Meet John: inside the world of interior design...
John is an enormously talented local entrepreneur and interior designer who specialises in leisure and hospitality. Combining creativity with practicality, it’s a career many of us are fascinated by, so read on to learn more about what he has to offer:
How did you first get into interior design?
My original A levels were psychology, sociology, english and art, I ended up hating psychology and sociology and my art tutor suggested I might want to take an extra college year to do a foundation degree to give myself some time to think about what I wanted to do.
Having been the only subject that I had all through my education and getting decent grades in, it seemed like a sensible thing to keep working on. I have family who also work in construction so it made sense to combine things I was familiar with while still enjoying being creative but Architecture was a big investment and ultimately I preferred the colour and creativity of interiors.
What do you specialise in?
Hospitality design is my main focus: pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels being the main body of my work with much of this working with big brewery companies and hospitality brands over the years. Each type of venue has its own challenges and the brief is always different which I thrive on.
I hate repeating a design element in more than one job as each building, venue and even team of operators, are completely unique so new ideas and new concepts are always arising.
Why is interior design so important?
Interior designers have the very difficult job of planning out how people are going to interact with a space in the most comfortable way possible, which includes understanding the psychology of how people move and act around objects, surfaces and even other people.
– Most people enter a shop and turn right, as most people are right handed.
– People react to smells by instinct, not conscious thought.
– If the lighting is too harsh or bright, people don’t want to spend too long in that area.
– If the music is loud and fast it puts off older crowds and attracts a younger demographic.
These are just a few basic examples of things that interior designers have to consider based on human psychology that can really affect the end result. If an interior isn’t right it can have physically detrimental effects on health and mental wellbeing of those not just visiting these spaces but staff who are working in them.
It’s a complicated mix of public and private spaces that need to be comfortable for the user regardless of whether that user is a guest or an employee, both need to be accommodated and both need to use the space comfortably without risk to themselves.
Ultimately though, without designers we would live in a very boring plain world.
What do you most want people to know about you / how you work?
I’m very relaxed as a designer, it’s a very subjective field and my job is to make sure that what a client sees in their head is A- Deliverable and B- Compliant with regulation. Or if I get the freedom to design what and how I want, that the design relates to the brief I have been given and fits with the brand, building, historic location etc.
I love what I do and basically get the opportunity to use a hobby to generate my own lifestyle and income now. I’ll work around my client’s schedule as much as I can as the freedom of self employment and the subjective nature of the job means I might have an idea at 11pm on a Saturday night or 10am Wednesday morning, it’s not a 9-5. I’m also not restricted by geography, having worked from Scotland right down to London and everywhere in between.
How can people get in touch & work with you?
I’m quite heavily into LinkedIn as my main social media platform but I can be found on Instagram and my portfolio website where all of my contact details can be found.