A Bathroom Door

[If you've come to view my portfolio, see the Design Portfolio and Resume/Bio tabs.]

Good evening!  I hope you are all staying safe and dry on this rainy, gross day.

Today's blog post branched off of my Cafe Interior post from Saturday (below).  As I was picking out my cafe colors, textures and furnishings, I began to imagine what sort of a brand I would want throughout my cafe/shop.  Would it be a cute polka-dotted strategy of whimsy? A modern streamlined approach? Ponder, ponder. 

[If you are unfamiliar with exactly what branding means, here's a definition:
Creating a unique name and image for a product/company in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.]


For some reason, my mental journey of "branding" for the cafe started with the signage on the restroom doors.  I began to sketch different graphics, but this sketch-session strayed further from the cafe to more of a "what would this bathroom door say about the establishment?"-session.  

Here are my concepts, their applications and what kind of an establishment I think they may be seen in. [Click each to view larger.]


 




Modern Twist :: laser cut from stainless steel; mounted onto dark-stained wooden door. 

Where :: a trendy, modern office/studio or restaurant.

Unique/Artsy :: bright-colored decal applied to a funky door that has a bold pattern.

Where :: a hip local clothing store or cafe/coffee shop; comic book shop or record store.

Metaphoric :: sand-blasted (deep) on frosted glass window set in a dark-stained wooden door in a mood-lit bathroom hallway

Where :: classy lounge bar/restaurant

Whimsical :: wooden door; laser-cut bright-colored acrylic bows; face circles are set in the wood - stained a different color than the rest of the door.

Where :: a cafe/coffee shop/hangout where customers have wide-rimmed glasses, and dress like Zooey Deschanel.

Minimal :: laser-cut from numerous materials - metal, wood, plastic, etc.

Where :: an easy placement in many trendy places.

Realistic :: decal printed to contrast door color

Where :: classy spa/wellness center or gym; where there is focus on the body

Also, I love this branding experiment, and felt it was relevant. Click, and enjoy! 


Thanks for reading!
A


Source: www.businessdictionary.com (definition of branding)

A Cafe Interior

[If you've come to view my portfolio, see the Design Portfolio and Resume/Bio tabs.] 

One day last week, I started to draw the layout of what I hope will one day be an awesome store where I sell my own products, after having manufactured them in my shop out back, after having designed them in my window-walled studio upstairs via a spiral staircase.  A girl can dream, right?

I also plan for this place to have a cafe featuring my BFF's recipes.  For the sake of the blog, and not completely publishing our awesome idea, I decided to do a post concerning only the cafe and hang-out area of the establishment.  The following images are guidelines for the layout, color scheme and overall vibe of the unnamed cafe (to be honest, we've thought of a very cute name, but I'm keeping it under wraps).  

The more I designed, the more I exclaimed loudly in my best Liz Lemon expression, 
"I want to go to there."

Quick Floor Plan

I know that this is usually the job of an Interior Designer, but who doesn't like shopping and piecing together a color palette? I started picking out my furnishings for the cafe, the outdoor patio and the lounge.

Larger View of Floor Plan with Call-outs

Cafe View

There you have it!  Perhaps you've just had a glimpse into what will someday be my cafe + design shop.

By the way, a little explanation on my fixation of manufacturing and selling my own product in-house:  In the field of design, I feel like so much is disposable and wasted these days.  I am really striving to be a part of something that is treasured and lasts for a while, rather than ending up in a junk pile in the garage after a season.  In my dream-job-search, I've narrowed that passion down to two possible dream-positions.  One being to design and sell individually-crafted products, perhaps with a small local firm, or to work at a multidiscipilnary firm alongside Architects, Interior Designers and Graphic Designers to design custom, specialty spaces [this project began to explore that].

Thanks for reading! Check out my resume and work in the above tabs!

List of Furnishings by Space ::
Cafe and Patio ::
Magnus Stained Chair - Restoration Hardware [9 Indoor / 20 Outdoor]
Bertoia Bar Chair - Knoll Studio  [10]
Min Table (Sm) - Design Within Reach [3]
Petal Dining Table - Design Within Reach [5]
Copper Shade Pendant - Tom Dixon at Lumens.com [3]
Clear Globe Pendant - West Elm [6]
Scrapwood Wallpaper - Peit Hein Eeek [Sq. Footage of Floating Wall]
Corian Solid Surface "Designer White" - DuPont [Bar]
Corian Solid Surface "Ethereal Azure" - DePont [Cafe Register/Coffee Counters]
Outdoor patio to be stone laid in radial pattern with moss between cracks 

Lounge ::
10' Lancaster Sofa in Brompton Cocoa Leather - Restoration Hardware [1]
Professor's Chair in Brompton Cocoa Leather - Restoration Hardware [4]
Contemporary Block Coffee Table in White - Furniture Depot [1]
Immer White Wood and Steel End Table - Casual Home Furnishings [2]
96" Boulangerie Extension Dining Table - Restoration Hardware [1]
Copper Shade Pendant - Tom Dixon at Lumens.com [2]
Magnus Stained Chair - Restoration Hardware [10]
Bertoia Bar Chair - Knoll Studio  [9]
Corian Solid Surface "Designer White" - DuPont [Bar Along Window]

Entry / Throughout ::
Bocci Suspension Lamp - Houzz [Entry]
Tobacco Road Acacia Handscraped Wood Flooring - Lumber Liquidators 
Brick Arches painted in an Antique White similar to Magnus Chair Stain

**Again, a girl can dream, right? What's a budget? =p

-A

Designing Amanda; What this blog is all about.

The basics :: This may come off as ramblings, but I've got to start somewhere, and I'll get to the point. This is the story of how I got to where I am.  My name is Amanda. I am an Industrial Designer, and a recent addition to the massively large population of Atlanta, GA. If you're from a larger city, Atlanta's population may not seem so "massively large" to you, but I can assure you that it is massively larger than the outer rim of Birmingham, AL, my hometown.  I was born and raised there, and graduated from high school in 2007.

Context at leaving high school :: In my senior year, I had taken a very random extra-curricular class called "Fashion and Housing Decisions."  Nowadays, you could probably call this a Pinterest class, as it was really just a bunch of crafts for the home.  I made pillows and a skirt, and framed coffee-stained drawings.  There was, however, one project that stood out.  I designed my "future house."  (pictured on right) This exposure to floor-planning and materials, and just putting ideas on paper set my wide-eyed sights on becoming an Architect. I was so eager to move to Auburn, AL and begin my long-awaited schooling at Auburn University.

Context at entering Auburn :: I grew up a huge fan of Auburn.  Both of my grandfathers were professors at the university, my parents grew up in the small close-knit town, and sometimes there is a hell of a football team to watch! [The last few years having been a roller coaster, but War Eagle anyway!] I participated in the band at Auburn, as I had during school since 6th grade, and I joined an Introduction to Architecture class in my first semester. 

During this class, we were shown slideshows of famous architects' work.  Occasionally, an architect might have designed a chair on the side, or in the case of Frank Lloyd Wright, they might have designed every single detail in the home:

 

Wright conceived virtually every detail of both the external design and the internal fixtures, including furniture, carpets, windows, doors, tables and chairs, light fittings and decorative elements. He was one of the first architects to design and supply custom-made, purpose-built furniture and fittings that functioned as integrated parts of the whole design. 

- Frank Lloyd Wright's Glass Designs; Carla Lind, 1995

I was discussing Wright with one of our graduate assistants after class one morning, and said something along the lines of "Man, I can't wait to become an architect one day so that I can design all the cool stuff inside of houses!" His reply? "Uhm...I think you're in the wrong major." He sent me to Wallace Hall, the Industrial Design building on the other side of campus.  The rest is history, as they say.  

I had never heard of Industrial Design, and was so thrilled upon seeing all of the project boards lining the hallways, the colorfully-painted sketch-covered walls in the studios, and the models and prototypes sitting around on all of the over-sized desks.  I began to feel this sense of belonging like I had maybe just stumbled upon my future profession.

I enrolled in the Intro to Industrial Design class that next semester and entered the Summer Option Design Program to compete my way into the course curriculum.  On a ridiculously hot day in May 2011, three whirlwind, sleep-deprived and unforgettable memory-filled years later, I graduated Cum Laude with my Bachelor's Degree of Industrial Design from Auburn University.


After graduation, I moved back home and enjoyed my first vacation in years.  I hadn't had a summer off of school since the year before college started. One blissful month went by, and then I decided that it was time to find a temporary job to hold me over while looking for that awesome big-time design job.  I applied to Restoration Hardware, interviewed the next day, and was hired as the new Design Sales Associate the next. Two months later, I was the new full-time Visual Manager and got lost in a world of high-end retail for a year and half, completely forgetting about looking for a job about which I was passionate.

So, why the move to Atlanta?

On June 3, 2012, I lost one of my lifelong best friends in a tragic car accident.  Laura was in social work, and was SO passionate about it.  She didn't waste any time in retail after graduation.  She jumped right in to working and she was really making a difference in people's lives.  She had that kind of job that is just perfect for someone; the one where they wake up excited for work every morning, inspired to do things.  After her death, it kind of hit me that I wasn't living the life I was supposed to be living.  That sounds far more dramatic than I mean for it to.  I wasn't wasting my life away or anything, but I also wasn't doing what I had expected to be doing, and I wasn't going to waste any more time not doing it.  

I turned in my notice, and left Restoration Hardware in mid-September.  I took the next month to work on my portfolio and look for an apartment with my best friend from I.D. at Auburn, and we moved to the ATL in mid-October.  Two months later, there are new projects in my portfolio and I'm finally ready to hit the ground running to find that design job.

You're now up to speed. Here we are. The point of this blog: Designing Amanda. Yes, I am Amanda that designs, but I am also still designing me.  I'm not sure yet what kind of a designer I want to be. This blog is about figuring that out.  I have lots of ideas, some of them like my head is in the clouds.  I know what I'm passionate about, and I also know what I would rather not spend my days doing.  Beggars can't be choosers, sure, but I am going to try my hardest to pinpoint exactly where I want to be and what I want to be doing there; to find that job that inspires me and makes me want to get up every morning.  I know this all sounds cliche and naive, but I am going to make it happen. 

Look forward to posts about products, companies and people that inspire me, or are just noteworthy.  As I make up my mind on my big dream, you'll hear about that too.


To bigger and better things, and my dream job!
A