Feature: putting personality back into public areas

730 565 Hamish Kilburn
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Feature: putting personality back into public areas

Ahead of Hotel Designs putting this topic under the spotlight at part two of Hotel Designs LIVE on October 13, Stylo Graphics explores adding personality in public areas…

This article was going to be about “ensuring Hotels are COVID -19 safe”, but considering the move away from short-term fixes and natural progression to understanding long-term solutions post-pandemic, we have decided to look at design in public areas.

Since lockdown, Stylo Graphics had been re-engineering itself to meet the phenomenal demand for acrylic ‘sneeze’ screens, floor vinyls and posters, hand sanitisation stations and chair or table covers; announcing ‘don’t sit here’. We implored brands, retailers, companies and hotels to try and be creative. Nobody wants this stuff, but if you’ve got to have it at least make it engaging, informative of course, and maybe even fun.

You see, Stylo know a bit about injecting a brand’s personality into a public space. It goes far beyond ensuring your logo font and colour are consistent with your corporate identity. And while in hotels great effort goes into ensuring the rooms and guest experience are given that premium feel, this doesn’t always apply to the public areas. We pondered this and concluded the spaces where people eat or wait are deemed as ‘functional’. Hotels rarely enjoy a reputation as ‘the place to go for that great dining experience’ and lounges or reception areas? Not much attention to detail required here as most visitors or guests will be absorbed in their iphones, laptops or other personal devices. So after all, you only need to deliver a decent meal and decent Wi-fi and you’re sorted right?

Wrong. Those are the basics. What experience are you creating to overlay these basics and compel people to return? What gives that unique feel, or home from home and though this may sound understated, how often do you hear ‘wow, this is nice’

Okay, so what’s all this got to do with a company that’s forged its reputation in print and graphics? True, Stylo is at the end of the creative process. The interior designers and architects weave their magic and challenged us to bring their ideas to life. We’re the guys that take (3D CAD) ideas in theory and make them work in practice. That might be a unique ‘statement art’ piece created by our giant 3D printer (appropriately named Massivit), hand crafted artworks with an artisan feel, yet mass produced. Or a textured, tactile, relief printed wallpaper.

We assist the design process by providing mood boards which can reflect yet still deliver on a modest budget. We call it ‘good, better, best’ allowing a choice of print and fabricated materials and products for those ‘money’s tight’ to ‘allow yourself to dream’ budget conversations with clients.

We also understand the design process and help by ensuring our products are available in 3D cad to enable to be easily added to the interior designers digital walk through experience. And finally there’s no substitute to building a mock environment and getting potential customers into the environment to judge via a focus group what works. And what doesn’t.

Synonymous with the interior designer’s choice of furniture, fabrics, floor covering, table height, seat depth, layout and lighting, graphics, wall covering and wall art are as essential to delivering your brand personality. Difficult to create, easy to lose.

3D print to create unique ‘statement art’ pieces for foyer or lounge:

Image credit: Stylo Graphics

Use of great photography where a subject is picked out in raised and textured print and raised print on natural materials:

 

‘Good, better, best’ solution. Choosing between print or faux plants on living walls, embracing the linear effect of 3D print in statement art pieces and bringing in the playful to create an experience:


Image credit: Stylo Graphics

From design to 3D cad to render to reality:

Image credit: Stylo Graphics

To find out more information about Stylo Graphics, and how the company can help to transform/adapt your public areas, check out the website.

Hamish Kilburn / 06.08.2020

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