I have recently design a new Cocktail Bar in Guildford for a start up company called KOKOMO. I first walked around the venue (an existing cocktail bar) in early September. At that time the venue was very simple and fairly light with white walls and black furniture. Here is a photo of how it used to look.
The brief was to design a new Cocktail Bar Interior that would give Guildford a venue that was up to the standard of some of the London Venues we visited. This meant designing the Cocktail Bar so that it was atmospheric, more edgy, as well as being a good venue for live music. I set to work and produced both the concept stage and technical drawings within about 6 weeks. The Client got the keys at around the same time and the builders set to work constructing the interior over about 7 weeks. Although the partnership that was funding the project was 5 strong I dealt with mainly one person and this generally works best if you need to make fast decisions. The contractors are called Tyson Joinery and they have done a great job. We met every week and spoke regularly on the phone.
I worked closely with the graphic designer Will Fletcher and together we applied Will’s branding throughout the interior. As the venue is in a conservation area we were limited to how much signage we could have outside. This meant we had to use internal lighting and graphics to try and catch the attention of passers by without spoiling the feel of the interior.
It was tight to get the venue open in such a short time but with a cohesive team on site and a client that had a lot of time and energy for the project we managed to make it happen. As a first Kevin (a good friend and master craftsmen) and myself designed, manufactured and supplied the table tops. Watch this space next year as we will be doing this on a more regular basis….
Here are some photos taken by a photographer local to Guildford called Mark Gillett
