Prepare for a studio visit that gets beyond the portfolio
A reporting checklist for understanding process, with permission and clear attribution.
Research before arriving
Read the studio’s own project descriptions and prepare questions that go beyond information already published. Choose one project or decision to explore in depth. A focused conversation often produces a clearer story than trying to cover an entire career in one sitting.
Agree the boundaries
Explain the proposed publication, format and photography needs. Ask about confidential client work, screens, prototypes and areas that should not be recorded. Agree how quotes and factual details will be checked. Recording permission and image publication permission should be explicit.
Ask about a decision
Invite the maker to explain an alternative they considered, a constraint they encountered or a detail they changed. Ask to see a sketch, sample or intermediate version when sharing is permitted. These specifics help readers understand how the work came to be.
Keep observation and attribution separate
Record what you saw, what the contributor said and what still needs checking. Do not turn an impression into a quotation or a studio claim. Before publication, confirm names, roles, project credits and permissions, and provide a correction contact. This checklist supports reporting; it is not a substitute for the visit itself.
An original planning framework. Examples are illustrative. No visit, interview or product test is claimed. Our editorial standards.
Put the ideas to work.
A useful brief gives a collaborator enough context to ask better questions. Start yours here.
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