Listening First: Transform Any Project Starting Point into a Clear and Compelling Design Story

Her perspective has always resonated with me, especially as it closely mirrors how our team approaches storytelling through our design process for boutique food & beverage clients. While our tools and frameworks remain consistent, the creative journey never does. Inspiration shows up differently for every project, shaping stories that are unique to each client. Our role isn’t to apply a formula, but to uncover what makes each project distinct and translate it into an experience.

Whether a visual story is subtle or more overt, thoughtful design narration strengthens the connection between a client’s vision and the guest experience, while also helping guide designers through countless decisions along the way. The strongest narratives begin with understanding a client’s why—their passion and what drives them. That understanding comes from intentional conversations early on that go beyond aesthetics. Sometimes a client comes to us with a clear vision. Other times, they arrive with a feeling or an idea still taking shape, looking to us to help expand and formulate their vision into a world their customers want to return to time and time again.

Think of your favorite restaurant — What insights does the visual experience share about the chef, restaurateur(s), or their brand values? What stories are right in front of you to discover?

Below are three glimpses into that storytelling journey. Each one begins differently, but all are guided by the same belief: great design starts with listening and observing, and every story has its own path.

A simple statement that could have gone in a hundred directions! To understand what “Miami” meant to this client, we began with visual exploration and conversation, focusing less on references and more on the feelings it evokes. What surfaced was a clear pull toward the energy of South Beach, paired with our client’s love for 1970s retro and slightly kitschy nostalgia.

That curiosity led us into South Beach’s history, where we found the heart of the design in Barbara Capitman. In the late 1970s, she famously fought to preserve the neighborhood’s Art Deco buildings, even standing in front of bulldozers to protect them — a true trailblazer. Her work helped revitalize the neighborhood, a parallel that felt especially relevant as this rooftop bar set out to bring new life to its own corner of the city.

Her influence became a quiet but meaningful driver for the design: vibrant, unapologetic orange hues; celebrations of iconic Art Deco glass block & stucco; and a subtle nod to her legacy in the bar’s name itself, Bar Bara.

For Willow & Ivy, our team often says the story wrote itself. Within the hundred-year-old walls of the historic Lenox Hotel in Boston, we drew inspiration both literally and figuratively from its storied past.

At the turn of the century, the Lenox was a gathering place for Boston socialites, including Isabella Stewart Gardner, known for her bohemian charm and the nature-filled art museum she just opened. Using her as our muse felt instinctive and laid the groundwork for our design to evolve. By blending her love of eclectic elegance and greenery with classic Back Bay motifs—ivy, cobblestone, brick, and cherry blossoms—we created a modern vision that her spirit would enjoy returning to a century later while sipping on a gin cocktail with a twist.

Serendipitous discoveries along the way helped expand upon the story. Original paintings of the hotel lobby inspired greenhouse-style doors in the private dining room. While exploring existing conditions, we uncovered a mop closet with the building’s original white mosaic tile floor, which we then matched and reintroduced as a focal moment around the new bar. As the design evolved, so did the story.

This food & beverage client came to us with an already established brand and several restaurants in operation. What they didn’t come with was a clear design story. Instead, they came with trust and a willingness to be pushed.

We studied their existing restaurants, paying close attention to what was working, what felt unresolved, and where there was room to evolve. Through conversation, we learned what they loved, what they were ready to move away from, and where they felt stuck creatively.

From there, we stepped outside of their current visual language and began researching design influences rooted in Jewish and Mediterranean cultures, not to create something literal, but to uncover textures, materials, and moments that felt rich, warm, and expressive. That broader exploration gave us permission to reimagine their brand in a way that felt both unexpected and deeply aligned with who they are.

By introducing fresh references — immersing themselves ‘beneath the olive tree’ or holding onto ‘rooted warmth’ tying to their history — we helped the client see their brand through a different lens and move forward with a design story they hadn’t yet known how to articulate.

At Bergmeyer, we begin with listening, curiosity, and a willingness to dig deeper than the brief. Our commitment to creative discovery through collaboration, research, and brand immersion is what allows us to transform any starting point into a clear, compelling design story. — And next time you’re dining in a restaurant listen to what stories are being told.