Soaring to the top of the architectural fields, Gresham, Smith and Partners (GS&P) is a firm that is leading the way with their architectural and engineering visions for the future. They have designed signature office buildings, healthcare facilites and airport projects that are clearly recognizable in cities across the southeastern United States.

Competitors shudder when they see their names short-listed for potential projects along with Gresham, Smith and Partners. Why? Because GS&P brings a wealth of experience and design ideas that sets them ahead of the competition. They're an innovative firm that uses innovative presentations to exhibit that they are forerunners in their field.

Gary Hunt, a partner in the firm, has spear-headed the development of numerous interactive multimedia (IMM) presentations. He shared with Southland Multimedia Journal (SMJ) his thoughts on the use of IMM in the short-list presentation environment.

SMJ: What were the reasons Gresham Smith & Partners decided to develop Interactive Multimedia programs for its marketing presentations?

Hunt: Multimedia presentations allow us to communicate our qualifications and design ideas more clearly and effectively to prospective clients. These presentations set us apart and ahead from our competition. Not only that, IMM provides speed and convenience over traditional presentation methods that we've used in the past.

SMJ: Describe how the IMM programs are used.

Hunt: We use multimedia in a variety of methods - whether it's part of a formal presentation or an informal, intense one-on-one laptop driven presentation. The presentations can also be easily showcased in a booth display at trade shows.

SMJ: Describe how IMM is a powerful tool to present a message.

Hunt: The mixing of media types is an attention getter over traditional talk-board presentations. Multimedia allows us the flexibility of transmitting a lot of information in a short period of time. We can adjust the speed of our presentations by eliminating points or easily returning to previous points that we need to underscore. Finally, the ability of presenting on-screen animation is always a powerful use for visual architecture.

SMJ: What has been the audience response?

Hunt: WOW!

SMJ: What have audiences been demanding today in the short list/presentation environment?

Hunt:  Prospective clients expect to see a presentation tailored specifically to their project.

SMJ: Describe the development process GS&P undertook for these programs.

Hunt: After interviewing the client to determine their needs or "Hot Spots", we determine how our track record and expertise addresses those specific needs. After that we sit with the multimedia developer to determine the best communication plan and the presenters are heavily involved in all stages of development, reviewing, and editing the presentations.

SMJ: What is your vision for using IMM in the future? How do you see it impacting the way you do presentations at GS&P?

Hunt: We believe that IMM will become the standard format for formal and visual presentations at Gresham, Smith and Partners. Currently, we are researching and developing more sophisticated animation techniques and integrating them into our presentations. We're also developing a library of multimedia market specific and firm overview segments so that in the future any principal in any office can download a presentation and quickly design it towards the needs of a specific client.