about jameskuester
Founding küster in 2002, James focuses on providing a full range of interior design services with a strong emphasis on interior branding and solid ergonomic design. By seeking to understand and shape emotions, James works closely with his clients to create interior spaces that drive customers to his clients’ businesses and keeping them coming back. This is especially true in dental practices where opportunities exist to create unique branding messages to differentiate one practice from its competitors yet never losing sight of the need for efficient space planning and solid ergonomic considerations.
In creating an interior brand for a client, James intertwines his training and expertise in ergonomics and process design from his degree in Industrial Engineering, with the marketing, branding, and business acumen of his MBA, with his proven skills as a designer to deliver more than merely a pretty color scheme. When he designs he creates spaces that evoke emotional response. A business’s branding message is only as good as the emotions it stimulates in prospects and clients and subsequently how deeply it stirs one’s memory. The interior space is a critical link in the branding chain and its importance cannot be overemphasized, for it is here that a client comes face-to-face with the business itself – often for the first time. Yet, James is adamant that the design should be pleasing to look at and never look dated or trendy.
An Indianapolis native, James attended Purdue University where he completed a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and a Master of Science in Industrial Administration. After graduating in 1987, he went to work for Emerson Electric in St. Louis, Missouri. It was for Emerson that he began his career in space planning and efficient, ergonomic design. During his tenure at Emerson he was able to assist the Specialty Motor Division in saving over $40 million through improved operations.
He continued his emphasis on efficient operations and good ergonomic design at Allied Metal Products, first as Vice President of Operations and then as President and CEO. Here, not only did he help his own company improve the layout of the operations, enhance employee safety, reduce injuries, and save money, but also he aided clients in improving the designs of their products in ways that would help improve their operations and ergonomics. Also, it was during this time that he discovered the importance of a strong branding message. Over the years he has developed his branding theories and practices and combined them with his passion for design to create a specialization he calls “interior branding.”
More satisfied patients and more productive employees translate into healthier bottom lines.
