Artificial intelligence is no longer a “someday” conversation for the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. It is already showing up in the tools, workflows, and conversations shaping how AEC professionals work.

As part of a graduate research project through the University of Oklahoma, my research group surveyed professionals across the AEC industry with the help and support of the SMPS Colorado Board and other amazing members of the local AEC community. The goal was to better understand how employees are using AI, what they need from leadership, and what communication strategies may help organizations adopt AI more effectively.

Ever wonder where your invoices are hiding after you register for an event?

Staying connected with SMPS Colorado starts with keeping your profile up to date. Whether you need to update your contact information, renew your membership, or access past invoices, our platform makes it simple. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to manage your account efficiently, ensuring you never miss an important update or opportunity. Let’s get started!

2025 Kickoff Event Recap
January & February Events have kicked the year off right! 

As we dive into the busy early months of the year—filled with calendar planning and proposal deadlines—it's important to stay grounded in a strong marketing strategy. To help you focus your efforts and achieve your goals, we’ve gathered a few insightful articles to guide you:

Our weeks are filled with meetings and one-on-ones that often require some level of persuasion to get someone to move forward on something. These things can be small – the position and size of a logo on a marketing piece – or big – a new budget item for a website redesign. No matter what the ask is, you need to know how to communicate your point with authority and clarity in a way that makes sense to decision makers. 

A little bit of work on the front end of a presentation – positioning yourself as a persuasive speaker – can help you effectively deliver your message. You need to establish yourself as a credible source of information before your audience will listen to what you have to say.

The best Thai food in Denver. Period. If you’ve ever lived in Denver, you already know or you should. I’ve brought it up in random conversations across the country, and every time, it’s the same reaction: a knowing nod and a look of longing. Even in Joshua Tree, chatting with a vintage store owner who used to live in Denver, I mentioned “the best Thai food in Denver is...” and before I could finish, he goes, “U.S. Thai.” It’s that legendary. 

2024 Event Recap
Photos From - 2024 Owner's Rep Roundtable Luncheon

The Design of Everyday Things

Donald A. Norman

Imagine a tool that brings everyone—designers, marketers, and project managers—onto the same page in real time. Figma has become that tool for us. It’s a collaborative, cloud-based design tool that allows teams to create, share, and edit design files in real-time. It’s like if you took the collaborative system of Google Docs, where everyone can work together seamlessly on the same file, with Adobe’s intelligent and responsive design framework, and put them together in one application. After introducing  this system to my team, I watched our marketing and proposal workflow evolve from near-siloed and somewhat cumbersome to smooth, collaborative, and efficient. 

In this article, I’m going to walk you through how Figma has been such a game-changer and how you, too, can leverage its features to enhance team alignment, speed up your process, and bring a new level of precision and creativity to your proposals. More importantly though, why stepping outside your comfort zone with new software can be beneficial, even if your current tools feel adequate. 

A coworker wrote, “what is one of your favorite restaurants in the Denver Downtown area?” on our common area whiteboard, and we sure got some responses! I, unfortunately, have not yet had the chance to visit every single one of these places so if I haven't yet been, I've provided my gut-instinct opinion from perusing Google reviews. Next time you’re trying to choose a spot, take a look at the restaurants our members near Downtown Denver would recommend:

Casa Bonita is more than just a restaurant; it’s a full-fledged experience that combines dining with entertainment, making it a unique destination in its own right. Located in Lakewood, Colorado, Casa Bonita is a massive pink stucco building that stands out with its whimsical, almost theme-park-like atmosphere. The restaurant is famous for its immersive environment, complete with cliff divers, puppet shows, arcade games, and even a haunted cave.

Casa Bonita is unlike any other restaurant in Colorado. The interior is designed to resemble a Mexican village, complete with winding paths, cave-like rooms, and a waterfall that serves as the backdrop for the cliff divers. The attention to detail in the decor creates an immersive experience that’s both kitschy and charming.

Usually, it begins with the clock. Or, more accurately, my noticing the clock—minute hand discomfitingly deep into the eight o’clock hour. And then the thought: I am going to be late.

“Let’s GO! Daddy’s going to be late! Let’s GO GO GO GO GO. Shoes on, everyone!”

If you've been an A/E/C marketer for a while, you probably have a core memory of that ONE proposal—the beast of all beasts. The one that made you question your sanity and every life decision that led to the moment it crossed your desk.

It's been several years, but my "proposal-from-hell" experience still evokes shreds of PTSD when I recall its insane requirements and impossible deadline. But it was THIS paragraph (which admittedly, I initially skimmed and dismissed as a standard requirement) that brought me to a standstill when I reread it 24 hours before the submission deadline:

The way A/E/C firms approach business development continues to evolve. Today's successful firms leverage a combination of dedicated (full-time) business developers and seller-doers (professionals who handle both project delivery and business development).

Building on a Foundation of Success