Designing Your Coffee Shop – Coffee Shop Answers

Now that you really want to break out into the coffee business, you’ll soon realize that it’s not just about the coffee itself. While it’s a great product, and you definitely know your beans and everything there is to know about brewing, it’s one aspect of the whole thing.

Running a coffee shop is a completely different beast. You also need to learn how to manage expenses, hire employees, and write your very own business plan. More importantly, you also need to know how to design your coffee shop to suit your brand.

Keep in mind that coffee shops, like all businesses, are all about attracting customers, and it comes down to the experience. You want to give your customers a great first impression when they step in the door, and you want them to keep coming back.

Design is a huge part of how you make it happen. Here’s everything you need to know when it comes to designing a coffee shop for commercial success:

Appealing to Target Customers

The first thing to keep in mind when designing your coffee shop is that you can’t tailor it to your preference. Instead, you have to tailor it to your customers’. If you’re not sure about whether the design/s you have in mind appeal to potential customers, start doing research and ask around.

Customers in different areas will likely have different preferences, and these will inform things like your beans and your selection of drinks, as well as the equipment you want to buy.

You can usually classify “customer base per area” into a few categories:

Residential – Opening a business near a residential area means that you’re likely catering to families during the weekends, with slow weekdays and an atmosphere that advertises you as “family-friendly”.
Business/downtown – Downtown areas are usually bustling with foot and/or car traffic, but setting up shop in this area means that your business hours would adjust for this as well, leading to busy weekdays and slow weekends.

University – If you’re situated in or near a university, your main customer base will be students who need a place to study while drinking coffee. Setting up here likely means being open twenty-four hours and having power outlets to accommodate late-night study sessions.
Tourist – Coffee shops can be successful in areas with high tourist traffic, and they often do. Since tourists are likely to look for a place to sit down and rest, the trick is to draw them in with products made using local ingredients.

If you’re going to open a business to sell food, you need to think about who will want to go there, and what they’re looking for. Since you’re selling coffee, you need to know who’s going to buy it, and where they usually are.

People who drink coffee are more likely to be in need of a pick-me-up, which makes them more likely to be office workers or students in need of that extra energy boost to power through the day.

It’s best to go with the preference of the largest customer group when deciding which design you want to use. Once you have that down, your work is more or less cut out for you, and all that’s left is to fill in the details.

Signage, Branding, and You

Word of mouth and social media can only get you so far. To advertise effectively, you need the whole package – the name, exterior design, and especially signage – working together to get customers curious and excited enough to visit your coffee shop.

This is crucial for establishing a solid brand identity. After all, this is what customers will see from a distance, especially if your coffee shop is a little out of the way. Signage that’s well-designed can sometimes make all the difference.

Here are a few tips you can follow before putting up your signage for the first time:

Make sure it’s easy to read! Big, bold letters and contrasting colors, even something as simple as black and white, can go a long way in terms of grabbing attention. In fact, the simpler the better – passers-by and motorists don’t have a lot of time to stop and read.

Make the most of your materials. Three-dimensional spaces offer up lots of potential for design choices. If your coffee shop leans toward the artisanal side, weathered wood reinforces the aesthetic, while something more modern calls for something sleek.
Color contrast is key. Aside from lending itself to legibility, good color contrast can help tie in your overall design and reinforce your branding.
Stay consistent. If you’re using one or two colors for your labels, do the same for your signage and banners. Doing this helps your brand stick in customers’ heads – when they think of that certain combination, they’ll think of you.

Proofread! Even though it seems painfully obvious at this point, any grammatical and spelling mistakes can go unnoticed until it’s too late – have someone else proofread your signage just to be safe.
Know local regulations. Depending on your area, there can be certain limits as to how big you can make your signage, or whether you can have one that lights up. Be sure to check in with local restrictions before making your signage.
Layout determines hierarchy. In western cultures, reading is often done left to right, top to bottom. Making your top heading the largest one and making the sizes progressively smaller is a simple, but effective way to convey information.

Good signage doesn’t have to be fancy or terribly expensive to make. As long as you stay on message and follow these tips, you’ll have attractive signage that will get customers through the door.

Storefront Design

What will your coffee shop’s storefront look like?

This is the first thing customers will see before they even go through the door, and it’s just as important as any other aspect of your business. Outdoor seating and window displays are a solid way to advertise not just the products that you’re seling, but also the overall experience.

You will also want to consider the venue location when coming up with your storefront design. A commercial space in a business district typically calls for something modern, while a quiet neighborhood allows you to come up with something a little more rustic.

Keep these design elements in mind when coming up with your storefront:

Paint – Choose a color that doesn’t clash with the storefronts around you. While you want to stand out when you’re surrounded by competition, you don’t want your storefront to be an eyesore.

Signage – This is your main calling card to customers. Good signage is unique and easy to recognize, and are bound to have unusual fonts and materials if that’s what makes them stand out.
Seating – This can indicate if the store is busy, but if you’re operating a kiosk to cut down on costs, make your seating arrangements weatherproof and secure them to keep them from being stolen.
Music – Having the right music to reflect the atmosphere can indicate the space you want your shop to be. If you want your customers to hang around, something more subdued might be appropriate, while a high-traffic kiosk may call for something louder.

The good news is that there are plenty of amazing storefront designs to take inspiration from, and making your own doesn’t have to be too hard. By sticking to the essentials and staying true to the message you want your brand to convey, you’ll be sure to get customers through the door.

In-store Design and Layout

Designing the inside of your coffee shop may seem intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll find it surprisingly fun. While it’s not the same thing as playing Sims, there are elements of mixing and matching that can even spark the inner designer in you.

Whether it’s the guest working on a laptop or the group of friends catching up and having a good time, coffee shops are a go-to spot for a chill, relaxed atmosphere. Keep the following in mind when designing the interior of your coffee shop:

Use the appropriate floor plan – Restaurants and retail stores have different floor plans to suit specific purposes, and the same can be said for cafes like yours. This all depends on the physical space, the products, and even your target market.
Be choosy with lighting – While you want your exterior to have bright lights to be more visible, your interior lights should be easier on the eyes. Take advantage of as much natural light as possible and keep any contrasts gentle.
Appeal to multiple senses – There are many factors that affect your cafe’s overall ambiance. Once you have the lighting and color, you need to make sure the texture and smell also work together to create the optimal experience.

Mind your seating – Offer as many seating options as possible. For instance, people who come to relax have soft couches and low coffee tables, while busybodies call for small, hard chairs that are easy to clean.
Design for traffic flow – The right design and layout ensures smooth customer traffic. Customers don’t stand in the wrong place, and your employees don’t have to tell people where they should be.
Consider ergonomic design – Good ergonomic design lets your staff perform tasks with fewer actions and without creating any unnecessary hazards.

Design for quick service – Behind the counter, you’ll need an ample amount of space for your brewing equipment, as well as your other appliances for preparing and serving other side dishes to customers. Keeping your layout ergonomic ensures a smooth process, reducing time and keeping your food and drinks fresh.

Having to bump into tables and furniture to squeeze past narrow spaces is always an unpleasant experience. That said, your place doesn’t need to look empty, either.

While tables are a great way to display decorations, such as tiny vases or sculptures, you should also take advantage of things like window sills, walls and shelves when space is a little more limited.

Aside from the core aspects of interior cafe design, don’t forget to add the following accents to make your coffee shop an immersive experience:

Artwork – Great coffee, like great art, stimulates the mind. By adding a few paintings, you make your cafe all the more tasteful and enjoyable – even more so if it’s an original by a local artist.
Books – Books and coffee work so well together they might as well be inseparable. Having a shelf of books that your customers can pull up and read to pass the time is a great amenity to have.

Magazines – Just like books, magazines are also great for letting customers pass the time.
Games – Board and card games play into the human need for socializing, so having one or two that your customers can borrow while waiting for drinks is a great way to keep them around for longer.
Souvenirs – If your coffee shop is located at or near a tourist spot, having the right eye-catching selection of local souvenirs and trinkets can make the difference when it comes to driving sales.

You don’t even need to have any experience with interior design. If you’re not confident in trying out your hand in making your own layout, the good news is that you don’t have to do it yourself.

There are many services both online and offline that can help you get the best interior design for your coffee shop. All you need is a quick Google search and a willingness to try.

On Size and Space

This is another essential factor that you need to consider. While you can decide how to divide and allocate spaces for seating areas and the bar, trying to fit in too many customers regardless of size will only drive them away.

With extra space also comes extra opportunities. Smaller businesses have lesser costs and are lighter in terms of upkeep, but a larger coffee shop with more room lets you rent out that space, and draw different groups of people to your establishment.

That said, there’s no harm in choosing a smaller, more intimate space, especially if the budget is tight. Being aware of space limitations and requirements allows you to calculate how many customers you can and need to accommodate. It also allows you to set a target for weekly and monthly sales to make sure your revenue meets your overhead costs.

Ambiance and Environment

Great interior design accounts for different elements and balances them to achieve the best effect. Colors are the first and most important thing that comes to mind when it comes to achieving the desired ambiance, which is why so many food joints integrate them into their interior designs.

This is because colors create mood. Reds, yellows, and oranges are known to stimulate hunger, while whites and darker colors can give the illusion of space. These all play into customers’ turnover time, and can help create a nice balance that isn’t too overpowering.

Aside from lighting, there are three other elements that add to the overall ambiance of a place:

Lighting – Lights can make or break a place despite having the perfect color combinations. When you want to create a natural environment, bright exterior lights overpower the eyes and can make customers uncomfortable. Instead, it’s better to use dimmer, cozier lights that make people feel like they’re in a separate place where they can unwind.

Acoustics – Sound, just like lighting, can influence mood, and this is why a good playlist is just as integral to the interior design of any coffee shop. Because cafes are places where people can relax and socialize, you want music that kills the silence, but isn’t too deafening and loud that it cuts off conversation.
Scent – Aside from color, smell is the next most important factor to consider. While this is the hardest sense to describe, it’s also the first thing your customers will experience even before seeing anything. In fact, cafes smell like coffee not because coffee is being brewed there, but because it smells like it on purpose.

When brought together, all these factors create a relaxed, welcoming environment that people can be comfortable staying in, which leads to customers ordering more coffee.

On top of this, good ambiance is also attained by incorporating the elements of human-environment relations, which many interior designers actually base their design from. These elements are comprised of the following:

Homeyness – Designers incorporate homeyness in a cafe through the interiors used, the type of wood used in shelves, the lamps and where they are put, the comfort level of furniture that the customers sit on, etc.
Crowding – Cafe layouts, much like restaurants, are designed to ensure that the appropriate amount of space is given for every table and customer. Queues also have to be accounted for to ensure that nothing feels too cramped.

Privacy – There are two types of people you can find in a cafe: those who want to interact and those who don’t. Great ambiance also means designing your place to ensure that both types of customers are catered to.

Other Factors to Consider

Coming up with a great design for your coffee shop need not be tricky. Whether you have a small space or ample room, having the right arrangement is sure to get customers through the door and order coffee.

Aside from everything previously mentioned, here are a few other factors you want to consider when designing your coffee shop:

Menu – Your menu choices will mesh together with your overall layout and shop design to give your customers a unique experience. Be sure to choose your selection carefully to complement what you’re serving.
Service – Service is another factor to keep in mind. Your tables, chairs, and even your overall space is designed to facilitate easier and faster service, which enhances the overall experience.
Furniture – Furniture choices also factor into the overall “feel” of a space. Whether you’re going for something more modern, or something casual and rustic, your tables, chairs, and even shelves can add a lot.

Budget – Budget can be more significant than you think. Aside from the location, ingredients, and business plan, your budget can also influence how you can spruce up your cafe using things like furniture and signage.

In Conclusion

At the end of the day, coffee is a great product to sell and a great business to get into, not just because of its wide appeal, but also because of how versatile it can be.

What makes your cafe stand out is how you package the product and how it’s presented. This makes questions like “Who are you appealing to? “ and “How much do you think they will appreciate the branding?” crucial to your business’s success.

With the popularity of coffee shops all over the world, simply adding desserts and cute stationery just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

This is where great design comes in clutch. While it’s not directly something you can sell, great presentation is part of the overall experience. It’s not just the coffee and snacks you’re selling as a cafe owner, after all – the atmosphere and mood have a huge part to play in it, and they deserve just as much attention.

When you have an effective layout and design, you have a smooth flow of customer traffic that comes with the efficient use of each square foot of space you have regardless of how much room you have.

Effective layout and design can even help you better present retail items, all while creating a comfortable environment for staff and customers. While it does require a thorough understanding of your target audience and your limitations, it does a lot of the heavy lifting for you when you get it right.

You should especially pay attention to it when you have limited floor space. Not only will you be cutting back on some decorations, but you may even have to go for a more minimalist approach to keep your cafe from looking too crowded.

Finding the right design is all about balance. The right amount of details, when placed in the right places, is sure to give customers a solid first impression.

Good luck!