What should I ask about an architecture firm’s rendering and visualization staff?
Ask who produces the renderings, whether they are employees or contractors, and how much of the firm’s winning work depends on them. Then find out about their pay, their plans, and who owns the files and models they build. Their loss could change how the firm competes.
Renderings often win projects. Clients judge a firm by the images it shows before anything is built, so the people who make them matter. Start by asking how many people do this work, how long they have been with the firm, and whether any of them also design. Ask which staff clients mention by name.
Find out how the work is organised. Is rendering done in-house for every proposal, or sent to outside studios when busy? If outside studios do it, ask how they are paid and whether the firm could easily change. If staff do it, ask whether they have written employment terms and whether you may speak with them before closing.
Ask about assets too: the model libraries, templates and finished images. Who owns the files, and can they be reused on future proposals? Ask what the firm has paid for licences on the tools it uses and whether they transfer to a new owner. Finally, ask what the seller thinks would happen to bids if the lead visualizer left. If the answer is that the owner does most of the visuals personally, ask how that work would continue after the sale. Ask which tools the visualizers prefer, and whether that choice came from them or from the owner.
Key takeaways
- Ask which staff clients associate with the firm’s images.
- Find out whether visualizers are employees or contractors.
- Confirm who owns the models, libraries and finished images.
Related reading
12 pages on the same subject, grouped by topic.
Buying
- Expert answerHow do I assess the confidentiality habits of an HR consulting firm’s staff?
- Expert answerHow can I judge morale among an architecture firm’s junior designers before buying?
- Expert answerWhat should I look at in an architecture firm’s portfolio before I buy?
- Expert answerHow do I check how an accounting practice’s staff are paid for busy season?
- Expert answerWhat staff roles keep a property management company running day to day?
- GuideBuying an architecture practice in Canada
Due diligence
- Expert answerHow do I find out whether an architecture firm’s projects were won by referral or tender?
- Expert answerWhy does an architecture firm’s pipeline of slow-moving projects matter to a buyer?
- Expert answerHow do I tell if a bookkeeping practice’s staff are overloaded with client files?
- GuideArchitecture practice due diligence
Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat are the steps to buying a business?
Deavo is an advertising and listings platform, not a brokerage, law firm or valuation firm. This page is general information, not legal, tax, accounting or valuation advice, and rules differ by province. Confirm anything you rely on with a qualified professional before you act on it.