Eva Maddox was the featured guest for Business of Design III, held on July 16 at The Alliance Française. Joseph Michael Essex was the moderator.

Maddox received her degree in interior design from the University of Cincinnati where she still has strong ties. Her career took off shortly thereafter, when she moved to Chicago with her husband. Eva worked for a number of companies before striking out on her own. Then as the principal of Eva Maddox Branded Environments, she led a company whose unique expertise pioneered the concept of brand strategy through design. In recent years, Perkins + Will acquired her business and she is now leading their Branded Environments division.

Throughout the talk, one theme surfaced above others: the importance of established relationships. Eva began by saying that her husband of 41 years has been a tremendous asset to her growth as a designer. Her friendships with other creatives have serendipitously served her well along her path. As her career advanced, she built strong, life-long client relationships. About this, Eva said, "Relationships, even though they're hard, are important… you have the ability to elevate your craft because you're done with the getting-to-know-you phase." She offered four tips in maintaining client ties: be honest, manage expectations, surpass those expectations and gain trust.

In addition to branded environments, Eva invests graciously in the common good. She is the co-founder of Archeworks, an alternative graduate school whose focus is on design for social purposes in collaboration with communities. Her attentions continue to turn towards sustainability and ways to innovate environments ecologically in days to come. This future-sighted tendency of hers has earned her a reputation as an "agent of change."

"If we are static, we're dead." said Maddox, "We've got to always be stretching to stay alive and interesting."