The Essence of Store Design

analyzing the art of spatial brand communication as a 'Taste Architect'

Gooood evening!

For the newcomers, last week we discussed boutique hotels and the feeling of luxury.

To summarize a bit, the sensual presentation of space creates pleasurable moments, evolving a sentiment or narrative that can make way for more natural and accessible, and thus more socially sustainable interactions.

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As a refresher, this blog is a way for us to conceptualize Beauty and Communication Design in order to drive socially sustainable conversations within the world of art, fashion, interior, architecture, and the design world galore....

Tonight, I am inspired by store design and the construction of infrastructure as an extension of brand identity.

Let’s discuss these 3 topics:

1. Clear architectural identity refines spatial brand communication

2. The value of the Design Process, in addition to keeping designers at the forefront of project execution

3. Form and Content as inseparable concepts and the impact of "topoanalysis"

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As Jonathan Adler states,

“We’re at the intersection between fashion and home”.

Today, many seasoned fashion professionals have transitioned into the world of interiors. Luxury brands, in particular, have expanded into interior product development.

The two practices are very similar as they both embody people, yet one in a more intimate capacity than the other. Simply put, these practices form the way in which people live and develop a strong sense of self.

Just as form follows function follows form, Fashion and Interior Design flow back and forth, intertwining styles and methods of complexity in order to create Store Design.

*For Design inspo, follow Interior designer consultant, Aurelie Julien, who's high-end clientele include Virgil Abloh...

How do brands create a seamless transition into space design?

Some might use the term, 'spatial brand communication'.

1zu33, an architectural studio based in Munich, focuses intensely on this boutique method of space planning. The creative studio's aim is to visualize a space that connects brands with people, choosing materials and objects on a multi-sensory stage.

**Fun fact, the two founders of the company, Hendrik Muller and Georg Thiersch both studied under the famous architect David Chipperfield, designer of Musée des Beaux-arts in France.

To provide a bit of relevancy for the business folks…In order to manufacture success, a company should possess a viable business model…However, in order to actually capitalize on the growth trajectory, a company must invest in brand strategy and communication.

For luxury brands, the first step in achieving growth is evaluating a "hybrid business model takes culture-driven advertising, art cues, creating an atmosphere and an aesthetic point of view and a world", states Ana Andjelic from the Sociology of Business Substack.

So, building the lifestyle of the brand will require a visual portfolio that encompasses aesthetic judgements of taste and stylistic relativity (using the example of Jenni Kayne’s Lifestyle Book here to address the resurgence of print)

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In order to apply the brand’s 'lifestyle' to Store Design, we will need to assess Architectural Clarity.

According to Ben Waechter, founder of Waechter Architecture, designers must remain open-minded and allow infrastructure to fall away in order to "heighten and inform the experience of community and landscape".

Clarity manifests, in this sense, when the relationships between objects within a space are: fully apparent (or understood) and gorgeously (or tastefully) intertwined.

Tim Donaldson, founder of design studio Seachange, says, clarity is the balance of:

1) strategy 

2) substance

3) style

Consider, for a moment, a company who's store design is at the heart of their communication design strategy: Apple.

Apple's iconic store front has actually received a patent, featuring translucent glass facade and recessed lighting features (originally designed by Bohlin Cynwinski Jackson).

I would even suggest looking into Aesop's store design's a little further (maybe I digest this a bit more in another blog… thoughts?)

....but have a look at these instagram posts and the store design's fabrication of brand identity.

As David Chipperfeild states concerning an exemplary store design process,

"It is not a conventional shop, but rather a cultural, social and retail venue, manifesting in physical form the diverse nature of its digital foundation"

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I've been reading possibly a bit too much lately, and what I've taken away from Vijay Kumar's Book 101 Design Methods, is the design process requires an open-mindedness through the fluidity of the abstraction and reality.

The design-thinking process to approach design challenges:

1. observe what we know and the tangible factors from real world situation

2. try to make sense of this by creating abstractions and conceptual models

3. apply these theories to real world applications with in-depth research

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Architecture follows this process, centered around a need to create models with societal and cultural features.

As Peter Gluck , executive at Gluck+ points out,

"Architects attempt to bring into alignment the needs—those conceptual attributes—of a successful building: its context, or its fit into its place; its program, or use; its structure, or its sculptural material presence; and its social imperative, or its value to society as a whole."

So, in order to create a sense of richness and relevancy in brand strategy, we must consider feedback loops of human nature and the patience of an iterative, methodical process.

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All this said, Luxury Brands themselves are larger than life, so a standardized process cannot in and of itself design the wealth of the brand's lifestyle...

there must be an artistic component...

Roger Scruton himself, in his book Beauty, A Very Short Introduction, which I highly recommend by the way, argues that representations of interior objects offer an invitation to visualize the life that spreads from people to their products.

"Life radiates from these objects"

Thus, form and content are inseparable... the art and the artist are the same...

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Similarly, interior design is “clean” when a designer's art transcends seamlessly into the space in which inhabits the art form.

I love the sense of duality here...

Out of this conversation sparks a natural comparison of pleasurable moments between two domains... which I believe Ruba Abu-Nimah, creative director of Tiffany & Co is exploring through her own individual creative compulsions via instagram.

Ultimately, successful design intends to pursue clear representation of conceptualized ideas.

And although, we may not fully understand a designer's end game, we can begin to observe the dynamics of duality and it's relativity in terms of value...

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The last point I wanted to briefly touch upon this evening is "topoanalysis", or the study of human identity as it relates to the places in people's lives.

Gaston Bachelard introduces this concept in his book, The Poetics of Space, studying the intimate sites of humans daily lives.

For Gaston, spaces, especially the home, invokes memories, in which people become lost in daydreams of pleasurable moments of their childhood and periods of growth.

So, in order to fully analyze human interaction with space, we must remind ourselves that the subconscious drives our ability to describe and bring life to a space...

Yes, so the experience matters, but we must also turn to the psychoanalytical essence that drives our abilities to resonate and appreciate a space...

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And so, tonight I leave you with tangible applications of space to social sustainability...

1. Store Design unveils the artist, leaving room for transparency within luxury

2. Space is genderless with the freedom to create without constraints

3. Space is intimate and personalized to a subconscious rendering