Walking Towards A New Road
It’s true that we wanted to create restaurant, but it seemed as if we didn’t need any outside help. The purpose of creating a restaurant design was to open up our imagination.
Our new project that we came up with last class is this. Come up with unique furniture or kitchen utensil designs that restaurant owners may be interested of using it. We’ll make a blog with our latest design ideas and try connecting with people who are fond of our designs.
It seems a little hard to try connecting with people while you’re trying to come up with your own idea. We’ll see how this idea flows, and either stick with it change it hopefully within this week or so.
By Friday, my group members and I are going to come up with 2~3 designs each that we’d want to publicize in bars/restaurants that look unique, yet suitable for everyone’s needs.
February 14th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Hello,
It’s a good thing that you have figured out what you want to do with your project. It seems as though you were trying to force the outside collaboration part. Maybe we should start to see online collaboration as simply one more available option. If it works, great. If not, so what. As you start creating your project maybe you will find the need to ask for help from others outside your group. It’s a bold move that you have decided to go it alone. You should only seek outside help if you need it.
Good luck.
February 14th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Good luck with your design project.
The way I see using a network or blog is to pull in ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of.
You could poll your readers about what type of designs they like, modern, traditional, etc., for example?
Or you could design first, and then get feedback on your ideas from a larger network, which sounds like that might be more workable for you?
It’s sort of like enlarging your “brainstorming” group!
February 14th, 2008 at 10:30 am
You are so lucky to have willing would-be collaborators from around the world: why not make use of them?
As business owners, you would need to be responsive to the needs and desires of your customer base. No matter how innovative or creative your designs are, if the customer can’t be convinced of their value, out they will go.
As Carolyn suggested, you might want to construct a survey to measure needs and desires. We’re a free, living database/information pool for you to draw on. Take advantage of us, please!
diane
February 14th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I am really interested in your project. As I read this blog entry, I immediately thought what Carolyn Foote wrote above. I’d do a “market survey” of what restaurant goers like.
Consider what age of customer you’re going to want to draw in; what type of people you want, then survey that group of people. If you’re looking to do a family-style, then you want to survey families. If you’re catering to the hip 25-35 year old crowd, then you’ll need to survey them.
In the survey, be sure that you get as big of sample as you can. Also, ask them not only what they like/dislike about restaurants/bars they’ve been in, but also ask them “the sky’s the limit” questions. Ask them about locations of restrooms, locations of seating in relation to the door, lighting levels and colors, etc. Ask questions that you think may even be silly. You never know what the responses may turn up or which response will spark something REAL in your own mind!
I’m thinking if you make up some designs, you’re already putting your ideas into someone’s mind and therefore limiting innovative design.
I’m all for gathering input from others before you even put a design together. Otherwise, all you have to draw from is your own experiences, which actually will be pretty limited, based on the fact you’re only a few people.
I can not WAIT to see what you get going! Continue to post and share!
February 14th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Both project ideas sound great (though I’m partial to the bar design over kitchen utensils).
I can empathize with your desire to shun outside influence so you can utilize your own imagination and creativity. I did a similar thing when I took a pre-architecture class as a freshman in college. Our final project was to design a modern monastery. We were encouraged to look at designs of ancient monasteries as well as modern designs to come up with a fusion of both. I decided to shun the outside influences for similar reasons as your own. In doing so, I had neglected to utilize great hordes of knowledge in favor of my own limited knowledge base. As a result, my design was…well…crappy. Needless to say, I didn’t go into architecture.
I like the idea Carolyn Foote gave you. Come up with some design ideas, throw them out to knowledgeable people in the area, and see what they think. That way you’re utilizing your own creativity, but also getting feedback from people “in the know.” If they love your design on the first try, excellent! If not, excellent- at least you know where you can improve.