"Often we're presented with a brief that is almost bound in the past and sometimes you have to be quite brave to challenge some of that and also bring to the table new ideas and new trends that are happening."
When Kessner talks trends, she's not talking about "in one season, out the next" fashion. It is about understanding who you are designing for and meeting needs which clients may be unaware of.
Companies such as Air New Zealand are at the forefront of design-led thinking in New Zealand, says Kessner, delivering ideas we never envisaged but love as soon as we see them.
While Kessner has turned her design skills to retail and office fit-outs, her firm's core business is design for new and refurbished hotels here and throughout the Pacific.
A complete hotel room design and refit would cost about $30,000 a room, with clients from as far away as Papua New Guinea spending tens of millions creating a fresh look for their hotels.
Ensuring bosses get bang for their bucks and that the design delivers on its business promise is critical, Kessner says.
"There is a real sensitivity and an understanding of cost to the business and business strategy as a whole.
"What is the return on the investment going to be?"
A refurbishment throws up its own challenges, whether it's a small retail makeover or a multimillion dollar hotel spruce-up, with the need to be mindful of the disruption caused and what has already been invested in the asset, says Kessner.
Ultimately it comes down to planning and communication, but she says the small-budget "on-the-hoof" projects can be more challenging because there is less time and money available to get the fine details mapped out in the same way as a more expansive project.
For Kessner, the reward is seeing the positive impact of design changes on the client's business.
One hotel lobby renovation boosted turnover by 25 per cent, while a fit-out of the airport branch of menswear retailer 3 Wise Men turned it into the store with the highest turnover per square metre, despite being the chain's smallest shop.
As for her favourite project, it's the one she's working on right now, but confidentiality clauses keep it shrouded in secrecy for a while yet.
"I think it's a very exciting time for us working in the hotel industry - so much happening. Brands are diversifying and becoming so much more bespoke and boutique and for designers that's manna from heaven because it gives us great opportunities to be creative and create that dream for people that is unique and different."
It's a trend that is just hitting New Zealand but is taking off overseas with the likes of Sofitel's So brand hotels designed to be one-off reflections of their home city.
Food and beverage outlets are changing, as people don't want to eat breakfast and dinner in the same place, and want hotel restaurants that are part of the fabric of the community around them. Kessner says it is partly driven by millennials - the tech-centric cohort born after 1982 - who are not only more globally-minded but have a real sense of their local community and aren't necessarily attracted to big brands.
"I think TripAdvisor has had a lot to do with how hotels respond because you can't hide any more - the millennials are out there telling everybody everything.
"They are very empowered to comment so you need to be on your game."
Kessner makes a point of hiring these "younger and smarter" millennials. "As I age that's another thing I'm learning.
"I really appreciate the skills that young people bring to the business and while you may nurture them or guide them they have a lot to offer as well, so being open to that is important."
Kessner's Parnell-based practice is set to grow, with an offshoot being established in Fiji to cope with demand from the Pacific Islands.
"It's always nice to work offshore. You feel like you're earning export dollars for New Zealand - it makes you feel good.
"But New Zealand is definitely in a huge growth phase as far as tourism is concerned and it's a really nice part of the industry to be involved in."
