Founded in 1994 by Fitch-alum Scott Richardson, Cleveland-based Richardson Design’s portfolio spans retail spaces, sports stadiums, and restaurants—including the revamped Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar. Here, Richardson discusses creating new concepts with chef Michael Symon, working with startups, and the importance of consistency.
Did you always know you wanted to be a designer?
No, but I knew I wanted to do something creative. My mom was an artist, my father was a musician, and my sister is a musician, so creativity is part of my DNA. When I was little I always had a camera or a sketchbook in my hand, or I was building something in the woods. I don’t think it was until I got to college that I realized what design was or that it was even a career option.
What are some of your first memories of design?
My first memories of design actually revolve around travel. I was fortunate to grow up with parents who valued travel and valued seeing the world and having new experiences. By the time I was a late teenager I had already visited Peru, the former Soviet Union, Finland, England, the Netherlands, and East Africa. All the while I was traveling, I was beginning to understand how design, architecture, food, and fashion were dictated by different cultures, impacted other cultures, and affected the way that people related to the environment around them.
Did where you grew up influence your career path?
Northeast Ohio is a working class part of the country. I learned early on that the first solution isn’t always the best solution, and you have to put in the time to make things right. I learned that sometimes you had to tear things up, throw them away, start over and not get frustrated. Coming from this part of the country one understands that you have to work very hard to get ahead, which is probably part of the reason I started my firm at such a young age.
Give us a bit of your background: college, first jobs?
I went to the Cleveland Institute of Art [CIA], entering as a photography major. I switched my major after a year and a half and graduated with degrees in interior design and industrial design, with a minor in graphic design. I did various summer internships at a couple design firms in the Ohio area and my first job out of college was with Fitch in Columbus. I worked there for two years before I decided to leave and start my own firm.
Why and how did you start your own firm?
There are various reasons why I started my own firm. At the time I was working for Fitch as an environments designer in the retail team, I was newly married, my wife and I wanted to return to Cleveland and she was looking for an opportunity to grow her career. Because there were no design firms in Cleveland that I wanted to work for, I knew that the only way I would be able to live in Cleveland and do what I love to do would be to do it for myself. Like any young designer contemplating starting a new business venture, beginning as a freelance consultant made the most sense to build a client base. Because of my ability to sketch, draw, and render I was at a point in my career where I was not only drawing and working on my own design projects, but I was also often put onto other projects so that I could communicate through sketches and renderings the design concepts my colleagues were developing.
I borrowed a few thousand dollars from family to buy a computer, set up a little studio in a spare bedroom of our duplex and printed up a bunch of postcards showcasing my work. I continued consulting with Fitch for many more years and to this day tell people how I left my job on a Friday with a going away party and was back Monday morning as a freelancer, which I think is a way a lot of designers start their own businesses. You could say Richardson started as a rendering firm that did great design work, and has evolved into a design firm that’s known for incorporating our unique visual communications abilities into our design process.
Tell us about some of your recent projects.
One of the most intriguing projects we have going on right now is the work we’re doing with chef Michael Symon. We’ve developed several of his concepts in collaboration with his team, and now we’re working on a new barbecue concept to be located in Cleveland. The fascinating thing about this project is that the chef is not bringing Carolina, Texas, or Kansas City barbecue to Cleveland—he is creating Cleveland Barbecue. We have been charged with bringing to life an environment that is authentic and speaks to the essence of Cleveland.
We’ve also been working with the Paladar Group on multiple Nuevo-Latin concepts. Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar is a Cuban-Caribbean inspired concept in the Cleveland, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and South Florida markets. Along with helping them develop and evolve that concept, they’ve also come to us recently to help them develop an offshoot brand that is a more casual bar concept focusing on tacos and rum. We were able to create a sister restaurant to Paladar called Bomba, which will be implemented in more urban locations and is more casual and boisterous. We were able to affect everything for this concept from naming and identity, to the interior design of the space, really bringing the entire experience to life. That prototype just opened in Rocky River, Ohio and we are looking forward to rolling out additional locations.
Is there a challenging project that you are especially proud of?
One of our ongoing challenges is working with startup companies. Often these are people who want to open a restaurant but have never been in the restaurant business. To a lot of designers this would be a nightmare, but I find it to be an interesting challenge. They are just starting to understand the value of design and they’re excited, but they have limited resources so you have to be very creative and learn how to use those resources wisely. We’re able to help them think about the concept from the customer standpoint, and ultimately provide them with something that they’re very proud of and that their customers love. The fact that we are able to help guide them through the process is a value add—we’re not just designing for design’s sake, we’re providing some startup business consulting to them.
What do you find are the most challenging and exciting aspects of your job?
I have a feeling what I find to be the most challenging aspects of my job are probably what all my other design colleagues find as challenges—managing expectations, managing budgets, managing people, and keeping things on track. As the head of the design firm you’re the ringleader. Everybody looks to you for guidance, to be an example, and to set the tone. This can sometimes be a challenge when you’re dealing with unique personalities, whether clients or employees. On the other hand the most exciting aspect of my job is seeing something emerge from a concept to reality. Seeing a vision that you’ve created on paper come to life is very rewarding.
What is the most important thing to remember when designing a restaurant—both in terms of branding and interiors?
Consistency. Whether it’s branding or interiors, whether it’s plate presentation or any sort of consumer touchpoint, everybody is going to remember something different. This could be something large, like the physical space or the storefront; or it could be something that’s a touchpoint, like a chair, the flatware, or a font on the menu. It’s all about setting expectations and executing perfectly, because you never know what someone is going to latch onto from a dining and guest standpoint. However, if you’re consistent, if you set the tone and execute properly on all facets, you’re going to create a great experience and be successful.
Is there an architect or designer you most admire? Why?
The designer I admire most is Viktor Schreckengost, who was a faculty member at CIA when I was a student there. Viktor founded the design program at CIA and was one of America’s great designers. He really flew under the radar, perhaps because he chose to stay in Cleveland and not head off for the limelight of Chicago or New York as a lot of his contemporaries did. He was a ceramicist, a painter, a textile designer, an industrial designer and an interior designer. He possessed a lot of that Midwestern common sense and work ethic combined with a real sense of style. Always designing up until he passed away at the age of 101, people now refer to him as the American da Vinci because he was such a Renaissance man and could design anything. As a professor, he was an amazing role model and still impacts my thinking on a regular basis.
What would be your dream project and why?
My dream project would be to design a resort or leisure destination from start to finish. I would find it interesting because you are dealing with creating spaces that facilitate experiences for people throughout the entire day, whether they are alone or with a group of people; visiting for work or for pleasure; visiting in the morning or the evening; eating, or relaxing, and so on. It’s all-encompassing and you have the opportunity to help set the tone and pace of their visit.
If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
My grandparents and some of my distant relatives. My paternal grandparents passed away when I was a young child and I have little to no memory of ever meeting them, though I hear they were wonderful people. My maternal grandmother passed away when I was a young adolescent and my grandfather when I was a teenager, so I never really had the chance to experience that large, extended family sit-down meal. Having a dinner with my siblings, my parents, both sets of grandparents, and my parents’ aunts and uncles would be phenomenal.
Where would you eat and what would you be having?
I imagine we’d be eating in someone’s home with a collection of different odd shaped tables all pushed together, and covered with family heirloom tablecloths. We would be eating home cooked recipes or having a potluck, probably sitting in uncomfortable chairs and not caring at all because there would be a lot of great conversation and storytelling—which is really what food is all about; bringing people together and facilitating togetherness.
If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?
A photographer.
