"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition."
Freeman Thomas
"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition."
Freeman Thomas
"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition."
Freeman Thomas
"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition."
Freeman Thomas
"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition."
Freeman Thomas
westfield
digital native brands collection
A collection of modular fixtures for Westfield Valley Fair Mall in San Jose, California. The concept is to offer a unique collection of fixtures that can be used for temporary occupancy by brands that primarily sell online. With this collection Westfield intended to encourage pop-up events and accommodate the needs of companies that have little to no experience with brick-and-mortar retail.
"DIGITAL DISTRICT"
Pop-up brands invited to showcase included:
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The Source Zero, a sustainable goods company
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Felix Gray, blue light eyewear
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Ghost Democracy, accessible skincare
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Lett, luxe leisurewear
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We the People, crowdfunding consumer goods
“This is our first Digital District, we invited eight stores into our plan…We did everything that’s really difficult for them to do, fixture programs, media systems and licensing, their people tracking, and their store buildouts were all done for them,” said Shawn Pauli, a Vice President of Leasing for Westfield Property Management Group.
My company [Displayit Inc] was contracted to design and fabricate the adaptable fixture collection. I lead my design team to approach this challenge as a group, my collaborators include Megan Barrett and Carli Tellijohn. Our goal was to create a collection of displays that complimented different aesthetics and functioned in a variety of ways. To sell our concept we showcased the fixtures in 5 sample retail environments; Allbirds, Stadium Goods, Glossier, Sonos, and Neighborhood Goods.
Warm vs. White
We created two collections of fixtures and called them the warm and the white. If you look carefully at the renderings of each store you can see that the same fixtures repeat, just utilized differently and in two different color-ways.
For example the oversized peg panels shown in these renderings. In the SG store we show shoes mounted on a black peg panel. In the glossier store these peg panels are white, with the same hardware system.
By creating both collections with essentially the same build we were able to minimize costs and shorten the overall production timeline. This simplified the process for our manufacturing team and also the end-user, the Westfield retail managers.
An additional challenge was creating a multi-store floor plan. Westfield's goal was to be able to split a large unit into two retailers, so we needed to create a modular wall system that would divide the space.
We designed these rolling gallery walls with storage bases and a hardware mounting system. They are double-sided and come in 3 different colors. These walls effectively divide the space and allow the retailer to customize the space with merchandise and decor.
Versatile Designs
Special pieces in the collection are designed to serve multiple purposes. Because we don't know what each tenant will be selling, it's important we have a few items that accommodate both hanging or table surface merchandise.
DUAL FIXTURE
This is one of the most versatile fixtures in the collection, it can function horizontally or vertically.
In its horizontal orientation it is designed as a shoe bench, with an angled mirror on the end. But could also serve simply as a low coffee table.
Vertically it functions as 2 small hanging racks. with an open rail on one side and a weighted base on the other to stabilize the unit. The larger rack can hang t-shirts and tops, the smaller unit can hang smaller pieces; swimwear, lingerie, scarves, or other accessories. And the top surfaces can display small decor or products.
HORIZONTAL
The small hanging racks add to the retail floor. The hallow under the large unit accommodates a rolling platform in lieu of the mirror.
(rollover the image)
VERTICAL
Serves as a shoe bench or low table. The angled mirror on the end is removable for when it's flipped on its end vertically. It is secured with magnets.
(rollover the image)
Warm Collection Version in vertical orientation
White Collection Version in horizontal orientation
Step pedestal
This is a fixture that can be flipped in two different ways and accommodate shelving to offer a multitude of merchandising layouts.
The shelves have a dado on the underside to rest on the rails, in one orientation the shelves fille the depth of the step, in the other the step is shallower and the shelves overhang.
These steps can display products laid on all 3 surfaces, or it can display 3 rails of small hanging accessories (socks, scarves, underwear, swimwear etc.) Or it can be split 50/50, with the back rail hanging larger products and the bottom 2 steps supporting display shelves.
The two versions shown in the foreground above are oriented "horizontally", i.e. it's overall height is lower. Compared to the two versions shown in the background that stand "vertically", for taller hanging display.
Unique Fixtures
There are a few select decorative pieces that are meant to highlight products in an artistic way. These fixtures are designed to elevate the shopping experience and make guests feel like they are in a high-end boutique, rather than a busy shopping mall.
quirky PEDESTAL
This cute piece frames open space in an interesting shape. There is a transparent fishing line strung across the opening to create an illusion that the product is suspended in space. Below are two platforms to display additional products, as in the rendering above.
PALLET PLINTH
This piece is a bit funky, an artistic interpretation of stacked scrap wood and assorted material.
It functions as a low plinth for unique merchandising layouts without disrupting site lines. The design adds a certain type of character to the store.
WIRE HANGER PEDESTAL
This crazy pedestal was a concept inspired by unique art installations and boutique displays we found in our research. This assemblage of wire hangers formed into a cube is encapsulated in an acrylic box.
