Cuoco Black is an academic, interior designer and creative strategist for the company. He is the creator of the Concept Club Gym Design Model which embraces a belief that a gym aesthetic should be a brand inspired by the owner’s vision and mission. He further believes that gym design, void of trends, is a facilitator in the generation of revenue and an implicit part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. See more at www.fitnesscenterdesign.com 
or call  (917) 375-7534.  
                                                         Like us on Facebook at Fitness Center and Gym Design 
                                                         and Tweet us  at Gym Designer @cuocoblack1                                                              


                                                                                                 "Brand Don't Trend"  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Cuoco Black 2014

NUMBER 1 DON'T FOLLOW THE TRENDS:
Trends blur brands and disempowers your marketing advantage. If you're facility employs design features that your competitors also use, you've created nothing more than "Better Sameness". A gym embracing cliches, trends and better sameness dilutes the club's brand identity (the distinctive differences of your club over your competition).

NUMBER 2  HAVE A CORE IDEOLOGY: 
Capitalism is king, but having a mission or ideology that benefits your members or community serves a greater cause. The universe is watching, is elastic, and exhibits omnipresence...simply said, it's good for everyones karma.

NUMBER 3 BE FEARLESS:
It's my opinion that fear plays a far greater role in the trajectory of gym design than might be obvious at face value. Yes, adopting a proven design trend is a safe bet, problem is, safe doesn't stand out, dominate and lead the charge, you're modeling what everyone else is doing.

NUMBER 4: DON'T COPY WHAT YOU SEE IN THE MAGAZINES: 
Fitness editorial creates dazzling content and gym design is a popular featured story line. Note specific features and ideas that are celebrated in the article and keep those ideas as a benchmark of good design. Don't forget however, the designs in such editorial are someone else's brand. That alone should motivate you to seek your own style. 

NUMBER 5  BE ORGANIC:
Organic meaning original and true to your own vision. Create your brand by looking inward. Stay loose and look for inspiration in any random idea. A gym brand can be inspired by the love of an action film, a personal hobby, or identification with some element of a culture. Brands that evolve organically have the capacity for novel marketing opportunities because they're not tied to the conventions and blueprints of conventional gym design.

Cuoco Black is an academic, interior designer and creative strategist for the company. He is the creator of the Concept Club Gym Design Model which embraces a belief that a gym aesthetic should be a brand inspired by the owner’s vision and mission. He further believes that gym design, void of trends, is a facilitator in the generation of revenue and an implicit part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. See more at www.fitnesscenterdesign.com or call 
(917) 375-7534. 
Like us on Facebook at Fitness Center and Gym Design and Twitter us Gym Designer @cuocoblack1                                                              


                                              "Brand Don't Trend"  
                                                Cuoco Black 2014

Cuoco Black is an academic, interior designer and creative strategist for the company. He is the creator of the Concept Club Gym Design Model which embraces a belief that a gym aesthetic should be a brand inspired by the owner’s vision and mission. He further believes that gym design, void of trends, is a facilitator in the generation of revenue and an implicit part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. See more at www.fitnesscenterdesign.com or call (917) 375-7534. 

                                      "Brand Don't Trend"                                                                                     Cuoco Black 2014

GYM STYLE
One of  the things that makes New York City so exciting is the confluence of architecture and fashion. We are proud to revisit the making of an exciting fashion photoshoot at one of our client's gyms, Mid City Gym in the Theater District of Times Square. The shoot was sponsored by XEX Magazine, a cutting edge fashion and lifestyle publication with a pulse on all things hip, beautiful and interesting. 

CREDITS:
PHOTOGRAPHY: SAILEY WILLIAMS
STYLING: INOISELL MIRANDA
MAKEUP: TINA GEORGY
GROOMING: BLUE MICHAEL
HAIR: GRISELLE ROSARIO LAFONTAINE
PHOTO ASSISTANT: JORDAN LLANES
MODEL: CAMERON BAILEY CLICK AGENCY
MODEL: RUTHIE PITO MAJOR AGENCY

Cuoco Black is an academic, interior designer and creative strategist for the company. He is the creator of the Concept Club Gym Design Model which embraces a belief that a gym aesthetic should be a brand inspired by the owner’s vision and mission. He further believes that gym design, void of trends, is a facilitator in the generation of revenue and an implicit part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. See more at www.fitnesscenterdesign.com or call (917) 375-7534. 

                                      "Brand Don't Trend"                                                                                     Cuoco Black 2014

About Gym Design Finishes
If you follow us you know that we are promoters of conceptual gym design and powerbranding and adversaries of gym trends. On a monthly calendar we deliver content and "Quick Overviews" of innovative design products that can be specified in many areas of your facility. It's important to keep in mind that every leaf has its shadow, and every design finish has its appropriate application. One of the benchmarks of our work is the effort we make to specify design finishes that reinforce and support your brand identity. Any effort less that that is design for the sake of decoration and counterintuitive to the branding effort. 

SEA GLASS: +++
Tinted blue and aqua these sheets of glass have a laminated inner layer of crinkled foil which gives the illusion of rippling water. The photo doesn't do the product justice but it's strikingly beautiful for reception desks, counter-tops or feature walls. If your club's color scheme is blue or green this is a sure winner. 

METALIZED WOOD PANELING: +

These are actually embossed plastic 4' X 6' panels replicating a wood texture. The veining is metallic bronze and adds a modern twist to traditional wall paneling. Its price is low since its a plastic reproduction. The look is stylish and hip and great for walls and retail areas.

LIQUID METAL: +

Is plastic sheet goods with 3 dimensional characteristics. It can be laminated to glass or walls for stunning visual effects. It comes is a myriad of color selections which we will post at later dates. Relatively inexpensive for dramatic accents that can really make your merchandising efforts stand out.

007 IRIDESCENT FABRIC: +

This is a retro inspired upholstery fabric that can be used on your club's furnishings. It has an aesthetic that would be at home on the furniture of an old James Bond movie. The squares are embossed and have a slight cushy feel so it's quite comfortable. It comes in about 20 colors and will match most any decor. 

KALEIDOSCOPE WALLPAPER: ++

WOW, an amazing wallpaper for any area of a club. The pattern looks like a kaleidoscope pattern offering endless match making possibilities to other elements of your facility's design. Compare this to the wallpapers you see in most gyms and you know you're seeing a new direction for fitness facility design with this product. 

ZEBRAWOOD & WHITE: +++

Sounds like the name of a rock band and rightfully so. This rocking product combines white resin and zebra wood in large panels requiring an upscale look. Just remember, don't use this as decoration in boutique design. Make sure it reinforces your brand, if not, we have plenty of products that will do just that.

Cuoco Black is an academic, interior designer and creative strategist for the company. He is the creator of the Concept Club Gym Design Model which embraces a belief that a gym aesthetic should be a brand inspired by the owner’s vision and mission. He further believes that gym design, void of trends, is a facilitator in the generation of revenue and an implicit part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. See more at www.fitnesscenterdesign.com or call (917) 375-7534. Like us on Facebook at Fitness Center and Gym Design and Twitter us @cuocoblack1.

       "Brand Don't Trend"  Cuoco Black 2014

TRENDS CHANGE

In the early sixties my mom used the colors tangerine and sea-foam throuhgout our house which was decorated with all the furniture styles in what has come to be known as Mid Century. As a young boy I was lucky to have a mom and dad that were hip to be sure. George Nelson clocks, thin sleek sofas, space-age references, and chrome plated tubular steel furniture adorned our rooms. I will say, we had the most modern and stylish house in the neighborhood. It's obvious my design sensibilities were formulated in those pleasant days; which led me to serve as an design academic. 

To that end our office keeps a pulse on all that is trending in the design community, nationally and globally, which makes us pretty reliable sources on what constitutes sensible gym interior design. One of our missions is to expose design trends that have a potential to undermine your investment and your marketing advantages. 

Take fashion for example. Trendy and fashion are intimate bedfellows and integral to the spirit of that industry. Fashion trends can change from Spring to Fall and what was shown on the runways of New York City and Paris last year, will SURELY not be seen on the runways this year. That's an interesting phenomena. The tens of millions of dollars expended, the vast amounts of energies and editorial dedicated to promoting the latest trend, then, 360 days later, it's no longer valid.  

Really, I mean really, what's the point? 

It's the BRAND, of course, eyes on the brand. The fashion design company that dictates the trends dominates the editorial. Then come the "trenders"...the other companies that want to be players and be seen, who develop their versions of the trends, some reasonable facsimile of the original, but all are diluted and replicated versions of the original. Add to this a savvy public connected by the immediacy of social media and the internet. They know a trend when they see one, the're riding the wave of real-time-aesthetic-consciousness.

So, I assume you have come to a conclusion through analogy for my argument to reject the boutique gym design trend. Boutique Design (see image below) is employed across every conceivable category of commerce and is a trend that will surely loose it's appeal, and is. Investing in a build-out aesthetic that is over saturated, trending and unrelated to your brand just doesn't make sense. In addition, Boutique Design says nothing about fitness which could be its largest detractor.

Mom and dad's Mid Century aesthetic by the way was usurped by the mod and psychedelic styles of the later 60's.  The moral of the story is don't be a chaser-wanna-be-trendy-gym, cut your own aesthetic and brand from your own vision.  

Cuoco Black is an academic, interior designer and creative strategist for the company. He is the creator of the Concept Club Gym Design Model which embraces a belief that a gym aesthetic should be a brand inspired by the owner’s vision and mission. He further believes that gym design, void of trends, is a facilitator in the generation of revenue and an implicit part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. See more at www.fitnesscenterdesign.com or call (917) 375-7534. Like us on Facebook at Fitness Center and Gym Design and Twitter us @cuocoblack1.

                              "Brand Don't Trend"