When you think about the history of design and creativity, no shortage of ideas come to mind. The Arts and Crafts movement, Bauhaus architecture, the post-war Pop Art explosion and so much more – but what about restaurants?
Restaurants and cafés have been meeting points and inspirational venues for creatives of all types for centuries. Artists, writers and philosophers have used these places to socialise, develop their ideas and usher in the future.
So it makes sense that those same restaurants and cafés would embrace design themselves and evolve along with the countercultures and creativity that they enabled.
In fact, restaurants and cafés are arguably some of the most thoughtfully designed spaces in the world, and are often at the very forefront of new interior design trends.
Whether it is the furniture, colours, lighting or artwork on the walls, they are a fantastic place to see what the future of design looks like.
For example, we can look back to the opening the famous Le Grand Teddy tearoom in Paris in 1918 which commissioned three oval paintings by Édouard Vuillard to grace the walls and define the mood of the place. The interior designer, Francis Jourdain, commissioned the paintings to show a bustling, discerning, fashionable crowd of people, reflecting the clientele that the tearoom wanted to attract.
In other words, it was a café using art and design to make a statement about what the place was. This approach has been echoed and magnified a century later by Nandos which has turned every one of its restaurants into a gallery.
The chain has more than 28,000 pieces of art on its walls, making it the largest collection of South African artwork on public display in the world. Nandos has effectively used design to transform premises into part of its overall brand.
Because of this, a Nandos is now instantly recognisable and comfortable because the overall design theme is aligned with the food, the mood and how the restaurants make people feel. In other words, there is nothing like a Nandos, and the restaurant serves as an aspirational example of what’s possible that we aim to match in our own projects.
That evolution of approach towards interior restaurant design has been mirrored effectively by other national and global chains.
Enzo Apicella’s Pizza Express designs turned the world of mid-range restaurant design on its head in the 1970s. He reinvented what we knew Italian restaurants to be with colourful and vibrant murals and other wall art.
It would take some time for this approach to reach fast food places, but the precedent had been set and would eventually give rise to the ‘fast-casual’ restaurants that we know today.
From their origins in the 1920s through the post-war boom, fast food restaurants were seen for much of their existence as dull, functional spaces that weren’t unpleasant, but certainly didn’t wow the customer or speak to them. Designs were samey and uninspired with little thought put into them.
That would change as fast food companies started to follow the example of places like Nandos and Pizza Express. Chains began to see their restaurants as not just venues for eating quickly and cheaply, but as places which could be part of the brand. Could a fast food place be not just functional, but actively stylish?
Fundamentally, the actual buildings that fast food restaurants occupy have not changed much. They have simple furniture, simple floors and ceilings, similar layouts – but they now feel completely different. That is down to one thing: graphic wall art.
Instead of newly commissioned paintings, international significant art collections or a singular vision supplied by a design genius, fast food chains chose bright, distinctive wall art graphics to define their restaurant spaces for two reasons.
Firstly, they create an atmosphere inside a restaurant which sands off the rough edges and makes it feel more welcoming. If it wasn’t for the graphics on the walls, you might be more likely to notice that you’re sat unusually close to other people, or that the tables and chairs aren’t that comfortable. With prominent wall art, you see that less and enjoy your time there more.
Secondly, graphic wall art makes the restaurant part of something bigger. Reflecting the path taken by Nandos or Pizza Express, the rise of graphic wall art in fast food restaurants has transformed them into part of the brand.
You know the colours and the graphics of your favoured fast food chain. You can see them in your mind and understand how they fit into the brand’s overall messaging. When you walk past one, you know how the food will taste and what you will feel inside. When you visit these restaurants, you know what you’re getting, how the food will taste, and make you feel. When you’re away, you see them and they’re like a little slice of home.
For those reasons, interior graphic wall art has become not just a nice-to-have for restaurants. In the age of ‘fast casual’ dining, it is a pivotal feature of any fast food place and a vital component of a chain’s overall brand strategy.
Want to upgrade your wall art? PFC can help you to convey your brand values and can tailor each restaurant’s design to be bespoke. Have a look at our previous work with fast food restaurants and get in touch with the team to start defining your brand today.
