Aesop Project Portfolio

Architectural Studio IIMT 3623 1A 2014 Fall Project Portfolio

Aesop Retail Design

HWANG, Hsing-Chi 2012549864

Content 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0

People and Places Analysis and Problem Identification Design Concept, Solutions and Style C o m p r e h e n s i v e R e t a i l D e s i g n Pr o j e c t

1.0People & Places: Observation, Visual Expression of Idea: 1.1 Urban Mapping of the City 1.2 Urban Mapping of Human Activities

The series discuss about the relationship between the space, the activities taken place and the people in the city. Where do we live in? What do we do here or there? What do we see in the city? The city in our eyes is visually mapped down in the series. And most preciously, what we are familiar with and even overlook is given new insight and interpretation while we re-discover the city.

1.0

We kick off the city with a mass of photos or footages taken on the way to campus. However, when I scattered all these photos in front of me, I realize this is not the scene we see everyday, but those images, captions and more on social media or news feeds. Therefore, I separated the map into two, one titled as "the perceived city", with the content as mentioned above, and the other as "the missing piece", which is about what we passed by the most everyday: the people.

In details, people shown in the map are traced to high-light their existence, while the background is painted with watercolor stroke to contrast that a great part of what we experience in the city is only a blur impression.

1.1

Urban Mapping of the City

Chaos is the atmosphere of the city, and consumption is what people do in this place.

To be more specific, what others notice is not the activities as such, but the price, the item, the brand and every information which can be found on an invoice. Therefore, I choose receipts as the material to put in the base. In addition, foil paper is used in the collage to create a mirror-like, reflective surface, implying that the only human activity to see your-true-self is to look into a mirror.

1.2

Urban Mapping of Human Activities

2.0

Analysis and Problem Identification Retail industry and building project 2.1 Retail Store Design: Understanding operation and identifying existing issues

The subject I choose for the project is Aesop, the Australia-based skin care and cosmetics brand.

Aesop is particularly famous for its retail store design, which is also widely discussed by experts in the field of architecture and interior deisgn. In the section, I started with some research of the brand to look at different Aesop store around the world and three retails in Hong Kong.

2.0

Aesop stores in the U.S. is extremely artistic.

Each of them is embellished with the placement of installation art.

Aesop stores in Japan is rather neat and tidy, with a forvor of applying geometric shapes in the design.

Aesop stores in Europe do not have a united style but each of them align with the antique buildings and even with the atmosphere of the entire community.

2.1

Research on Aesop

On the other hand, I visited three Aesop stores in Hong Kong, one in ifc, another in soho and the other in Elements. In conclusion, retails in Hong Kong has the most efficient use of space than any other place around the world. An extreme simplicity style is employed in store by pushing all the items towards the wall and making the product placement so organized as if schemed in an invisible box.

2.2

Aesop in Hong Kong

It seems that Aesop retail design is so perfect and it has already made the most efficient use of space. However, compared to other cosmetics or skin care stores around, I found that customers are less likely to pick up and try on items by themselves. Intuitionally, they may worry about messing up the tidy product placement. Meanwhile, the phenomenon makes me wonder if sense of design creates a sense of distance. Similar to looking at an art work in the museum, one may appreciate a piece, but he or she always stands a step away form it.

2.3

Problem with Aesop Retail Design

3.0

Design Concept, Solutions, and Style 3.0 Business Funtion and Feasibility Studies 3.1 Business Design: responding to places, people and existing issues 3.2 Design and Material 3.3 Architectural Style/Theory: relation to society and design

To solve the problem mentioned in the previous chapter, I come up with the idea of "The Inviting Design", which is inviting customers to interact with the retail store design as much as possible.

The idea is inspired by a scientific museum in San Francisco, the Exploratorium. The museum makes hard theories into interesting facilities and visitors can learn while interacting with these equipments.

3.0

design concept: The Inviting Design

The section discuss about the discission of where a new retail or pop-up store should be located and possible improvement to be applied in product placement and in-store layout. Apart from the issues which has been identified in the previous chapter, I also take the relation between people, products, interior and surroundings into consideration.

3.1

Business Design:

responding to places, people and existing issues

Three different materials are choosen for the retail design in the three Aesop stores respectively, including 3M sand paper finishes, glass finishes (glass fabric) and Polypropylene.

These materials will be made into installation works and placed in each store as the main feature of the new retail design.

3.2

Design and Material

The style choosen to be featured in the design is the expressionism/expressionist architecture.

The style is to discover what is the core value of art, which suits the atmosphere I try to create in Aesop stores: the interesting, inviting area where customers can explore their favorite products and their own definition of beauty.

3.3

Architectural Style/Theory: relation to society and design

4.0Retail Store Design Comprehensive Retail store design with the incorporation of design style (thinking)

4.0

Based on the "Inviting Design" concept, I develop the retail store design with six different dimemsions, including theme, store concept, layout plan, product placement, installation, pop-up stand.

Due to the design concept inspired by the Exploratorium, I come up with the idea to link the comprehensive theme of the project with scientist. Each store will feature a scientist in one certain field: Soho store : the Zoologist, featuring creatures and animals Elements store: the Botanist, featuring vegetation and plants IFC store: the Geologist, featuring earth and minerals

4.1

Theme

Though developed under the same theme, I hope to keep the individuality of each store, and this is why the unique store concept is given to each branch. The store of Zoologist applys the image of egg to represent the renaissance or reborn of skin. The store of Botanist strengthens on the organic nature of products with the greens. And since the earth is the craddle for evolution, the change form problemetic skin to the perfect one is emphasized in the store of Geologist.

4.2

Store Concept

Each store will be divided into four zones: The installation art work zone displays new arrivals, which is inspired by those stores seen in the U.S. The lab replaces the one single sink in each store for sample testing. The exposition zone is where best sellers or promoted products will be placed. And still, a main part for ordinary products, at which the shelves will be designed in twisted shapes to align with the expresionnism style. Also, I apply how Elements store installs shelves (push them inwards the wall) to every store, to save even more space.

4.3

Layout Plan and Product Placement

The "Facial Puzzle" in the store of Geologist is inspired by the Aesop new seris of "the guild of artisans", of which the advertising especially strengthens on the sense of touch of products.

Therefore, I choose sand paper finishes for the piece and it will be curved with different textile, from the roughest to the smoothest. The "Cocoon" in the store of Zoologist is inspired by the high-ended fabric design brand, NUNO. It will be made with glass fabric to create visual imitation and contain real product sample at the same time. The "Aerial Roots" in the store of Botanist is inspired by the folded cup we saw in the field trip. Similarly, it will be made with Polypropylene but connected with eletronic wires to make the entire piece extended and squeezed a bit to mimic the movement of breath.

4.4

Installation

As discussed in the previous chapter, the popup stand will be located around the intersection of Second st. and Western st. The content of the stand is a help-yourself experiential lab where customers can try out multiple samples. It is consists of several fragrance testing paper on the top, real product samples in the middle, and then a sink with a touch screen next to it, so that customers can look up product info and even place orders. Similarly, the stand is designed under the Inviting Design concept, hoping that customers can enjoy the fun of exploring their favorite products.

4.5

Pop-up Stand

To sum up the entire project and the semester, I would like to link it back to the city, where we miss so many things but at the same time perceive so much information. The phenomenon and the over-emphasized materialism often makes we feel lost. I hope all of us as customers can explore more in the city, to explore your favorite things within your everyday life, to explore your own definition acting as a confident and beautiful citizen, and most of all, to explore your value in the metropolitan, just as expressionists discovering the core of art. I would like to say the project is not only about the brand and a journey of exploration, but its also about stories of the people and the city.