left with… Rhonda vs Goliath.
If you ever see me chuckle to myself while hanging out at an AIA event, now you know what I’m thinking.