This is a collection of the most creative restaurant designs in the world, from risky and modern to traditional and laid back. This compilation of vivid photographs and detailed layouts gives examples ...
Fabrice Knoll, co-founder of Paris-based DFKNOLL, launches his monthly blog with business-building strategies for starting and growing hospitality design practices.
The word “design” is used, misused and abused. To me, design is about creating interiors and objects that will still appear modern and useful, with an unsurpassed quality standard, 100 years from now. It’s hard to design something that is truly interesting, rather than just cute. It’s even more challenging to execute a concept that will be innovative, not just trendy enough to hold for three to five years. The same could be said for building a design firm.
Hospitality designers now have so many opportunities—from specialties in hotels, restaurants and spas to supplemental work in product design. But it’s important to choose carefully which to accept. It’s not only about the name recognition or the project list. It’s about the people who work in that office and collaborate on those projects, their work style and their mission. With products, it’s about the brand, the provenance, the team and the entire supply chain.
For some people, me included, design is about following one’s own vision. I came out of architectural school when I was 22 and immediately worked on my own. Luckily, I did not realize it was a crazy move. I didn’t even think of it as a decision per se. My brother and I knew we wanted/ need to have our own business and that we’d never be satisfied working for someone else.
It’s easier to launch your own business when you’re still young and naïve. The older you get, the less you are tempted to leave a comfortable, decently paid job in a design firm. Start-ups come with a lot of headaches. Basically, unless you are born in a family with means, you have to “autofinance”, because banks (at least in France) do not often help young designers, etc.. Finding staff is hard because many have diplomas and experience but few have talent. And, among those few, they have to get along with strong-minded bosses like me--because to be on your own, you have to be strong-minded.
However, as the Great Recession proved, even those with long-standing experience in large firms, a long history of good work and a lot of good contacts can be laid off whenever the going gets tough. The fact that job security is so ephemeral has been enough to convince more and more hospitality designers to strike out on their own and test their vision in the marketplace.
Each month, I’ll share some of the best practices we’ve found in building our firm over the last 25 years and offer some insights from an international perspective. I welcome comments and questions from my colleagues worldwide.
Fabrice Knoll is a co-founder (with his brother, Didier Knoll) of DFKNOLL, Paris.
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
