Due to the departmentalization and delegation of responsibilities necessary in larger firms, clients expressed a desire for a more tightly controlled and coordinated flow of project information during the design phase. It was in response to these concerns that the firm of Charles Hartman and Associates was created in 1984.

The "blueprint" of Charles Hartman and Associates is simple: create a small, tightly controlled, highly responsive company with a limited number of clients, each having direct access to a principal of the firm who is working on their project on a day to day basis.