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Some Good Reasons for Using an Interior Designer
By Nigel Witham
Why should I engage
a professional designer for my restaurant, bar or cafe?
A professional
designer will know how to design so that your restaurant, bar or
cafe will best appeal to your customers. Restaurants are known
to be amongst the most technically-difficult interiors to
design. An experienced restaurant designer will understand the
technical matters but will also be trained in design history,
science and about design tools (such as computers and complex
software). They will have time to do your work thoroughly. An
experienced designer will tell you honestly if your own ideas
will work and if they will not they should not be afraid to tell
you and explain why and to come up with other suggestions.
A professional
designer will take time to learn about you and your business,
where it is and what it is trying to achieve. They will help
prepare a detailed design brief to record these things. This
brief will help you to control and focus your ideas to stand the
best chance of winning business from your competitors so that
you are not just relying on your personal tastes and
assumptions. For more information I have written a separate help
sheet called How To Brief Us.
A professional
designer will help you develop and build a strong, marketable
brand with clear, focused objectives. They will work with you
over the whole life of your business.
I am a member
of the Chartered Society of Designers, who vet all their members
for quality of work and professional practice. You can download
a copy of this Chartered Society of Designers Code of
Professional Practice here. http://www.csd.org.uk where you may
also check if your designer is a member
Why should I pay
design fees for my cafe, bar or restaurant?
All Chartered Designers are obliged to
charge fees at normal professional rates but they can only earn
money from commissions and recommendations if they tell you
first. So that my advice is impartial I only charge fees and I
do not earn any other money from commissions or other
inducements or secret profits. These fees are an investment in
the future success of your business.
To see some examples of how successful
professional design is why not visit the Design Council web site
where there are independent research data and well known
examples? www.designcouncil.org.uk
According to the Design Council
• 91% of rapidly growing UK businesses use
design compared to 49% of average businesses
• 71% of fast growing companies see design
as integral or significant. For static companies the figure is
20%
• 62% of static businesses see design as
irrelevant. No rapidly growing company agrees.
Do you take responsibility if the builder
or supplier you recommend fails to perform?
We are
responsible for making sure, so far as our specific terms of
engagement permit, that the builders and suppliers for your
project are engaged on clear terms with detailed, written
agreements signed by all parties. If necessary, we will take
legal advice when necessary to make sure we do this work
properly.
In the
unlikely event that things do not work out properly you will
then be protected and compensated as far as the law allows and
we will advise you how to deal with such problems. However,
ultimately we don’t guarantee anyone else’s obligations,
responsibilities or work, we guarantee our own and we have
professional liability insurance for this.
How long
will my project take?
The shortest time for a minor project (up to
£250k contract cost) is 16 weeks from starting design work to
commencing trading but this depends on the availability of
contractors and is best avoided since working so fast can add to
costs. The chart shows a typical 26 week program which can be
followed comfortably for the interior design and building of
most minor projects. This program can only start once the design
brief is ready and once all your branding is designed (otherwise
the interior and brand designs will not match up).
Larger projects costing over £500,000
usually take 9 months to a year or more to complete.
For
more visit
www.nigelw.com.
Nigel Witham MCSD MIOD
writer, designer and photographer
Member of the Chartered Society of Designers (interior and
graphic design disciplines
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