LOGO DESIGN

Your company’s logo is your company’s face. It reflects the style, mood and direction of your business. Is your business green and sustainable? Is your style playful and fun? Are your products fresh and tasty? All these - and much more - can be captured in your logo image. We start by asking you to fill out a logo design form about your new brand. After a few days, you will receive 10 to 15 different design options and we will ask for your feedback. We work with you until you are satisfied with your final logo.

BUSINESS CARD OR LOYALTY CARD DESIGN

Business cards transfer your brand message onto something tangible you can hand out to your future clients. Sometimes, a business card becomes a loyalty card, such as in the case of restaurants or dessert shops. If somebody else has already designed your logo and business cards, and you do not need these particular services, we can simply take it from your package. We ask you for specific information on the brand you have started creating, such as Pantone colors for your logo or vector graphics for any images provided by your artist. We use these during the interior design process, when we continue with your brand creation. In this case, we remove the logo design services from your package price.

CUSTOM GRAPHICS

to come

STORE FRONT GRAPHICS

to come

CONCEPT INTERIOR OR INTERIOR DESIGN

Interior design begins with selecting the interior colors, finishes, materials, light fixtures, furniture and all the other decorative elements that complement your brand and express your message. We present you our ideas in the form of a “materials board.” Typically, this is a digital board, but we can create a physical one if requested by your landlord or the mall that rents you space. The interior materials board helps you understand the intent and vision of the interior designer and allows you to decide how well they represent your brand. At this stage, we ask you for feedback. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please feel free to send them to us. This is a creative process that requires your input and final approval. Once you approve the materials, we provide you with links to the priced materials, which will help you get an idea about how they fit into your budget. At this stage, if you feel that any products or materials are too pricey, we will try to substitute them with more affordable options.

SPACE PLANNING AND CODE ANALYSIS

This is a very important step in any tenant improvement (TI) process. We offer the Space Planning service as a single package that you can purchase separately, no strings attached. You can take our existing floor plan to another designer or continue to work with us on subsequent development stages. Purchasing this services as a separate package is an inexpensive option that helps you avoid confusion and disappointment if you get into a lease, but later find out that the space is not what you really want.

Space Planning and Code Analysis includes the following:

Existing floor plan layout. We welcome any existing plans, blueprints or hand sketches that you can give us and that we can use to produce an existing floor plan of your space. If you are located in the San Diego area and do not have such documents, we can come to your location and measure your space. Keep in mind that, in the case of a rentable space, the square footage that you received from your landlord is not going to match the interior square footage for tenant improvement. Rentable space is typically calculated from the mid-point of the side walls and includes exterior walls, which adds up to more square feet. Space Code Restrictions. By looking at your existing floor plan, we can determine if there are any code restrictions that apply to your space. For example, the electricity supply may be inadequate, the water heater too small or the HVAC system not powerful enough for what you want to achieve. Commercial Kitchen Design. Even if your space already has a commercial kitchen, we still have to add all the equipment you need for your particular business. Restrooms Calculations. Once we have the existing floor plan and we know what you want to create within this space, we can calculate the required number of restrooms your business must provide. In order to do this, we need to know your user group type and allowed occupant load. We search for any code exceptions that we can use to minimize restrooms requirements. Fire Exits Requirements. Based on your occupant load, we can determine if your space has enough exits. This is an important step during the actual space planning stage. For example, if we determine that you need two exits, but you only have one, the space is not adequate for your business. Additionally, if you need to provide two fire exits, keep in mind that access to these should not be gained through a commercial kitchen in the back. ADA Compliance. Even if your space proves to be adequate, we still need to make sure your landlord has been keeping up with ADA upgrades. Is your restroom ADA compliant per the latest code? Has it been remodeled within the last 20 years? Do you have an adequate passage from the ADA parking spots to your space? Your landlord is responsible for most of the ADA upgrades, but you need to include them in your lease. Space Planning or New Floor Plan Layout. Based on all the information we gathered during the previous stages, we can now create the layout for your new space. At this point, we ask you to share with us your ideas, vision and wishes for your new business and what equipment you intend to use. At the end of this process, we know whether your plans are doable within the existing space or if there is a better layout. This is the most important step in the overall design of any TI project and requires your full cooperation. Approximate TI Pricing. By evaluating what goes into creating your new space, we offer you an approximate cost for your tenant improvement project. Keep in mind that this figure is not based on your material selection, but only on an evaluation of the additions and changes you want to incorporate into your space, such as flooring, ceiling finish changes, new walls, lighting, wall finishes or counters, furniture, plumbing, restrooms and more. This initial price does not include any equipment or any additional items such as sprinkler system upgrades or outside signage. You will get a more accurate pricing information from your contractor at the end of our final design phase in the Interior Design or Construction Documents Package.

3D RENDERING

The 3D rendering model explores how your space will actually look in real life. We recommend doing a 3D model to make sure your contractor understands the details of your design. The 3D rendering offers critical views of the intended changes in soffits, the counters, new walls, combination of materials and colors and overall design intent. 3D-rendered views are also useful in your marketing materials or to send out to press.

DESIGN DRAWINGS

With the space planned out and the materials you want to use identified, we can start creating the design drawings for your new space. These plans are used by your contractors to determine the cost of your project and assist them in building your space. Without design drawings, your plumbing, mechanical or electrical engineers cannot draw their own plans or calculate what they need. Design drawings are a must if you need a health or building permit for your business. The typical architectural set of drawings will include the following sheets. (Note: This may change, depending on your requirements or if you only need permit drawings.)

• Floor Plan
• Finishes Plan
• Equipment Plan (for restaurants only)
• Ceiling Plan
• Interior Elevations
• Construction Details
• Cabinetry Details

DESIGN DRAWINGS

In order to obtain your health or building permit architectural set of drawings, the following additional documents are required by the city authorities. Keep in mind that these may change, depending on your local city requirements.

• Title Sheet. This document details the project code information. We calculate most of it during the code analysis and space planning stage. The title sheet also includes your vicinity map, project directory, drawings list, and any other information required for your specific project.
• Project Notes. These summarize local codes and restrictions and are required by your city’s Building Department and Health Department.
• ADA Details. This document identifies ADA requirements that your contractor must follow.
• Site Plan and Details. Most Building Departments ask you to provide a site plan of the existing building, with ADA parking, ADA access to your space, parking calculations for your building, trash enclosure location (for restaurants) and much more. We may have to provide site-related details and a drawing of your existing ADA parking spots.
• Egress Plan or Fire Exit Plan.
• Restrooms enlarged floor plan and elevations.
• Structural calculations and plans are needed for certain projects. We will let you know if your project or city requires them.

MEP ENGINEERS’ DRAWINGS

Once we created the architectural set of plans, our engineers can get to work. The mechanical engineer calculates air requirements, how much heat your equipment produces, where you need more vents and what size they must be. The mechanical engineer can also recommend a certain kitchen hood model. In certain areas of the country, the mechanical engineer provides Title 24 energy calculations to make sure you are not using too much energy. The plumbing engineer lays out any new piping you need to add, calculates your water heater load and provides information on your existing or new grease trap (for restaurants only). The electrical engineer lays out the new lighting system (including dimmable switches), reviews your electrical load and offers you advice if you need to expand the internal electrical panel. When needed, the electrical engineer also provides a Title 24 Energy calculations document required by your local building authorities. Sometimes, we are required to bring a structural engineer into our team. It doesn’t happen too often as, most of the time, Building Departments accept typical construction details. However, there are unique situations when this becomes a necessity, such as these:

• Unexpected structural conditions are uncovered during demolition.
• Your landlord has certain structural requirements unique to your building that need to be addressed.
• We design a new suspended decoration, soffit or design element that requires special reinforcing, detailing and structural calculations.
• The local Building Department requires structural stamps on construction details, which is common in earthquake-prone areas.
• You want to remove an existing column, etc.

In these cases, we inform you of such requirements and give you an estimate of how much work needs to be done by a structural engineer.

CONSTRUCTION SUPPORT

During the construction phase, you may need additional help and services. Typically, our clients need help with the following (this is not a comprehensive list):

• Value engineering. As soon as you get the cost estimate from your contractors, you know if you have the budget to move forward with the remodel or if something has to change to accommodate your budget. Sometimes, just replacing the materials with cheaper options can solve the problem. We can guide you through the process of value engineering during the construction phase.
• Change Orders. If, at any point during the demolition phase, your contractor uncovers unexpected conditions on site, some of the construction details may have to change. We do not recommend relying on the contractor’s expertise or sense of esthetics when proceeding with such design changes. We can always incorporate the proposed changes into a redesign of the space, keeping the design intent intact.
• Shop Drawings Review and Corrections. During the construction phase, the contractor asks the subcontractors for the so-called “shop drawings.” The shop drawings show details of cabinetry and custom fixtures. Sometimes, shop drawings may miss on some vital design intent and may change the intended look of these items. We recommend that you keep us around at this stage, so that we can review the shop drawings and correct any potential mistake.
• Materials Research. Sometimes, the specified products have your approval and come at a great price, but the lead time (the time it takes to process and manufacture the products) is very long and inconvenient. We can help you find a new compatible product that stays true to the design intent, but has a better lead time.
• Requests for Information (RFIs). During the construction phase, we often get phone calls asking for information already existing in the plans, but more difficult to find or understand. We welcome such calls because it is better to ask than to build incorrectly. Having us on your team will benefit you when the time arrives for such questions or for making corrections to the changes made during the construction process.

COMPLEMENTARY PRESS RELEASE

At the end of each project, we create a complementary press release with your new project information. You can forward this press release to your local newspapers, magazines or to other organizations of your choice. If you closely followed our design when building your space, you will also be able to receive a complementary photography session. We will share our images with you, free of charge. This is a great way for you to start off your Social Media campaign, set up a new Facebook page - and more.