Two months ago, on my construction PR and marketing blog, I wrote about Clippings.com, a Pinterest-style architectural and interior design scrapbook service (see post). An email today tells me this AEC-oriented social media service (from the same people behind OpenBuildings – post) has diversified to offer a company profiles service and “collaboration”.
Clippings will allow firms to use their design portfolio to connect them with potential clients and find new work, offering four ways to help:
1. Add your company information & portfolio to get clients inspired by your work and ringing on your door
2. Get your whole team clipping inspirational images and broadcasting your style to build a loyal following.
3. We’ll match and connect you with new clients who like your style.
4. Use our private & collaborative folders to communicate design & product ideas with existing clients more effectively.
The final point is the interesting one, as it suggests Clippings is moving into the AEC collaboration sector. Of course, Clippings is mainly about sharing images (which could include photos, sketches, plans, elevations, etc), whereas the types of construction collaboration I have tended to be look at go well beyond document sharing to include feedback via commenting and mark-up, and a wide range of project delivery processes. Two ideas occur:
- Perhaps Clippings could extend its private ‘collaboration’ to include some simple feedback exchanges between project team members? It might integrate with or link to existing Software-as-a-Service platforms such as, say, Woobius Collaboration – designed by architects for architects, and initially marketed as “simply simple” collaboration (post), or even Woobius’s latest venture: its Showcase mobile company apps?
- Conversely, perhaps existing collaboration technology vendors might adopt a Clippings-type approach, and allow design firms to share files and market themselves via their platforms? This might be a useful additional revenue stream; Asite, for example, already provides a company directory, but it is nowhere near as glossy as that offered by Clippings (at least, not yet!).
[This is an edited version of a blog post originally published on my PR blog.]
Update (18 August 2021) – Clippings has been acquired by Material Bank, “the world’s largest marketplace for searching, sampling and specifying architecture, design and construction materials.” The Clippings founders say:
When we started Clippings in 2014, we were driven by a singular mission: to use technology to digitally transform the way that the design industry works. Clippings has achieved so much over the years in building an industry-defining technology platform that enables our users to connect and transact online.
In joining forces with Material Bank, we will be able to reach more clients, invest further into developing our technology and continue attracting the best talent to work with us. We absolutely couldn’t be more thrilled to have found a partner so aligned with our values.
