Not quite. Try again.
Amy and Keith have the passphrase. If you need it again, email chris@innovativedesign.us.
Everything here is built from what CKD already says, on the boards of 3 September and on your own website. Nothing has been invented. This is the document the whole studio pulls from for proposals, the website, LinkedIn, and the conversation at the end of a site visit.
Every layer is now locked in. Other wording we considered is kept in the Repository near the end of this page.
DefinitionThe reason the firm exists beyond making money: what CKD believes is true or right about the world. It doesn’t change over time.
TestIs it a conviction about the world? If it describes what CKD does, it’s a mission.
DefinitionThe short public line, usually the homepage headline, that says what the firm stands for and what makes it different.
TestWould it look right as the first thing on the homepage? If it needs a second sentence, it’s an explainer or a pitch.
DefinitionThe plain answer to “so what do you do?” that anyone at CKD can say without thinking.
TestWould a stranger know roughly what CKD does after hearing only this line?
DefinitionA literal, factual line that says what the firm is: category, location, credentials. Used in RFPs, directories, LinkedIn, and AI search.
TestIs every word a fact you could check? If it carries feeling, it’s drifting into a tagline.
The vision is where the work is heading. The mission is what CKD does today to get there. Read together, they make one statement.
DefinitionA picture of where things are heading: what the world looks like once the work succeeds.
TestDoes it describe a future state? If it describes what CKD does today, it’s a mission.
DefinitionWhat the firm does today, for whom, and how.
TestDoes it describe today’s work and who it’s for? If it describes the future, it’s a vision. If it’s a reason, it’s a belief.
One list of each. Think of them as a list to pull from: pick the lines that fit the person in front of you. The two lists don’t need to match line for line.
DefinitionThe principles and traits that guide how the firm works. Naming the opposite in “this is not us” is what gives each one meaning.
TestWould a competitor refuse to say it? If every firm could claim it, it isn’t doing any work.
A platform is only worth the evidence behind it. These three came out of the session and each does a specific job. Use them.
DefinitionReal project stories that show the words on this page are true.
TestCould a client picture it, or check it? If there’s no project behind it, it’s still a claim.
Monty on the Willow Shopping Center: "there were play areas there that you didn't have to go shopping to enjoy. You could use it just as part of the community without shopping."
What it proves. That the community mission does not switch off on private work. This is the story to tell a developer who assumes a public-sector firm will not understand commercial goals, and the story to tell your own team when they worry that private work means abandoning the mission.
On 8th Street CKD sits in the meetings with the city, hears the requirements first hand, and delivers what was actually wanted. On another project where all communication routes through the architect, the client believed the work was at 100 percent design development while the city believed it was at 90 percent construction documents.
What it proves. That access is not a nicety, it is a delivery risk. This is the argument for writing direct client contact into scope, and it is a genuinely persuasive thing to say in a pitch.
Amy: "we started out at the master planning level, working with the community, talking to them, finding out what they wanted, what they needed in their area, and being able to provide a design that meets their needs." Started 2022, roughly two years to go.
What it proves. That "community engagement" at CKD is a working method rather than a line in a proposal. It is also the clearest live example of getting in early.
The gap. Every one of these is told in CKD's voice. Not one is told in a client's voice yet, because we haven't received client quotes. Two or three would strengthen this section more than anything else we could write.
Same idea underneath, different words on top. If somebody at CKD reads only one part of this document, it should be this one.
DefinitionA short spoken introduction to what CKD does and why it matters, built so the listener asks a follow-up question.
TestDoes it end in a way that invites “tell me more”? If it’s a single line, it’s the explainer.
“We design the outdoor spaces you never think about. If you don’t want to leave, we did our job. For instance, [your example: a bench with shade on it, a direct path to the bus, a schoolyard with inclusive play].”
DefinitionA buyer-specific case for why this client should hire CKD: their need, CKD’s difference, and proof. With a known team, it says what CKD covers and why bringing them in early helps everyone.
TestDoes it change for the buyer in front of you? If it’s the same for everyone, it’s the elevator pitch.
“Thank you for having us. Cupples Keller Designs is a woman-owned landscape architecture firm based in Oakland, and our studio has designed public outdoor spaces since 1988, including [two project types that match this client]. We like to join the project early, so the site, the budget, and the community’s needs shape the design from the start, and we stay with it through completion. The people who will use this [project] every day won’t be in this meeting. Our focus is to design for them.”
“Cupples Keller Designs is a woman-owned landscape architecture studio based in Oakland. We design everything outside the building, mostly for public clients: K-12 schools, parks and recreation, and community open space. When we’re brought in early, we help set the direction for the whole project, and we stay with it through construction. The people who will use this [project] every day won’t be in this meeting. Our job is to design for them, within your budget.”
Both have a use. The first talks about the studio as a whole. The second introduces you and the studio at the same time, which works well on a video call.
“We’re Cupples Keller Designs, the landscape architects on this project. We design everything outside the building: where people arrive, where they gather, and how they move through the site. On this project, that means [the courtyards, paths, and planting]. Almost everyone’s work here reaches the site at some point, from drainage and utilities to accessible routes and building entries. Loop us in early on anything that touches the ground, and we’ll help catch conflicts before they turn into redesigns.”
“I’m [name], [role] at Cupples Keller Designs, landscape architects. We design everything outside the building. On this one I’m leading [your part]. The outside is where everyone’s work meets. If something you’re working on touches the site, bring it to me early. That’s how we keep it from becoming a change order later.”
DefinitionWhat the team believes about the firm and how they talk about it, plus the reason to work at CKD.
TestWould a new hire repeat it in their own words? Would a recruit want the job after reading it?
“CKD isn’t one name on the door. It’s all of us. Every person here is how a client, a partner, or a neighbor gets to know the studio, so talk about the work you love and why it matters to the people who’ll use it.”
Both of these came up repeatedly in the session. Everyone should have the same answer ready.
DefinitionPrepared answers to the questions people ask every time, so everyone answers them the same way.
TestDoes it answer the actual question in plain words?
Monty already wrote the answer and it is perfect: "Did the architect build your house? Did the electrical engineer do your wiring?" Then follow with what you do: "We decide where it goes, what survives there, how people move past it, and who it is for."
“It’s everything outside the building: where the paths go, where people gather, what grows, and how you get from the parking lot to the front door without getting lost. If you move through the space and it feels good, we’ve done our job.”
These came from you, on the boards and in the room. Use them freely.
DefinitionThe words and phrases CKD uses, so everyone writing or speaking for the firm sounds the same.
TestIs each word specific to CKD, or one every competitor uses?
For proposals, submissions, directories, and press. Copy them exactly, so CKD reads the same everywhere.
DefinitionCKD’s standard “About” paragraph, copied the same way everywhere: press releases, proposals, and directories.
TestCould it be pasted, unedited, into a press release today?
Cupples Keller Designs is a woman-owned landscape architecture studio based in Oakland. We design everything outside the building, for the people who use it every day.
Cupples Keller Designs is a woman-owned landscape architecture studio based in Oakland, California, with roots going back to 1988. We design everything outside the building for public and private clients: K-12 schools, parks and recreation, civic and healthcare campuses, streetscapes, housing, and workplaces. We work best as part of the team from the first line drawn, because early decisions shape the whole project, and we design for the people who will use the space every day.
Cupples Keller Designs is a woman-owned landscape architecture studio based in Oakland, California, with roots going back to 1988. We design everything outside the building: schoolyards, parks and recreation, civic and justice facilities, healthcare campuses, streetscapes, plazas, housing, and workplaces. Most of our work is public, so we are at home with real constraints: bond budgets, occupied campuses, community process, state regulations, and long review cycles. Private developers and campus owners bring us in for the same reason. We do our best work when we’re brought in early, because the decisions made at the start set the direction for the whole project, and we stay with it through construction. We design for the people who will be there on an ordinary Tuesday.
This is organizing structure, not a headline. It exists so the right story reaches the right buyer without confusing either. We looked at how comparable firms handle this and the pattern is consistent: the strongest ones keep a single brand with clearly named practice areas underneath, rather than splitting into separate identities.
DefinitionHow the work is organized for different buyers: one studio and one brand, with clearly named practice areas underneath.
TestDoes each kind of buyer quickly find the work that matches theirs, without the brand splitting in two?
School districts, cities, counties, public agencies, and public healthcare. The 38-year record, the certifications, the bid-ready practice. K-12, civic and justice, parks and recreation, affordable housing, and streetscape and plaza.
What the private side lends it: design ambition. Proof CKD does not do generic.
Housing developers, private healthcare and senior living, hospitality and wineries, mixed-use and selected commercial, and the architects who bring CKD in. Growing deliberately and selectively.
What the public side lends it: trust. Thirty-eight years of bond budgets, regulation, and public schedules means a private project is in safe hands.
One caution worth stating plainly, because Keith raised it himself on the day: private developer work generally comes with less public engagement. That is a real trade and it should be managed rather than ignored. The Concord story is the proof it can be managed well.
Four sentences, in this order, every time. It works for the website, a submission, a LinkedIn post, and an award entry, which means writing it once does four jobs.
DefinitionA short, repeatable way to describe a project so the same write-up works on the website, in a submission, on LinkedIn, and in an award entry.
TestCould someone who has never seen the site picture who uses the place and what changed?
Leave out: the size in acres unless it matters, the plant list, the phrase "we were tasked with," and any adjective every competitor uses. Put in: one number that is easy to picture, and one thing you can only know by having stood there.
This document is yours outright. Print it, mark it up, forward it, edit it. The Word version is there so you can change wording and keep going without us.
Nothing here is wrong. It just isn’t the main version. Pull from it when you need fresh copy for an ad, a proposal, a post, or a document.
DefinitionA store of approved alternatives: lines that were considered and set aside, not rejected.
TestUse one when the main version has been used too often in the same place, or when the audience calls for a different angle.
Woman-owned landscape architecture studio based in Oakland, designing schools, parks, healthcare campuses, and the places people live and work.
Communities where outdoor spaces get carefully designed for the people who actually use them.
We design everything outside the building for the people who use it every day.
“If you want senior people on your project, call CKD. They’re not afraid of the hard work: public budgets, limited schedules, state regulations, and tight private-development timelines.”
“CKD does a lot of public work, and that’s exactly why we use them. They know budgets, reviews, and community meetings, and they still design for the people who’ll actually use the place.”
“Every project is focused on community. That’s the mission. When you talk about CKD, don’t try to sell it. Talk about how the work affects you and the community it’s for, because that’s the point of what we do.”
This is draft three. Every section now has one locked version. The things still open:
“Woman-owned” stays for now. If you’d rather lead with something else, such as SLEB-certified, award-winning, or employee-owned, tell us and we’ll update the descriptor, the boilerplate, and the talk tracks together. Anything that still feels clunky, flag it and we’ll keep working it.
Section 04 gets stronger with two or three things clients have said about working with you. A remark that stuck with you is plenty.
Once this is agreed, it stops being a document and becomes the thing everybody pulls from. The session readout is here if you want the evidence behind any of it.
