Design Challenges

Our latest project to open at the newly redeveloped Westfield Garden City at Mt Gravatt, some 16 kilometres from Brisbane Centre, posed many challenges that we managed to work with to create a successful outcome.

With a very tight deadline, working as part of a close knit team, between the Client, The Chocolate Room business owners, their new Queensland Licensors, Westfield’s RDM, and the shopfitter, we managed to get the project designed and built in record time.

Other challenges included the small size of the tenancy and the need to ‘upgrade’ and adapt certain branding elements to suit the Westfield environment. This took a leap of faith from the Client and Licensor, in our ability to provide the best design solutions that would meet Westfield’s stringent design criteria. In fact, their openness to new ideas and concepts ensured the success of this project.

The Role of the Retail Designer

The role of the retail designer in this case was to carefully and sensitively put the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together respecting and bringing the different parties from the shopping centre to the new tenant’s expectations together and doing this in a certain limited space and tight deadline. Design talent needs to be combined with negotiating, marketing and social skills to help bring the vision to life.

The Chocolate Room brings together the ideas, concepts and aspirations of all involved to create a vision that grew into more than the Client’s initial expectations. Elements of the international brand were utilised and further developed. The chocolate block wall that is a feature of their other international stores was adapted and developed to fit into this small tenancy as a chocolate block retail wall display and the chocolate block then continued to provide a textured foil to the ceiling.

The original colours of the chocolate, vanilla and cream were kept but enhanced by the introduction of textures such as pressed metal panels painted in gloss white, rich timber mouldings, turned legs,and hardwood flooring  and cream coloured joinery units. Aqua was introduced with custom painted chairs and specially made stools to create visual relief to the colour palette.

Business Success Through Good Design

Savvy business people understand that perception is everything and how customers perceive their business will no doubt play a big part of their success.They know that good design is an investment that will pay off many times over the initial cost of hiring the right person for the project. At The Design Creative, our goal is to start your business on the right foot, to ensure that your customers are attracted to your business and understand your offering at a moment’s glance. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with information, your unique message through your branding must be crystal clear to be able to hold your potential customer’s attention long enough for them to make the decision to do business with you.

At The Design Creative, our role is to help you to create a successful business from day one and to do so with a minimum of fuss and effort to you as we help to handle all aspects of opening shop from the design process to dealing with shopping centres, to assisting in applications for Council approvals to tendering the project to shopfitters. We look forward to creating your business with you.