Your experience at a new eating place is always measured by a few factors. Food quality is usually the first and foremost reason we frequent an F&B place. The yummier the food, the more we'd gravitate towards the place. After all, who doesn't love good food? Then, there're other reasons like the ambience, the service, and whether the overall experience is coherent and consistent with the F&B brand. An upmarket F&B brand would usually mean an expensive menu and also impeccable and knowledgeable service crew and a quality ambience to go with.
Brand repositioning
Interior design is important in helping to create a desired brand experience for the patrons of an F&B outlet. Design can very effectively reposition a brand or create an entirely new retail concept altogether. It can also help the company to target new customers and keep its existing ones at the same time. An overhaul can mean a clean slate for the F&B brand, changing public's perceptions, and inviting new loyalists to be part of the dining experience.
Part of an overall strategy
Interior design can effectively lure the customers in but if their expectations are not positively met for example by the quality of the food or the shoddy service experienced, the result is less than ideal. Design thus has to work together with the rest of the branding elements to ensure a holistic and coherent experience for the customer.
New food concepts
Customers' needs are becoming increasingly savvy with the times and new ways are necessary to excite them. New food concepts are bound to draw attention. For example, burgers are now taking a whole new positioning. They're not just fast food anymore. Today, there are Vegan burgers, deemed to be healthier. And there're joints and restaurants offering a more upmarket experience for burger-devotees such as the The Handburger. Designers have to be attuned and open to new ideas.
Function is important
As with all spaces, if it does not serve its purpose, it's quite useless. A space has to meet its function, albeit it can be done creatively. And if that means reorganising essential M&E points to accommodate a live kitchen in the middle of the dining space, so be it. An intricate understanding of the client's requirements is often necessary to help plan a functional and creative space. And functionality is not the only consideration here but acute planning and preparation for future changes such as technology upgrades or manpower placement is also important. The spatial plan has to be modular and flexible at the same time.
Aesthetics still dominate
A pretty design is well only pretty on its own. Aesthetics always play an important role in design. All the more so when the aesthetics work to enhance the brand personality and the theme of the place. Therefore, design elements like the choice of finishing, the colour palette to be used all play a part in communicating what the brand stands for such that a coherent message can be given out. Most importantly also is that the aesthetics create a conducive environment for not just the customers but also the employees, workers who are working hard to create a wonderful dining experience. They have to feel good in their workplace as well.
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