Studio Brief 01 - Essay Research - Dan Saul-Pilgrim Interview

To get a better understanding of the coffee culture in the Leeds area I researched out to Dan Saul-Pilgrim who is the curator of the publication/book Coffee Shop North. 

"The book features photographs by JUSTIN SLEE taken between October 29, 2015 and April 4, 2016, focused on twenty-three coffee shops and roasters across eight northern cities. The book also features essays from twelve contributors, both personal and informative, exploring themes related to coffee and the north."

It was very useful being able to talk to someone with a lot of knowledge about the coffee culture and the way in which they may use design to help benefit the business. I had many questions based on my research question and I was able to chat to Dan about what he thought and he gave me some great answers which I will be able to use to back points that I have made in my essay. 

Notes - 

Subcultures, people who are part of the sub cultures want to be seen in these places so the design influences their choice of coffee shop if you’re attracted to the Kinfolk lifestyle people have certain places that suit them and there opinion of these places is very much supported by the design and the community that comes with each cafe.  

Characteristics, if a place doesn’t have the right character it can feel empty and the business may become unsuccessful as they can’t keep a loyal costumer base. A place could be done up in a certain style but it if it hasn’t got the community and appeal to keep an audience to succeed. 

Budget, its what you can do with your budget a place that has a small budget would have to make the most of what they have available to them to create the best environment for the costumer, and place with a larger budget should use that to to a massive advantage as it will bring them the flexibility to create something new and special that can really make an impact on people. 

Quality over quaintly, its more about the quality of the design that will add value to a cafe if it new and original it will entice people to visit and also come back. 

Trends, does it look cool on social media, are people seeing that I’m going to these places - the design is a massive part of the trends because without it they won’t get the word of mouth that it deserves 

Visual appreciation/aesthetic value 

Purpose, the soul purpose of a coffee shop has changed its not just about the coffee anymore its about the completive market and the way people perceive the place, does it look cool on social media etc. When a place is designed people are thinking more about the community that they will be supporting and but at the end of the day it does boil down to the coffee 

Starbucks are to thank for introduction coffee to a wider audience, a lot of people that are going to independent coffee shops probably started going to Starbucks but soon learnt that places like Laynes existed and it was more appealing to go to a place where you would feel more at home with the style, music, people, food etc… (subcucltures) 

Local business are supporting each other this creates a community - this adds value to the character of a place, places like Starbucks and Costa all have the same interior and design but a small independent place will have quirks that make it more appealing to the right audience (the people who appreciate the better things in life)

Coffee shops in Leeds have to try harder than London. This is because places in London are easy to fill with the amount of people that are there (trendy) but a place like Leeds where there are less trendy around so the coffee shops have to have the visual presence to get not just coffee enthusiasts to visit. So these places have to be welcoming to everyone and you can do this by creating a community and not letting a snobby place, as it is a lot to do with image. 

Balance between aesthetic and quality, to make sure the business can succeed there needs to be a balance between the two otherwise you will loose the costumers either because the coffee is bad or because people might find the place to run down and could be put off by the bad interior/aesthetic 

Integral design from the beginning, bring something new to the scene, location is massively important, different to what people have seen before, budget, first impressions count without these you wouldn’t be able to have a successful business and this would be the downfall of a coffee shop this is why you need to have that balance with everything.