How We Create
We’re not just creative designers at Shea, we’re thought leaders. Look here to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the realms of design, hospitality, and workplace, and learn how we help our partners find success in bringing their visions to life.
The last six months have been brutal. The effect of the pandemic cannot be minimized or sugarcoated, but, like any major event in history, there have been some valuable lessons learned that we’ll carry forward for a long time. For business to go on and our day-to-day world to start spinning again, we don’t have […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a series of stages, with far-reaching predictions early on, followed by data and trend-spotting for how the world would be impacted in both the short and long-term—and the day-to-day reality of doing business has had to shift at the same time. Our approach has remained one of proactivity: No matter […]
The shutdown in response to COVID-19 was abrupt, and, in many cases, employees in consumer spaces shut off the lights and equipment, did a quick clean-up, and left. This means that consumer spaces, from restaurants to cafeterias to common areas to clubs, are currently sitting stale, quiet, and empty, awaiting news on a return to […]
We’re all exhausted from reading about how COVID-19 has put the world into a tailspin—the only way to look forward is to refocus on the light at the end of the tunnel, rather than rehashing the gory details of the day-by-day. And one of the longest, darkest tunnels has been for the restaurant industry. There’s […]
The COVID-19 situation changes by the hour, forcing business and consumers to pivot, change and redirect. At Shea, we have our finger on the pulse of all environments, from workplace to hospitality, and how they’re being affected by the crisis. Once stay-at-home orders begin to change, workplaces will be on the frontlines as employees head […]
In a firm where our success is all about collaboration, how do we deal with forced distancing? When our day-to-day business is filled with team meetings, putting together physical finishes and materials, and sketching together on plans to create consumer experiences, how do we fill that interactive black hole? The first major ground rule is […]
Design is not about trends. Design is not covering everything in Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2020 (it’s Classic Blue, by the way) or knowing whether metallics are still in vogue. It’s not even about the finishes you choose, or those really cool chairs that you use to fill the space. In the real […]
A strong brand is the cornerstone of any business, and translating and extending that brand into a physical space is a strategic balance. It should never be directly literal (logos everywhere), but needs to inspire the vision, the tone, and the vibe, as well as setting the scene for the emotions and energy felt there. […]
There’s something about a restaurant in a historic building that gives it a certain sense of place—it has its own past, its own personality, and, usually, great bones to it. Shea has plenty of experience creating concepts and designs in spaces on national and local registers, but even when a space doesn’t have a specific […]
For the past two decades, the open office has reigned at the top of workplace design—taking down the walls between employees, seating them directly next to each other to encourage easy collaboration, and removing any vestiges of private offices and spaces. Innovative, energetic, and democratic in theory, but in practice? Not so much. As the […]
The word “Instagramable” should be banned. Not just in design—in everyday life. Although Instabait designs are all over the Internet and social media (a completely valid way to build up a restaurant’s public profile, by the way), at Shea, we put the aesthetics and function of the design ahead of what’s hot on Twitter at […]
As more and more people are taking the opportunity for self-employment, and as technology allows many of us to work remotely, coworking spaces have experienced massive growth over the past few years. Companies such as WeWork and Impact Hub are making their presences known nationally, and single coworking spaces and small chains are cropping up […]