Since their business became part of the hotly competitive financial services industry, success-oriented banks are focused on serving a range of customers with different priorities and expectations. How well these institutions employ interior design, furnishings, signage and other elements to attract, serve and retain customers today, will help determine profitability tomorrow.

Tech-savvy, younger customers tend to value the convenience of services they can quickly initiate and complete themselves.  This segment is more likely to use ATM and kiosk outlets rather than seek out tellers for financial transactions. Way-finding signage will help provide a self-serve environment, easy access and greater customer satisfaction.

More traditional bank customers may respond positively to personal interaction with bank personnel and relationship-building customer service. Attractively furnished seating and meeting areas designed for comfort and privacy while attending to bank business are important to older customers and others who value personal service.

Creating a dynamic, cost-efficient sales environment that satisfies the needs of both high-tech and high-touch bank customers will help progressive institutions

achieve ongoing success.  

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.

It’s a reliable retail axiom that the longer customers remain in a store, the more they’re likely to buy.  To engage customers, savvy retailers are designing their stores to reflect targeted consumer lifestyles and spark the interest of niche markets.

Creative elements such as signage, marketing visuals and lighting not only make stores more efficient and spotlight value-added products and services, they can lead to longer in-store time and more purchases.

In the current economic downturn more retailers are chasing fewer consumer dollars. Designing to engage customers from walk-in to check-out is a smart investment that yields more sales today and greater potential for repeat business tomorrow.

For gaming establishments, time is money.  While the need to enlarge, renovate or add new features to existing structures and amenities is crucial to attracting and retaining customers, significant down time for casino construction and installations is hard on the bottom line.  Casino design solutions that minimize construction / installation time and space include:

• Advanced digital design technologies that preview updates, renovations and installations to avoid costly, time-consuming changes and deliver the planned impact
• Flexible, scalable construction and installations strategies to accommodate future expansion and updates with minimal business disruption.

Tribal casino, hospitality, entertainment, and retail venues seek to take non-gamers beyond goods and services to memorable experiences that engage them on a personal level.  Casino design elements that harness the customer-pleasing power of the Experience Economy include:

• A compelling casino theme that creates a seamless experience environment
• A comprehensive package of theme-related signage, décor detail, architectural features, interior and exterior facades, and more
• Casino design elements that may help build positive awareness of and appreciation for Native American culture and heritage

One of the most powerful trends in restaurant design is driven by the age and desires of target markets.  Baby boomers may seek relaxed, quiet dining environments or restaurants that pursue nostalgia themes. Locals, or those who aspire to be, can choose from eateries that project homey comfort, intimacy and a sense of community.  For GenXers and Millenials, dining out means good food that shares the stage with entertainment, bold design, visuals and interaction. Restaurants that deliver a memorable dining experience are designed to enhance flow – that seamless integration of space, interior materials, accessories lighting, seating and signage that works in much the same way a theater stages a play. The trick is to effectively balance efficient delivery of service by staff, with the flow of customers as they interact with architectural design and décor elements and each other.  Whether the dining area is a large open room, or is designed to create many smaller, more intimate spaces, adequate table spacing, efficient traffic patterns and appropriate lighting keep the diner focused on a positive dining experience.

Successful casino design creates an environment that attracts players and encourages them to remain longer at gaming, to return frequently, and to spread the word to other potential customers.  That can mean less eye-catching décor, less dramatic lighting, less wide open space and less activity that detracts from gaming. Many designers of successful casinos hold that gaming venues should be intimate and comfortable, with low visual impact spaces that encourage players to focus on gaming activity for extended periods of time. For casino design professionals that could mean concepts that:

• Allow gaming equipment, activity and excitement to be the casino’s focus, capturing the attention of customers and encouraging them to play
• Use canopies, signage and other architectural features to create intimate “player worlds” away from other areas and activity
• Favor subdued décor to avoid distracting players from gaming activity and encourage longer playing time.