Looks or Practicality: Which is More Important when Designing a Bar?

Bars are undeniably a dominant feature of a wide range of places. Temporary bars are required for marquee parties, for weddings and even for village fetes, whilst more permanent fixtures are required for bars pubs and clubs across the UK and actually the world. Whilst many of us take the presence of a bar in any one of these locations for granted, the reality is that a lot of thought and effort goes into bar design in order to ensure it does a great job. Whilst it can be agreed that a good bar means more business, what exactly is a good bar and what are the factors which need to be considered? The old conflict between those who pine for the most beautiful aesthetics and design and those who want to maximise bar productivity and operations rears its head. This article considers how you can balance function and aesthetics when it comes to deciding what makes a good bar.AestheticsOne of the most important aspects of bar design is the aesthetics of the bar i.e. how it looks. In some places design is obvious; clubs in high competition sites such as London, New York and Paris have to create some particularly outre "wow!" factor in order to win consumers. That's how you end up with fish tanks under the floor and a tree in the middle of the place. Whilst great looking bars in clubs often make it into our papers and magazines, a good looking bar is equally important in other contexts too. A seedy old pub with worn, stained carpet, for example, will neither attract customers no encourage repeat business. If a customer is going to enter your pub or bar you don't want them to immediately comment on how unattractive it is. Whilst how the bar looks is important this does not mean it needs to be anything wildly out of the ordinary. It just needs to be clean and contextually attractive. By this I mean that the bar must fit its character and environment. If it is an old pub the bar should look traditional and wooden, for example, whilst in a modern champagne bar this would look rather odd. In this environment perhaps a stainless steel bar may look more attractive. Overall then whilst the bar must look be attractive, this does not mean it has to look weird or wonderful, attractive and contextually appropriate is enough!FunctionalityFor every person who argues visual appearance should be a design team’s dominant concern, there is another who would argue its functionality should have more significance. The barman’s tools, the drinks and the glasses all need to be within easy reach of the user in order to operate as efficiently as possible. Get this wrong and and queues will quickly be piling up five deep, which means less money and even less repeat business if people have to wait for a long time to wait to get served and might even end up going somewhere else. Along with thinking about the barman’s requirements it is also necessary to think about how the customer will use the bar. Is it going to be a sitting bar, or a serving only bar? If it is the latter then make sure equipment is spaced evenly along the bar so there are as many "order points". Ideally the bar will draw them to an order point rather than have people waiting in a horizontal line which is always problematic for the barman. Finally, a useful piece of bar design which is very functional indeed is a mirror. It not only allows the barman to see what is going on behind him when he is preparing the drinks, such as the arrival of new customers, but it also allows those ordering their drinks to see what is going on in the rest of the room and therefore not have their back to the bar which makes it difficult for the barman.ConclusionIdeally therefore a great bar would look good and operate well. This is actually often achieved by bars and clubs who employ competent bar design teams. Often you will see pictures of great looking bars with wonderful colouring and shapes yet with plenty of shelving for glasses and an abundance of display and access points for the various bottles of spirits. In this way the bar looks great, the drinks on display look great, the barman can get to the drinks easily, and therefore the whole operation runs more smoothly and will generate more business.