Industry blog Go Design Go is live after a several-month-long hiatus. A new look, and a new editor, are behind the Cohen Design Centers site. EAL catches up with editor Holly Speck about what designers can expect from GDG’s revamp. Among the highlights? Think new party-focused features and exposés of the design centers’ famed window displays. Speck arrives at the D&D Building with a B.A. in journalism from the University of Richmond and her own personal design experience. Here, she shares a look at, well, the new look.
Tell us about the redesign. How has GDG changed? What remains the same?
Go Design Go has been redesigned to make it more current and relevant given our constantly evolving industry. It features a brand-new site with fresh content, and more impactful and engaging imagery. A brand-new logo and color scheme are just the introductory facets to the new look and feel of the website. The site has been re-imagined to capture the essence of design, and is easier to navigate on all platforms, with a focus on the articles being more visual and compelling.
In-depth writing is also a major focus. We want to tell real design stories that have a newsy aspect to them. The essence of the blog, created 10 years ago, remains the same—to serve the trade by covering the best of design news and happenings as it is related to the four Cohen Design Centers—but now with the new goal: Go Design Go seeks to be the design industry’s morning must-read destination, with more impactful writing and three–dimensional content.
What is your background in design? What is most exciting, for you, about the industry?
My first introduction to design was when I was 10 and my parents let me shop at Benjamin Moore to replace my “baby” wallpaper with an updated “grown-up” color scheme. I painted my entire room—and added an accent wall. My mother was also a jackie-of-all-trades, from lawyer to teacher to interior designer, designing beach homes in New Jersey.
My strength is that I am a writer first, with a journalism degree from the University of Richmond, as well as an arts enthusiast, which is also tied for first with my passion for journalism. [I’ve grown up] finding new ways to create, whether [through] an experimental painting and drawing course, a guitar purchase, a high-school theater major, [or] covering the high-end fashion world and, now, as an interior design writer.
I’ve had previous experiences working for Ian Urbina, a two-time Pulitzer-prize-winning New York Times investigative journalist, for CBS-6 News and on the editorial side of DC Modern Luxury magazine, covering everything from broadcast news script writing and magazine writing to research and social media. I have tried my hand at every aspect of journalism, including broadcast news, documentary work and photography, and newswriting and tied all of my experiences into my current writing foundation.
The most exciting part for me about the industry is the people within it. I’ve always drawn inspiration from fascinating people and enjoyed feature writing. There is such a variety of design aesthetics, and everyone in the industry has multifaceted skills and interests. Industry members all carry interesting stories and backgrounds that make their work individual and truly special.
How do you plan to reach out to interior designers?
I am blessed with wonderful access to interior designers by having my home base within the D&D Building. I have begun to foster real relationships with the showrooms and the managers of the Cohen Design Centers. The best part is the national presence of these centers. I am connecting with industry members across the country, allowing me to see national trends and see the interior design industry on a national stage. Also, every day the D&D Building is springing with talent, so I am lucky to be able to have access to interior designers shopping the building.
Go Design Go covers the four Cohen Design Centers: Decoration & Design Building in New York, Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, Decorative Center Houston, and Design Center of the Americas in South Florida.
