The gap wasn’t in the work. It was in how the work was being presented.
Their portfolio read like a list. Their proposals were all logistics. Their website was quiet on the things that made their practice distinctive. It wasn’t a branding issue. It was a communication problem.
Many architecture studios treat communication as something to sort out later, after the project’s done. But how a studio writes, talks, and shares its work has structure too. It’s how people see your work, and often, whether they see it at all.
No matter how strong a project is, how we present, talk about, and frame it deeply shapes how others perceive it. Good communication, grounded in clear storytelling, helps attract clients and collaborators who resonate with your values and aesthetic.
But in many creative fields, especially architecture, there’s a belief that “the work speaks for itself.” Yes, great work has a voice. But the way you present it—visually, verbally, emotionally—can either create synergy or dissonance. It can either clarify your studio’s identity or make it blurry. And when communication doesn’t reflect your real values, it can attract the wrong clients, push away the right collaborators, or simply leave you invisible in the market.
- Without strong communication, even brilliant work can be misunderstood or missed entirely.
- It’s important to understand that strong communication doesn’t come from following a standard.
- It comes from creating your own vision, style, and voice in a way that’s clear, coherent, and consistent.
- It’s about building a system out of your uniqueness.
Every detail sends a message
Communication is everything you share with the world: text, visuals, video, tone of voice, storytelling, social media, design—even the mood of your project photos or the feeling of your events.
It all starts with the basics of your brand:
Then comes your voice:
Your visual language matters too:
Project photography, exhibition design, studio photos and even extra products and events that a studio does, communicates. Think of Studio 8 in Shanghai, who designed a bench rooted in Chinese tradition, blending modern aesthetics with cultural depth. Or studios that host exhibitions, or organize charity events, not just as PR, but as expressions of what they care about.
Every post, every event, every piece of writing becomes part of a larger narrative. It all adds up. It builds an atmosphere. A story. A reputation.
Strong communication has structure
In reality, good communication doesn’t need to be dramatic or performative. It just needs to be structured, coherent, and honest, with room for creative expression.
When we build communication strategies for studios, we don’t reinvent the story every time there’s a new project or LinkedIn post. We build a system. A rhythm. A set of references that everyone in the studio can follow.
A simple communication system might include:
- Brand foundations: core values, key messages, goals
- Tone of voice: how you speak to your audience (technical? warm? poetic?)
- Brand narrative: a clear story about where you’ve been and where you’re going
- Content structure: categories of content for social media, newsletters
It doesn’t have to be complicated, just true and clear. Once it’s built, it saves time, creates clarity, and helps your studio communicate with strength and ease.
So, where do you begin?
We begin by asking a few questions:
- What is this studio? What does it do — really?
- What do we want to be known for?
- How do we want people to feel when they experience our work?
- Does our communication reflect that—or confuse it?
Brand foundations: Core values, key messages, and goals
Once you’ve asked the questions and reflected honestly, you’ll start to see the shape of your studio more clearly. And from that, you can begin to define your brand foundation.
Start simple. Use keywords. Be precise, even if it feels small or niche. For example:
- Is your focus on preserving heritage?
- Do you care about buildings as narratives, or voices?
- Is your strength academic research?
- Playfulness?
- Sustainability? (If yes, in what way?)
Try to avoid vague words like “creativity” or “innovation.” They don’t say enough. And they can end up hiding your real uniqueness instead of showing it.
Once you’ve named your values, define your key message—a kind of internal tagline. Not necessarily something you’ll publish, but a phrase that grounds your communication.
Finally, ask yourself:
- What’s the bigger goal?
- What are we trying to change, influence, or offer to the world through architecture?
It might feel too ambitious or even a bit idealistic—but that’s okay. Even if the goal seems out of reach, it gives you a direction. And direction is what makes communication consistent, clear, and resonant.
Deepening your brand foundations
- Key phrases or words that describe how your studio feels
- Emotional tone — what you want people to feel when they encounter your work
- Vision — what you’re striving toward, even if it’s long-term
- Visual anchors — consistent visual elements or moods that represent your practice
Tone of voice: How your values come through in language
Once you’ve clarified your core (your values, mood, personality), and what you care about, you can translate that into how you speak.
Literally: how you write. How is language used to write:
- Portfolio descriptions
- Website text
- Social media posts
- Project statements
- Studio news and updates
Your tone of voice should carry the values you’ve defined.
- If your work is highly structured, research-driven, and academic—you might use a clean, formal tone.
- If your studio values playfulness and experimentation, maybe your tone is warm, informal, and a little witty.
- If your practice is rooted in care—maybe your voice feels gentle, nurturing, and open.
- A “caring intellectual”
- A “curious environmentalist”
- A “quiet, precise researcher”
- A “bold minimalist with a sense of humor”
The heart of your studio
Too often, architecture texts are either over-explained or overly technical (and there’s nothing wrong with that—if that’s your real style!). But many try to sound “smart,” when what people are actually looking for is clarity, honesty, and maybe even a little humor or care.
The goal isn’t to impress—it’s to express.
To show the heart of your studio: your people, your process, your values. And to do it in a tone that feels natural—not copied from another firm, not overly polished, but truly yours.
More and more, people aren’t drawn to cold, over-edited messaging. They’re drawn to humanness. Something real. Something that resonates.
And humans aren’t just “professional.”
They can be funny, warm, quirky, even weird. The more honestly and specifically you express what’s unique about your studio, the stronger your story becomes—and the easier it is for people to remember you, connect with you, and trust you.
Brand story
- What’s your brand story?
- What do you do—and why?
This is the moment to share your identity in a simple, human way.
Keep it to the point. Unless long, detailed storytelling is part of your studio’s personality, avoid over-explaining. People want to understand you, not decode you.
Tell the story of how the studio started.
Why you started it.
What you wanted to do differently.
If your background is interesting, share it. If it’s more ordinary, that’s fine too—then focus more on what your studio wants to develop, what drives your practice, and how you think about impact.
Use the tone of voice you already defined. Bring in the values you clarified earlier. (Yes—this is where it all starts to connect.)
And then—get specific.
What do you actually do? Not 20 vague services. Be focused, be clear. Maybe you offer architecture, spatial strategy, and exhibition design. Maybe you focus on cultural buildings or adaptive reuse.
Even if you’re multidisciplinary, make the structure of your work understandable. People can only connect to what they can see clearly.
Bringing the story to life: From values to content strategy
And now—we’re ready.
What do we have?
- We’ve clarified our values, direction, and goals.
- We’ve chosen a tone of voice that feels right.
- We’ve written a story that reflects who we are—not just what we offer.
This is the storytelling that everyone talks about, but few know how to build.
It’s not just a clever tagline—it’s the full picture of your brand’s thinking, history, and spirit.
Now, that story needs to breathe. It needs to take shape in the world around your work. Content gives it form and rhythm.
Content strategy: Where most brands stop
Content is the part where most studios freeze. It’s overwhelming. What do we post? How often? Where? What should it look like?
There’s a fear of doing it wrong. A fear of looking unprofessional. There’s pressure to follow trends—reels, funny videos, “relatable” content.
But the truth is: most studios overthink content, and under-plan it. And most of them simply don’t have the time or internal capacity to create high-volume content anyway.
Directors are busy. Designers are busy. And no one really wants to become a social media manager.
This is exactly where a simple, clear structure helps.
That’s what content strategy is—not a marketing machine, but a calm system that:
- Defines your key content pillars
- Matches them to your brand’s values and tone
- Helps you create with focus, not pressure
Step 1: Choose your channels
First, decide where your content will live.
Common options include:
- Website articles
- Newsletters
Be realistic about how much time and energy you can actually spend on each platform.
Each platform has its own rhythm, audience, and style.
Can you manage a TikTok account? Who would create the videos?
Do you really need Twitter (X), Threads, or Facebook?
Maybe—but only if they serve your goals and you have the resources to keep them alive.
I often recommend select one or two Social media and 2 newsletters:
- One public-facing newsletter (for clients, followers, or collaborators)
- One media-focused newsletter (including your media kit, press releases, etc.)
Start with what you can maintain. Add more later if needed.
Step 2: Define your core content
- Project updates
- Press features
- Awards
- New launches
These are the core of your practice, the “what” of your work.
Then comes the layer that expresses your personality and values. This is where your brand becomes alive.
For example:
- If your studio values education, publish articles on topics you care about—like new trends in workplace design, materials research, or even birds in landscape architecture (yes, really).
- If your studio emphasizes artistic process, post sketches, works-in-progress, or studio experiments.
- And if your studio is already doing deep research into technical topics or materials, that’s already great content to share.
It’s about building an ecosystem of expression around your studio using formats that match your practice.
Step 3: Build a simple structure
Once you know your values and direction, you can ask:
How do we translate this into content?
Start by defining your content categories—what themes or topics you’ll regularly talk about. These are often called content pillars. For example:
- Projects
- News
- Experts quotes
Under each pillar, create a few example topics and formats.
This gives you a mini-content library to draw from, so you’re not starting from scratch each time. Just remember that every new content category has to be mentally, symbolically, somehow connect to your values, mission, vision, whatever that you decided to attach tour brand to. Each content category should connect symbolically and strategically to your brand, strengthening the associations with every post.
You can also match content to platforms:
- Sketches on Instagram
- In-depth research on your blog
- Team stories on LinkedIn
- Invitations via newsletter
And a more detailed and complex version for an education-focused company that involves not just content categories but why we deciding to do it, and what problem this content solves. So finally content will serve our task and create deeper connection with our audience:
This structure doesn’t kill creativity—it makes it related to your audience.
With structure, your studio communicates with rhythm, presence, and consistency.
You can create a clearer visual structure for your social media, so your team understands the rhythm of the posts—avoiding overcrowding with only project or media images, and instead creating balance and flow.
Here, we’ve built the foundation of your brand and communication system.
You now know what to talk about, how to talk about it, and why it matters.
And once your values, goals, and voice are clear—and once you’ve begun translating them into action through content—you can go further.
You can expand into events, products, collaborations, or even communities.
Each of these becomes another layer of expression. Another orbit around the same core.
You can take inspiration from other firms, too:
- UNStudio: Publishes research, runs a podcast, gives talks, and even launched an architecture-tech company.
- Gensler: Strong on research and education. Also supports young designers and shares institutional knowledge.
- Turenscape: Posts comics, and playful visual content.
- Studio O: Shares personal art, attends exhibitions, and blends architecture with cultural projects.
Wrapping it all together
Just like a solar system moves around the sun, every new project, format, or idea can revolve around your brand’s essence.
Not as distraction, but as extension.
Each one adding gravity. Each one deepening your message.
Each one offering a new way for people to discover, feel, and trust what you do.
In the end, communication is how people come to know your work—and remember it.
And it starts—not with more content—but with more clarity.
In my own practice, I’ve worked with many architecture studios that struggled with what to post, how to talk about themselves, how to stay consistent without burning out.
Developing a simple structure like this, starting with the core and building toward a content plan, helps them become more present and coherent in their communication.
And the best part? This kind of guide doesn’t require a dedicated person. Anyone in the studio can follow it, post updates, share project news, or write short articles, without reinventing the wheel every time.
It saves time, saves money, and more importantly, it builds clarity.
Because when your communication is alive and consistent, it becomes part of your practice, a natural extension of who you are.
If you’d like help building your own brand system, I’m always happy to talk.
