Inspiration can come from anywhere. Nearly every design challenge begins with some exploration and search for inspiration. Today, Luke Gehron shares where he finds inspiration. As a member of PAYETTE’s 3D Visualization group, he’s worked with almost every project team in the office at all stages of the design process which he finds as a source of inspiration.
It is interesting to see how different project teams collaborate with one another and design. On multiple occasions, I have found inspiration in the process, where a quick sketch can suddenly reshape an entire design thought. In moments like these, I’m also reminded of the fact that anyone can generate an idea, and it can be that spark that makes the whole team work together towards a common goal.
The unexpected can be exciting, and often a project team will tour their design in VR and find a new vantage point which shows them something even they didn’t know about their building. VR can also inspire in other ways. When switching between VR experiences, or after an exhaustive tour through a building in VR, I often pause at the starry night background and look around at the tranquil environment and feel motivated.
I also find inspiration in the infinite grey void of the blank Rhino viewport. There is endless potential and possibilities, and someday all the different design iterations of the project will exist in on this grey canvas. What will this project look like at the end of the design? How will the design develop, and what renderings or VR experiences will be created to facilitate this process? Will the design ever get built, or will it stay trapped in the vast grey landscape of this Rhino viewport forever? This is how all my design projects have started for as long as I can remember, and I don’t know where I would be without the cool RGB[157, 163, 170] grey background to inspire me.
Working with such a wide variety of people and projects at PAYETTE, has afforded me the chance to learn from an array of people, gaining new insights and perspective that provide great inspiration throughout the design process, helping take designs from a blank canvas to fruition.
Related Links:
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Finding Inspiration: Stephanie Balsam
We are honored to share PAYETTE has received two 2026 Green Good Design Awards from The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies—Land’s Sake Farm and The Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard.
“Green GOOD DESIGN identifies and emphasizes the world’s most important examples of sustainable design and works to develop a public awareness program that informs the general public about which global companies are doing the best job in ecological and sustainable design for our world. Architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning projects, as well as product, packaging, and graphic design projects from over 30 nations were honored with the 2026 Green GOOD DESIGN Award.”
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