Looks with a Hook.
(And the bigger picture.)
As designers we can make a space be both beautiful and profitable by thinking like a Host. A design has to help people feel like the valued guests of a generous host; a host who wants guests to feel welcome, have a great time, and come back again. Lighting, color, materials, objects and sound are designed around how they’ll make the guests look, feel and interact –not to a pre-conceived notion of what’s in fashion. The space should be about the people in it, not about the space itself.
Our designs develop from problem-solving. How do the sign and the view from the street call out to people and invite them inside? How should the lighting and colors make them look and feel? Should the sound support conversation, or help people get out of their heads? How does the space feel so immediate that it keeps daily concerns outside? Answering these questions is the beginning of sculpting a space and the experience of it into a Lyric Space.
Even a Lyric Space can have competition. So how can a design help get a venue on the short list of where people want to go? All other things being equal, a “hook” helps. It’s the visual equivalent of a song refrain you can’t get out of your head. We give priority to creating a design’s Look with a Hook.
About
Lyric Space is John Hutson, lead designer, and his associates. John began his career in 1984 in Hollywood, California. John brings a West Coast perspective to his current work on the East Coast. We’ve been designing restaurants and their branding in the Washington area for the past ten years. They include Trattoria Liliana, Mama Ayesha’s, Chloe, Café 8, Pi, Grand Central and more. The designs have drawn the attention of The Washington Post, The Washingtonian, The Washington Herald, and Zagat’s. Our designs for private residences have been published in books and magazines. Each reflects the personality of the owner, whether it’s an Arabic art buyer in Los Angeles, Max Factor in Palm Springs, an Art Deco collector in Washington, DC or a Fabergé collector in Virginia
