zynk Think - Budgets are Good

'The Budget Health Club Operators are really beginning to shake up the UK fitness industry. Not only are they exposing fitness to a much wider audience than ever before, with a large proportion of new members stepping into a club for the first time, they are also making other operators evaluate their brand and their operation to stay competitive. 
This in our view is positive for the fitness industry in general.
All operators no matter what price point should be confident in their brand, ensure it appeals to their target market and communicate their values across all levels, ultimately to gain loyalty from their members.'

Stavros

zynk Think - Health Club Design Trends

'The experience of a health club is defined by its brand communication across all levels. The club's interior forms a major part of that communication by defining the operational structure and the ambience of the various spaces, which in turn define the brand values associated with that club. Put simply, great design enhances a customer's experience, often without them even noticing.'

Stavros

Natural not artificial

Gyms used to have bright, zingy colours to represent energy and activity. There is a move towards more natural environments using muted colours, natural stone and texture.
Back to basics
We are encouraging clients to get ‘back to basics' by allocating space for one on one personal training. Think old school gym, bars, benches and mats, throw in a Swiss ball for core training and add free weights for personal training.
Flexibility of equipment
Most equipment now comes with its own entertainment system, which means that we don't have to have rows of kit facing the Cardio Theatre screens.
Giving users choice is the key, let the user decide where they want to work out by placing groups of equipment in different areas. Let the user hide away, face a mirror or face everybody else. This also assists with the boredom as the member can change their sight lines and ambience with each visit.

Studios

With the popularity of yoga and core training, studios are also becoming more relaxed and earthy, again with natural materials and finishes. On the other hand combat training is still popular and the spaces need to reflect this. Ideally you would have two, even three studios for different activities. If space doesn't allow, a multifunctional lighting system can change the ambience of a space dramatically and add colour and contrast.

Lighting & Sustainability

With legislation on energy use becoming ever-tighter, there will be a greater emphasis on new technology, in particular that of LED lighting which has very low energy consumption but with the ability to add contrast and colour very easily.
Colour is important but colour change has had its day. Instead, let the lighting create different atmospheres at different times of day - a chameleon effect.

zynk Think - Branding More than just a logo

"Branding is an emotive subject and often a misleading one.  At zynk we try to simplify this by referring to the brand via its PPVs. Proposition, Position and Values.  Know your Proposition; what are you offering and why are you different from you competitors?  Define your Positioning; who are you selling to and for what reason? Confirm what Values you want to associate with your business."

Stavros

Key points to developing your Brand:
1. Really understand what your brand means: who is my customer – who is my target – and what makes my brand unique.
2. Look at an existing brand and ask yourself is what we’re doing with our brand consistent with what we want it to be. If not, how do you fix that?
3. Does everyone in my organisation understand the brand? Ask someone in the front line of the company what they think the brand means. If they don’t know then there’s work to be done to educate your staff.
4. Evaluate the brand on a continuous basis. Do customers get it? Tracking the brand is essential. Ultimately,  branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.

zynk Love

Cool Brands is an annual initiative to identify and celebrate the UK's coolest brands.

A great reference source.

www.coolbrands.uk.com

zynk Think - LED Lighting the way forward

'One of the most important elements in any design scheme is the lighting, get this wrong and your space will be drab, boring and uninspiring, often with high running costs and maintenance issues, get it right and your space will appear alive, inviting and atmospheric.'

Stavros

With utility costs at an all time high and environmental issues on everyone’s minds, designing a lighting scheme to be as efficient as possible is now a key element to any interior design concept. With the development of new LED technology, this is becoming easier with a greater choice of LED luminaires and lamps.

New LED lamp technology has produced high output lamps which run at a fraction of the power of tungsten lamps with extraordinary lamp life. All this means that a well conceived LED lighting scheme will give you dramatic atmospheric lighting at reduced running and maintenance costs.

New LED lamps can also be fitted into existing luminaries.

zynk Love

Dutch company Carpet Sign have produce the worlds first outdoor carpet!  Consisting of a coloured core with a transparent casing, the carpet is available in a range 20 colours in both cut and loop pile and is water-, fungal- and UV resistance.

zynk Think - Flooring Inside Out

'When it comes to internal finishes, flooring always seems to  generate the most emotion, contetion and problems.  Too light or dark, difficult to maintain or slippery, getting the specification right at the outset is fundamental to the long term success of the project.'

Stavros

With technology constantly evolving recent times have seen a resurgence of nature as a major source of inspiration in design. Nature has always played a large part in decorative design, but recent advances in science, and in particular in the field of nanotechnology, has allowed our aping of nature to go one step further.

Today’s material scientists are looking at the inner workings of natural materials to mimic their outstanding adaptability and strength.

The future of flooring will see the development of products which will not only look natural but will also feel and perform like a natural product.