Designing interiors for business – cafes, restaurants, even car service centres or furniture shops – is a case where a designer must work together with a marketing expert. And the first thing you should tell the specialists is what the concept of the establishment is and who the target audience is.
Designing interiors for business – cafes, restaurants, even car service centres or furniture shops – is a case where a designer must work together with a marketing expert. And the first thing you should tell the specialists is what the concept of the establishment is and who the target audience is.
Commercial interior can be called not only the interior of a cafe, restaurant or hair salon. It is any interior in which you receive and serve a customer. Even the interior of a company selling furniture, building materials or a travel agency is commercial.
But one of the most popular areas of entrepreneurial activity in a large city – opening a cafe or restaurant. Unfortunately, not many people manage to stay in demand and do not lose their relevance. At the heart of success – well-developed concept of the restaurant or design project of the cafe, which can be implemented in the conditions of the city in accordance with the given budget.
The attention of the audience is attracted by a unique corporate style, which is reflected in every detail: not only in the design of the interior, but also in lighting, stylish crockery, music and even in communication with guests.
However, creating a cafe project to please everyone means setting yourself up for failure in advance. In the restaurant business, as in any other business segment, it is necessary to determine the target consumer and focus only on him. If you understand who you are working for, you can always ask his opinion and find out his needs that you can fulfil. If you have not defined the audience – no marketing will not help.
Why is it important to define your own audience? Visitors are what HoReCa business is all about. Matching the design, the interior of the cafe, the way the food is served and the menu itself with the guests’ desire and their mood = the key to the success of the establishment. If customers feel comfortable, they will definitely come back here.
The furnishings and interior design of a cafe can both create the appropriate mood and destroy it. Therefore, the decor of the room requires the utmost attention to every detail. Furniture, light, wall decorations and other compositional solutions must necessarily correspond to the chosen style and concept of the cafe.
Do not forget that the decor and other elements of restaurant design can be periodically updated or replaced. This is especially true for textiles in the interior and compositions of their colours and asthenes.
The style of design, as well as the name, should reflect the main values of the brand.
The first thing that any visitor pays attention to is the name of the establishment. It should be succinct, expressive and short – a maximum of three words. When choosing a name, it should be based on what the target audience will be and how the brand positions itself. A non-standard, easy-to-remember name will definitely be remembered by the guest and will be associated with your establishment. The branded clothing of the staff, signage and other elements of corporate style should support the idea of the brand and reveal the details of the concept of the establishment.
The times of standardised solutions are over. A high-quality but impersonal product is no longer as interesting as something created by the hands of a famous person. Having a famous creative director or a popular chef on staff is invaluable for a restaurant. The name of the owner also very often inspires trust in visitors. Therefore, it can be argued that the personal brand largely determines the success of any enterprise. And this applies not only to a restaurant or café.
In many respects, the atmosphere of the institution is determined by its concept. If in a children’s cafe should reign the atmosphere of carefree holiday, then in a rock cafe – a rhythm and drive. Many factors influence the creation of the necessary atmosphere. Quiet music and subdued light will form an atmosphere of intimacy and privacy, and bright lighting and lush decor – the mood of festivity and solemnity.
Smells and menu have a great influence on the perception of a restaurant or cafe. The smell of home baking will create a friendly mood, and the refined noble fragrance of perfume will remind the refined atmosphere of luxury. The taste of the served dishes, their design and even the phrases spoken by the waiter will also help to form a competent positioning of the catering brand.
It is very important to pay attention to the little things. You need to think about how to entertain the customer if they come alone and are bored while waiting for their meal. Perhaps a magazine would not be out of place.
Today people get most of their information about the world around them from social networks. These online resources can become an excellent advertising platform, where a client can be attracted by a photo of the interior of a cafe or appetising dishes.
The appearance of the menu and its content is part of the general concept of each catering centre. Menus are designed according to the general stylistic orientation: strict and restrained in respectable restaurants, bright and with the use of graphic symbols in creative themed bars.
The general requirement is the absence of untidy traces of menu use and convenient division of dishes into categories. The menu content itself should also fit into the overall concept, brand image and even the interior.
The menu and table setting is thought out in advance. It is unacceptable to forget to serve knives for steaks or an ice bucket for champagne.
If you want to open not just a café, but something special and unique, pay close attention to the details. Unusual tablecloths, custom-made crockery or peculiar lamps on the tables can emphasise the overall style of the establishment. Original decor on special order can help to reflect the features of the brand positioning of the cafe or restaurant, Waiting for the food to be served, the client will have enough time to appreciate every detail of the interior. Those that the guest can interact with have a special effect. These can be old magazines or collections of unusual items displayed on shelves.
We don’t want to be one of thousands of ordinary studios designing faceless grey-white-wood interiors. With us you will always find something new. For you we publish articles about famous designers of the past, about various design events.