How we foresee potential: Act with passion. Use the power of design for the common good—every day.
What defines who you are as a person? What guides you on how you choose to act as a corporate citizen? I obviously can’t answer those questions for you, but I can share what guides us at IMAGEHAUS to help make this world a better place to live, work and play.
Compassion. Creativity. Candor. Courage. The 4Cs. These values have been the foundation IMAGEHAUS has been building upon since I started my own design consultancy back in 2000. In order to be distinctively different, I made a strong commitment to provide $1M in creative services for organizations rich in these values — the 4Cs. I made this commitment by making it part of our marketing plan, with the ultimate goal of building brand awareness and my network, while at the same time helping those in need.
Many people questioned my sanity when I told them my plan — a plan that today has amounted to 35% of our total revenue. I see it differently. How else would I have received the gift of knowing so many wonderful people in a huge community like the Twin Cities as I do today? How can I put a price on these genuine relationships?
So, why did I choose these four words to guide our HAUS? The “why” comes from “how” each one comes to life here at IMAGEHAUS.
Compassion: to understand, in your hearts, the suffering of others and then do something about it. No matter how big or small.
Creativity: to transcend traditional ideas into meaningful solutions and put the power of design to work.
Candor: to be candid, free from bias and filled with honesty and clarity in attitude and speech. Expanding audiences and clarifying the vital messages that compel people to care, to listen, and to act.
Courage: to remain true to our convictions, leading us to act based on our beliefs. To create impact, especially in spite of criticism.
With the 4Cs in place for 10 years now, we surpassed our fiscal goal by giving $1.8M in creative services to date. (We surpass our emotional goal every day.) Those 4Cs are now becoming Foresee, The IMAGEHAUS Giving Program — our ongoing way of paying it forward.
I knew this would be a long-term investment. It would build over time into something bigger than we imagined. And I knew it would help tell the story of a distinctively different design firm, called IMAGEHAUS.
Something that could not be foreseen has recently happened on the personal front. I was selected as one of the top 20 men in One Man Minneapolis, a competition that will select one man who best represents the best of the Twin Cities from the perspective of community involvement. I am honored, to say the least, for receiving this recognition for giving back — based on the 4Cs that sparked the creation of IMAGEHAUS 10 years ago.
Thanks for listening to our story. We would love to hear yours.
If only the world had more people who acted with the 4C’s. Congratulations on being able to successfully include your own values into design. Your studio does great work! The one thing I find so attractive about the cities is the sense of community it has, even though it is an incredibly large city. It’s with attitudes like this that create this atmosphere. Kudos!
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