Hue Ponsonby is the second of a start-up chain of colour-only hair salons that targets women who have their hair coloured regularly, but wish to avoid high salon prices. A number of Hue salons are currently being set up quickly and cost-effectively within existing buildings. To facilitate this, the standardised fixtures that make up the fitout are simple, white pre-fabricated items, designed to sit within a variety of existing spaces rather than being custom-built to fit.

The way that a salon works had to be reinvented to maximise efficiency while considering the needs of the client. Typically a salon’s customer is moved a number of times during their treatment and sits facing a wall for much of it. At Hue the customer sits either at the ‘Colour Table’ or in the ‘Colour Lounge’ where they can interact with other clients, while the colourist comes to them. The experience is therefore more like a café rather than a typical hair salon. The sliding mirrors give clients the choice of either watching their treatment or chatting with other customers.

The Ponsonby building was an old workshop structure whose interior of exposed brick and timber forms a nice backdrop to the simple, white fixtures within. The existing plasterboard walls have been covered in vinyl graphics that reinforce the Hue brand and bring colour to the space. The brand colours, chosen for the warmth and vibrancy they impart, were repeated in the suspended, acrylic screen defining the Customer Lounge. This semi-enclosed space allows clients to feel connected to the salon activity while separate enough to relax. Each Hue has a distinctly different feel by virtue of emphasising the features of the diverse spaces they inhabit while retaining the distinctive branding, which remains immediately recognisable.