Boutique Design - November 2019 - 104

W BELLEVUE

MARY ALICE PALMER
PRINCIPAL AND DESIGN DIRECTOR OF
HOSPITALITY INTERIORS, HKS, INC.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF HOSPITALITY
IN PEOPLE'S LIVES CHANGING, AND HOW CAN
DESIGN REFLECT THAT?

IT'S DE RIGUEUR FOR DESIGNERS TODAY TO
REFER TO CONCEPTS SUCH AS THE PSYCHOLOGY
OF DESIGN. HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE THE
FINISHED PRODUCT DELIVERS?

We approach all our projects with a researcher's
sensibility. It is important to uncover as much
information about the project as possible, from
the geography and the history, to the contemporary culture and the secret, hidden truths or
myths, as well as the vision of the client and other
players. We have an advisory team at HKS to
104 boutiquedesign.com

NOVEMBER 2019

assist in gathering the demographics and
psychographics, the "what" and the "why" people
do things, in an effort to paint the most vivid
picture to inspire the design narrative. With the
building blocks of research and theory as the
foundation, we are best able to intuit a unique
guest experience.
WHAT WAS THE SCARIEST DAY OF YOUR
WORKING LIFE, AND HOW DID YOU COPE?

With the twists and turns of my career, and the
unknown that I leap into every day, there have
been a few "scariest days." The downturn in 2009
looms as the most recent. I have always been
nimble at reinvention, but this was different.
While I was never laid off, we lost many of the
important projects that we were working to
secure. Luckily there were many small opportunities as well as one large one in China which kept
the wheels on and rolling. It was a very hard time
to see so many creative and valuable people questioning their roles and their profession. I value the
camaraderie that grew up at the time and has
been nurtured ever since. It has led to the great

team I have cultivated now and the values that
support our culture.
YOU'VE WORKED IN HOLLYWOOD AND DESIGNED
A CULT FAVORITE HANDBAG LINE. WHAT OTHER
PASSIONS MIGHT YOU HAVE CHASED IF YOU
WEREN'T DOING WHAT YOU DO NOW?

I would like to have tried documentary film
making. I often toyed with the idea of joining the
Peace Corps and thought interviewing a wide
variety of members to tell their amazingly varied
stories would be very interesting. My love of
animals and interest in the wilderness would have
also translated into good documentary material.
The art of storytelling is the common thread.
WHAT'S THE MOST EXCITING THING IN THE NEAR
FUTURE FOR HKS?

We have just opened our new Hospitality Interiors
Studio in London with Su Doggett and Carl
Simmonds at the helm, and we are starting
another studio in Singapore to be geographically
and logistically global with design excellence in
each location. That will keep me busy for a while.

C O U R T E S Y O F H K S , I N C . ( PA L M E R ) ; M A R K S I LV E R S T E I N ( W B E L L E V U E )

As people become digital nomads, hospitality
design is becoming more and more a frame for life
and the setting for so much of our experience. We
have a responsibility as designers to address all our
challenges with the same goal of enhancing life and
revealing beauty, whether in an urban tower, or in a
tiny jewel of a maternity ward in Kachumbala (built
by the company's humanitarian arm, Citizen HKS).
What is intriguing about interior design is the
ability to tell a story through visual cues as one
would in a film. To inspire and propel a narrative
that produces feelings, of joy, delight, relaxation,
surprise, humor, love, etc. seems worthwhile in its
role of enhancing the human experience in whatever small way.

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - November 2019