When the pandemic hit, and in-person tours became impossible, our team scrambled to find a solution for virtual property tours. Like many others, my boss immediately thought of Matterport.
After doing the research, I had to deliver some tough news: for a portfolio averaging 120 individual spaces for lease/sale, Matterport would be extremely expensive and surprisingly limiting for what we needed to accomplish.
So instead of going down that path, I picked up a DJI Osmo, started shooting walking tour videos myself, edited them, and uploaded them to YouTube — for free.
That decision saved us a significant amount of money while giving brokers and prospects something more natural and informative than a static 3D scan: an actual walkthrough that shows flow, feel, and context.
Now, with CoStar’s acquisition of Matterport completed in 2025, I believe this space is about to become even more challenging for many property owners and brokers.
Don’t get me wrong — 3D digital twins have their place and will continue to improve with AI. But they shouldn’t be the only option, especially when simpler, more cost-effective solutions can often tell a better story.
The best virtual tour is the one your prospects will actually watch and understand.
Sometimes that’s a polished Matterport scan.
Sometimes it’s a well-shot walking video on YouTube.
Sometimes it’s both.
The key is to have options and not be locked into one expensive platform — especially as the industry consolidates.
I’m continuing to shoot and edit walking tours because they’re flexible, affordable, and — most importantly — effective.
From my decade+ designing for Commercial Real Estate, I’ve learned there are two consistent battles I fight with almost every project:
Brokers understandably want to showcase as much information as possible. But cramming content and creating competing headlines often hurts the very results we’re all trying to achieve.
White space is not empty space — it’s strategic breathing room. It allows the eye to rest, helps key information stand out, and makes marketing materials feel premium rather than desperate.
When a page is packed edge-to-edge with text, photos, and data, prospects don’t absorb more information — they absorb less. Their brain gets overwhelmed, and they disengage.
Equally damaging is poor visual hierarchy — when everything on the page is competing for attention.
The result? Nothing stands out. The reader doesn’t know where to look first, so they often look nowhere.
Good hierarchy guides the viewer’s eye in a logical order:
Headline → Key Visual → Supporting Details → Call to Action
It answers the prospect’s most important questions quickly:
What is this space? Why should I care? What’s next?
Next time you review marketing materials, ask yourself these questions instead of “Can we fit more?” or “Can we make this bigger?”:
The goal isn’t to say less — it’s to help the right tenant clearly see themselves in the space. Sometimes that means being more strategic about what they see first.
White space and strong hierarchy aren’t about removing information. They’re about giving your best information the attention it deserves.
I’m old enough to remember when every designer had a physical portfolio. Most were beautifully bound books or binders — carefully printed pages showcasing their best work. The really impressive ones went further: custom paper, leather covers, embossing, and unique interactive elements.
The sky was the limit… if your budget allowed it.
While everyone else was proudly presenting their books and claiming they “thought outside the box,” I noticed something ironic. They were all still presenting books.
If I wanted to truly stand out, I realized I needed to do something different.
Instead of another oversized book that’s hard to share in an interview, I created a large, custom-crafted cube. The exterior featured bold artwork that represented me. Each side was held together with Velcro, allowing me to pull the cube apart panel by panel. Inside each panel was a mounted portfolio piece that I could pass around the room as I presented.
There was even a smaller cube inside with shelves for additional work. A simple kitchen cabinet handle on top made it easy to carry.
Yes, I literally walked into interviews carrying a box — and then told the story of how I thought outside the box… while holding the box. (A little peek into my sense of humor.)
That Cube created instant curiosity. It sparked conversations. People remembered it. It helped me land a coveted Graphic Designer role with the Starz Denver Film Festival. And two years after an unsuccessful interview for my first Commercial Real Estate position, the hiring manager still remembered “the guy with the cube” and called me when a new opportunity opened up.
Today, physical portfolios have almost entirely disappeared. Everything is digital — PDFs, websites, online portfolios, and social media. In many ways, this shift is better. Your work can reach more people, it’s easier to update, and you don’t have to lug anything clunky around as you travel.
But I still believe the core lesson from the Cube remains true:
Stand out. Be memorable. Bring personality and thoughtfulness into how you present your work.
Whether it’s a physical cube or a well-crafted digital presentation, the goal is the same — make people stop scrolling (or stop flipping pages) and actually engage with what you do.
Every commercial real estate building, unit, or suite has a story to tell.
My job is to uncover that story and bring it to life so that the right tenant or buyer can clearly see themselves thriving there.
We tell these stories through a combination of professional photography and video, clean and accurate floor plans, detailed property information, and a thoughtful overview of the location and surrounding area. When done well, these elements work together to create a clear vision of prosperity for the potential occupant.
The more vividly a prospect can visualize their company succeeding in the space, the higher the likelihood they will move forward. That’s the difference between a property that sits on the market and one that gets multiple offers.
A few weeks ago, a competitor’s brochure landed on my desk. It was immediately obvious why the listing was struggling: one lonely exterior photo, no images of the suite interior, a floor plan straight out of 1995, and nothing but the lease rate and square footage for a description.
It reminded me of Terry Malloy’s famous line:
“You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody...”
— On the Waterfront
Too many properties have the potential to be “somebody,” but they’re being represented like afterthoughts.
The solution doesn’t have to be complicated. In my experience, the highest-performing listings consistently do three things well:
When these elements come together, the property stops being just another listing. It becomes a compelling opportunity that speaks directly to the right tenant.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been in the Commercial Real Estate design and marketing space for over 12 years.
My first day felt like being pushed out of an airplane and landing hard into the vast, wide-open ocean. You think you’re ready for the jump—until you’re in free fall, hit the water, and suddenly you’re fighting just to breathe. The overwhelming feeling of drowning hits hard. At that moment, I had one choice: swim or sink.
The learning curve was brutal. An elaborate internal system, design software being used in ways I wasn’t familiar with, a blistering pace, heavy workload, and the unavoidable office politics. Then came my first real gut check.
I’ll never forget overhearing a broker on the phone with my boss, unloading a stream of expletives about a draft I had delivered. Low cubicle walls meant everyone heard everything. My intelligence, attention to detail, and even the information I chose to highlight were all called into question. My heart sank.
“She turned me into a newt.” “A newt?” “I got better.” — Monty Python and the Holy Grail
That rough start (and several more rough moments that followed) forced me to make a critical shift. I had to set my ego aside and change my mindset. I stopped seeing brokers as difficult clients and started viewing myself as their secret weapon.
My job became making them look exceptional — delivering clean, strategic, and timely work that helps them win deals. That servant mindset didn’t just help me survive. It became my biggest competitive advantage.
Twelve years later, I still operate with that same philosophy: make the broker shine, anticipate needs, obsess over details, and deliver work they’re proud to send to their clients.
I started as a newt. Learning to swim changed everything.