The Graduate

Designing a bar can be a key ingredient to getting and keeping customers, as well as advertising the crowd the owner wishes to attract. People are naturally concerned with fitting in. They group themselves with a certain type of person. This may be stereotypical, but it is psychological. Gestalt psychology tells us that the brain tends to group things by similarity. This creates stereotypes. One can assume that the style of a place or a person can be indicative of what they are and who they will associate with. With this knowledge unconsciously in mind, one chooses their attire and decor to make a statement. They communicate so much about themselves or as in the case of a bar, their intended patron.
The Graduate has imposing doors. I wasn't sure if I could go in, or if I was in the right place, but once inside the feeling was comfortable, relaxed, and loud. The giant TV's playing all different sports and the line style food ordering were elements that made the bar friendly. The dimness of the lighting ensures one's focus will be on the T.V's and the casual seating mixed with the traditional bar style seating give the patron a choice of what focus they intend for their visit. Will I eat? Will I take a shot?
The way college towns are portrayed notoriously in teen comedy led me to believe that a bar in Davis would be a 'meet' market. A place for younger college students to drink and dance and hook up. That was my stereotypical vision. After I entered the graduate I found that I was surprised and happy to see that there is a bar here that is reminiscent of home. My age did not stand out (I am 29), and I even got I.D.'d. The designers of that bar were looking to attract a laid back casual crowd interested in sports, good food, and beer. Now that I have been to the Graduate and learned the stereotype of the bar, I can safely say I will go back, and that I need to double check my stereotypical thinking (Gestalt *sigh*).

The Graduate Menu and Front Doorshttp://www.davisgrad.com/images/menu-back-news.jpg