If you’re building or remodeling a restaurant, look for exterior and interior design professionals who understand the operation of your business and have a proven track record for delivering concepts that run smoothly and look great.

Creativity and design ability are the basics.  But to achieve successful restaurant design, the next step up the value chain is industry experience.  A design team with restaurant business know-how can help you achieve a seamless flow in your operation that generates staff and customer satisfaction, while expanding profitability.

Seasoned design professionals also can save you money and time in selecting restaurant furniture, lighting, signage and other design elements with customer-pleasing feel and budget-pleasing durability.  Look for experienced professionals who can take a design from concept through completion and bring value to your restaurant business at every step of the way.

Brand identity design employs logos, color palettes, signage and other unique visual images to represent how a company wants to be seen in the marketplace. It’s a powerful marketing tool. Customers attracted to a company because of what its brand promises will return with the expectation of repeating a positive experience.

But brand design can show its age. Visual representations should change as a company changes to sustain impact and spotlight new directions and capabilities.  A brand update may include new exterior façades, interior design, signage, color selections, materials and more.

Evolving brand design also can spotlight value-added differences among companies that share the same brand.

McDonald’s exterior façade image of the golden arches draws immediate recognition worldwide.  But outlets that serve the same area often compete for customers and stretch their brand identity to include amenities targeting specific customer segments.  Their expanded brand design may include childrens’ play areas or designated tables that accommodate meetings or special events.

Good brand design never remains static.  It evolves as a company’s identity and strategic direction evolve to capture competitive advantage and increase profitability.

You can tell a lot about a company by the companies it keeps.

Retail, entertainment and professional services businesses often have reoccurring needs for manufacturing and design services to accommodate growth and maintain competitiveness. When the firms that provide those services do an outstanding job – delivering on time, on spec and on budget – chances are their clients will choose to work with them again and again.

For businesses looking for similar or related capabilities, a portfolio that includes multiple projects for key clients can be a significant plus in selecting a design and manufacturing partner.

Long-term client relationships indicate satisfaction with work proposed and completed. When you’re looking for a company that consistently delivers the best product and the greatest value in terms of quality, cost and time, look for a roster of repeat business success.

Although traditionally resistant to financial downturns, the gaming industry has lost ground in this recession.  That vulnerability has casino owners thinking less about growth and expansion and more about renovation and remodeling to keep pace with economic recovery.

That means implementing cost-efficient design strategies that utilize existing footprints and structures while adding fresh design elements.  And it means renovations that deliver value and flexibility with a minimum of down time and loss of business.

By positioning their operations to be ready when discretionary spending rises, credit markets thaw and other economic restraints ease, casino owners are moving to capture new opportunities and return to profitability.