T-FP, a modest studio with scintillating talent, is found by Jaeyoung Choi. They are expert in presenting architecture and design plan angled towards the brand, transcending the limitation of the domains and genres.

In this master class, Jaeyoung Choi, the founder of the studio, shared the design methods and design cases with the theme of Space Design and Brand Strategy. Through the integration of space, users and experience, T-FP has created a unified and harmonious design. Jaeyoung Choi first introduced the development history of the studio, from a single architectural design to a comprehensive architectural, image and brand design studio; Secondly, he analyzed the opportunity for T-FP to develop its branding business; At last, he showed relevant project cases to explain the design logic and approach of the studio.

Yinjispace：1 Is M1ct a specialty coffee brand? How much does the decoration costs? How is the operation? Could you describe the Korean specialty coffee market?

TFP：The Korean coffee market is basically dominated by fine coffee at present. There is a coffee grading system called coe, Cup of Excellence, in which coffee higher than a certain level is called fine coffee. The coffee shops sell them are called boutique coffee brands. South Korea mainly focuses on boutique coffee and coffee shops, and m1ct is one of them. It is not a brand with huge sales, but its director is highly professional. The owner not only makes roasted coffee, but also is a coffee expert. This brand has a certain position in the region and is recognized as a favorite coffee shop. It's also running very well. 

I went to buy coffee several days ago. The design cost and construction cost of this shop at that time added up to about 50 million Korean won, which is very low in the projects we have done. At that time, the owner does not have enough capital, so I did this project with the intention of helping friends. In Korea, we make coffee that is closer to American or Northern European style. The Korean coffee market has grown tremendously in the past decade. Two or three years ago, the world champion of baristas also came from Korea, and the consumption level of Korean coffee is also the second or third in the world. Thanks to the huge demand for coffee brands or space in this market, it is suitable for people like us to do a lot of things. It is a market with good environment on the whole.

Yinjispace：How do you extract the key points and labels of brands?

TFP：I think the key is to be like yourself. Whether a customer is a person or a company, only when the designer has grasped the essence of that person can he create a good design. In fact, our designers have a lot of ideas, which is our profession. It is actually easier than imagined to present very cool stories. But if we pursue this kind of visual impact, the core cannot really be created. Even if it is made, it is also frivolous or disappears rapidly with the trend. Some things must start with the target customers or organizations. In order to bring out the core, there must be a lot of dialogue and communication and a lot of data. I think the core can become more solid in this process.

Yinjispace：Do you have any ideas about the retailing commercial space of chain stores? What are the trends of retailing chain stores in the future?

TFP：Most of what we are talking about today are independent spaces and brands. In fact, many of our space design works are complex buildings or chain stores, but they are not displayed today. Basically, the requirements of chain stores are standardization and mass production. I don't think their future is bright. Even if it is a chain store, it must find the root, the uniqueness of the service, or the difference of each branch in the local area. The representative case is Aesop, an Australian cosmetic brand. Although there are so many stores around the world, they are telling their own stories while maintaining their brand identity. The basic core is regionality, but regionality itself is not the answer. Through the regional characteristics, it seems that they are all different, but they seem to be telling the same story. I think chain stores need to try to find different stories in each store.

Yinjispace：How to balance the product display, aesthetics and social function in the commercial spaces?

TFP：I don't think balance is always necessary. The need for balance is to meet and accommodate all elements. Rather than satisfying every element, some projects themselves may be more important. In some projects, the focus is not on displaying the product itself, but on communicating the experience or nuances of using it. Balance itself is not the value, but the basic aesthetic feeling and completion recognized by all are the basis.

Yinjispace：Do the ins and Facebook accounts bring you any overseas projects? What are the difficulties in these projects? Do you have any related tips and experiences?

TFP：Unfortunately, no projects were brought. I have worked on projects in Shanghai and Taiwan of China, and Australia, but most of the projects stopped after the discussion stage because of the epidemic situation and realistic factors such as money. Especially because of the COVID-19 epidemic, everything before has become unknown, so it has not been actually implemented. I just provide design drawings. There was a case of implementation in Japan. We only provided the design plans and did not participate in the subsequent process.

Yinjispace：How to make the clients accept your innovative concepts? How would you get your inspiration analyzing projects?

TFP：I think the most important part of persuasion is trust. This kind of trust is not only built on words, but also on the basis of customers' understanding of your past cases. So we try to explain as many cases as possible that we have done in the past and how these have worked in new cases. Sometimes we go to the site with clients and watch directly through our eyes. Brand analysis is first obtained from data search, so it is important to learn about the brand as much as possible. 

In fact, this is something that anyone can do, but the most important part that we need to figure out is that there are some things that the other people does not say but they exist. The client has potentially given all the correct answers. You can get a lot of information about the person's taste and ideas through the way he or she speaks, the clothes he or she wears, the language he or she uses, and so on. For example, the client said that I like a very shiny, bright and young space, but the clothes he or she wears are very calm, and he or she speaks very slowly and quietly. I will spend more time to accept and understand the story that this person's body and attitude are actually telling.