When you walk in the door: reflections on tattoo shop design

I can still remember when I first set foot inside a tattoo shop. The year is 2004 in Destin, Florida. At fifteen years old, I’ve managed to convince my parents that a blue heart tattoo on my ankle would be the best way to memorialize my late maternal grandfather. My dad’s mom, a conservative woman with not a single tattoo, has graciously agreed to drive me to the shop. 

The lights inside are blindingly fluorescent, and the walls are a disjointed jumble of flash. Cacophonous metal music blares in the background, offset only by the intermittent buzzing of several coil machines at work. I immediately wonder if I’m in the wrong place. The intimidation factor is high, and continues to remain so as a large, heavy-set man with a buzz cut looks down at me from behind the counter and pointedly asks what I want. 

Did I get a tattoo that day? 

Yes, I did.

Was it a comfortable experience? 

Not in the least. 

As an Experience Designer, I’m constantly reminded to put myself in the shoes of the person I’m designing for. What are they thinking and how are they feeling when they land inside an application? Designing physical spaces is no different. We should pay special attention to any facet that helps people feel at ease when they visit a tattoo shop. 

But what if we can take this idea one step further? What if we can design for joy? 

In her mesmerizing book, Joyful, author Ingrid Fetell Lee investigates how particular places, things, and activities create happiness. Understanding how to harness design elements puts us in control of how we feel and allows us to impact the emotions of others. In one example, Fetell Lee recounts her visit to a Tokyo loft designed by artists Arakawa and Gins.

Believing that architecture has “an effect on the body like medicine”, Arakawa and Gins created their colorful apartments with a set of instructions for the inhabitant. They embraced the idea of stimulating our different senses, building abundant windows, prismatic palettes and textural elements into the space. Are all of these things completely appropriate for a tattoo shop? Perhaps not. But pulling in a few ideas for inspiration can’t hurt. 

The author details several ‘signature elements’ for creating happiness. Here are a few that I gravitate towards:

• Layered patterns and textures (Abundance)

• Nature motifs and textures (Freedom)

• Greenery, open space (Freedom)

• Displaying collections of objects (Harmon)

• Flowers, seasonal elements (Renewal)

How do we understand if the design of our spaces is having a positive impact on clients? Notice what they say.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been tattooing someone at Three Fates, and they cheerily remark on the beauty of the light fixtures. (Ornate, symmetrical patterns designed by Babs.) Another person’s attention is instantly drawn to the healthy array of hanging plants adorning the walls. 

It doesn’t take much to create these small moments of delight. And if we truly want the best for our clients, I believe we ought to try. 

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Lee, Ingrid Fetell. Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. Little, Brown Spark, 2018.