Modern day designers gain much of their inspiration from ancient cultural designs which have been regarded as special and beautiful.  This inspiration allows them to create modern designs which then create business opportunities.  Currently, designers love to use historical relics to find inspiration for their designs.  During his speeches about architectural design world famous Asian architect I.M. Pei has spoken about a poem from 1600 years ago by Tao Yen Min called Peach Blossom Shangri-la, where Tao Yen Min dreams of living in a paradise. This provided Pei with inspiration to build this paradise in the MIHO art museum in Japan.  The entrance is similar to a cave followed by a light at the end of the tunnel where you can clearly see the paradise he designed.  The meaning of this design is that the darkness of the tunnel followed by the light represents a passage to another world. 

SPR Coffee’s design inspiration follows this as well.  The designs for the franchises are created according to the characteristics of the store location, the expected customers and special characteristics of the surrounding environment.  This results in personal designs for each location.  Therefore, SPR Coffee’s customers have discovered that each location has its own atmosphere and style which is very popular with customers and has become a unique feature of SPR Coffee.   On one hand design is flexible and the possibilities are endless.  The design can come from observing every day life or can come from one’s imagination.  However, all the basic elements and concepts of our design are the same in which we aim to create a warm space which feels like home.

Although different coffee shops have different styles, SPR Coffee’s designs all come from the same principles which are drawn from the best elements of different cultures combined with Chinese culture.  Our design has passed the test of time and it has proven to be correct and well received by the customers. 

When you go to www.sprcoffee.com you can access the Design Style Guide of all SPR Coffee locations, more than 20 different designs in total.  How did we create all these different styles of design?  How did we complete them?  Why did our franchise owners like the design?  The answer is because the way we design focuses on the design ideas and needs of the owner of the franchise. 

No matter how much we like our new ideas or personal preferences we will not use our idea if the franchise owner doesn’t approve of it.  Therefore, we try to get to know the franchise owner and listen to their needs.  Only once we are familiar with the franchise owner’s needs will we start to develop the design.  We think this kind of design style is what the market needs; this kind of design style satisfies the franchise owner, and this kind of design style results in success.

There is a book called Have you figured it out? which says during the development of a new product the most difficult thing is how to develop a product that is ‘high quality’.  The definition for high quality is to conform to the customers needs.  However, why are so many new products or new merchandise unable to satisfy the customers’ needs and become popular?  Why is it so hard for new products to meet customers’ needs?  From these sentences it is evident that you must have knowledge about customers’ needs, quality, communication and design.  Therefore, to make what the customer wants you need to analyze what the customer needs through a wide range of possibilities.  This could be done by including customer requirements, involving the client and having a meeting which encourages the construction of ideas, resolving a conflict of opinion, meeting clients’ needs (capability, special identity, limits, preferences and hopes), investigating skills, product testers satisfaction where you need to keep the results of your testing confidential.      

So, if you want to successfully complete a new design you can use our ideas as a reference and listen to the owners’ needs.  In this way your coffee shop design will be on the path to success.  

Similar to how houses are always one room too small or how a woman is always one dress short in her wardrobe, the space in the coffee shop always seems not quite big enough.

What can you do if the interior of your coffee shop isn’t big enough for you to use properly?  If your environment and situation allow it, then we have a suggestion for you!  You can build an addition to the outside of the shop which can be closed in using glass. No matter what the original design was, ancient or modern, this addition will not compromise the original architectural style.  Why?  It’s because this addition can be compatible with the original architecture of the building.   Take a look at the Pyramid de Louvre in Paris then you will know the reason for this.

If you still think your space is not big enough we suggest you can add a canopy extending from the addition you created.  This canopy could be either retractable or it could be permanently extended.  The most important thing is you should create a canopy design with represents your coffee shop.  Don’t just copy another shop’s design, otherwise you won’t be able to accomplish your vision and it will simply be a waste.  Also we suggest that your canopy must be built higher than the addition because in this way the canopy will be more visible to the customers.  The canopy can become the face of your coffee shop and the addition you created becomes less of a distinguishing characteristic. 

We can design the canopy in three different styles.  The first style of canopy extends straight out, the second style is at an angle and the third is a quarter canopy style.  For the color we suggest green or black and for the material of the canopy we suggest thick canvas which is suitable for outdoors.  If the canopy is made of wood or iron, you can paint it but it’s important to choose the right color which won’t fade.  At the same time you should add a spotlight to create an even better atmosphere.

If it’s still not enough, you can utilize the space outside your shop by using a moveable fence.  For example, you can use our specially designed green SPR Coffee fence.  This fence can be used on its’ own, or it can be attached to multiple SPR Coffee fences which makes it very flexible.  In this way your coffee shop has an inside and an outside, it’s deep and it’s shallow, and you will have created the feeling of multiple spaces with different layers that all have their own special features.      

If you present this information in a mathematical formula, creating a feeling of a coffee shop with multiple spaces and different layers that have their own special features = original coffee shop + glass addition + canopy + outside area.  This combination has a positive effect which looks good, is coordinated, and is fun.