The nature of our industry is pretty fast paced so the actual design element, consisting of the initial drawings, generally takes around a week or so depending on development with the client. Lead time and the complexity of the design are also big factors. It really depends on the product and what it is. How long does it take to develop a product? Working in a job where you can see your ideas come to life seeing the product starting with just a simple conversation, to an initial digital concept, to a physical product used within a larger space is very fulfilling. We’re taking rough ideas, sketches and concepts and ending up with a tangible product. What part of the whole design process excites you most?ĭesigning is great as there are lots of exciting parts along the way but the most rewarding part is of course seeing a design come together – from render to reality. It can be almost anything and that’s exciting. To be honest it’s just that, the variety of projects and environments that clients come to us with. What do you like most about designing specifically for a contract environment? If I was designing for a restaurant my priorities would differ. Things such as seat height, padding, support etc. We design for all sorts of hospitality, leisure and healthcare markets such as restaurants, hotels, bars, offices etc.Īn environments that throws up a particularly different set of factors are care homes and retirement living – in this kind of design understanding the requirements of the user is the priority over other factors, as their needs will differ from the traditional user. Also, with so many different types of contract environments, there are always different considerations that make the job interesting. There are lots of factors to take into account that differ from the residential market – from the foam to the fixings, making sure that you understand and meet these factors in the product that you’re designing is extremely important. What things do you have to consider when designing a piece of furniture for the contract environment? Either one of those presents its own challenges and so it’s important for us to discuss the options with the client to ensure that what we design will meet their expectations – it’s key to get a clear vision so that what we have a starting point for the design, and so that the endpoint is something that they are excited by. Sometimes that brief is highly detailed, sometimes it is a little vague and needs more input from us. It begins with the client setting us a brief. How does your design process usually begin? We thought we’d ask Doug a few questions about his experience of being a UK-based furniture designer in an Internationally reaching business. Based at their Greenwich office and headed up by Design Manager, Doug Crichton, their years of experience working with clients and factories mean that they’re the perfect people to guide you through the process. When clients are after something a little more exclusive or have a vision in mind, Inside Out Contracts have an in-house design team on hand to create the bespoke solution. Inside Out Contracts offer a large and diverse range of products in the hope that there will be an option for every design scheme.