BRAND APPLICATION
Features HAPTIC FEEDBACK “Haptic feedback, often referred to as simply “haptics”, is the use of the sense of touch in a user interface design to provide information to an end user. When referring to mobile phones and similar devices, this generally means the use of vibrations from the device’s vibration alarm to denote that a touchscreen button has been pressed” (mobileburn. com) When related to retail, such technologies will allow consumers to feel their items through screen devices, blurring the lines between online and offline and merging physical actions - made when shopping in reality - to those virtually through a device. For many consumers, having the ability to touch and feel a product is important, as it determines quality, weight and how the fabric will feel on the skin.
SMELL TECHNOLOGY Smell technology - or digital smell technology - is “a system designed to release odor so that the viewers can smell what they were visually experiencing on the screen” (thewindowsclub.com.) “Smell is a very powerful, powerful sense. It can trigger an emotion or memory at a subconscious level -- before we logically think about it,” Professor Cheok, The University of London. When considering online retail, this will allow consumers to smell everything from perfumes, through to hand creams and leather before purchase, elimating the guessing game that is shopping online. Connecting this smell technology to haptic feedback will create a new dimension of consumer experience. Consumers will feel connected to their purchases when bought online, very much like when shopping in real life. In the future, this could lead to the improvement of clothing quality, a reduced returns returns rate (due to quality, texture etc) and higher customer satisfaction.
Brand: &Otherstories Part of the H&M group, &Otherstories is a sibling amongst other large brands including Monki, Cos, Weekday and Cheap Monday. The brand launched in March 2013, offering an extensive selection of clothes, shoes, bags, jewellery and cosmetics. The brand is all about fashion, with particular focus on quality and design details as well as personal expression and styling. (about.hm.com) With this specific focus on ‘quality and design, we felt this trend would be successfully executed via this brand, incorperating other features such as the brand’s minimalistic housestyle and bright colour palette.
&Otherstories website/online store
Brand: primary research
Primary research trip to the &Otherstories store on Regent Street, London. (own images)
Brand: style/aesthetic
Brand Identity: With monochromatic, minimalist branding, the brand adds infusions of bright colour throughout their palette from clothing to products. The brand adds a clinical, scientific element to their packaging and stories by using a clear white labelling and seethrough/white bottles, brightly coloured liquids and the addition of sink.
Idea: “the space beyond online” To present this trend (5D) the aim is to firstly, create an online brand video to become part of the brand’s already established collection of video content - featuring everything from their range of cosmetics and skincare, through to style stories. Titled “The Space Beyond Online” - this links to the future of online retail and the merging of both the physical and virtual. The video will be a promotional piece for a concept store ran by the brand, around the proposed trend/idea. This will highlight how &Otherstories are not only a brand of the future, but also the retail innovators, using haptics and smell technology. The concept store will present how these senses (smell and touch) can be incorperated into the online landscape of &Otherstories, improving the consumer connection to the brand and their products. The store will show consumers how they will be able to feel, smell and interact with garments and products - very much like if they were in a physical store - through their screen technologies. The store will hold no garments or products, only a series of ipads/ screen devices showing the sensory process.
Mock-up &Otherstories concept store for promotional video
Idea: “the space beyond online”
The variety of shots within the video will mimic how consumer interact with products - first, in a physical store, then through a screen. This will show the consumer how the process of haptic and smell technology work, by showing it against how they would interact with the products physically instore. A split screen effect (similar to those within the &Otherstories videos currently) will be used to show this, putting the two actions next to eachother to show similarities. The clips will show ‘touch’ in relation to feeling a garment, and both ‘touch’ and ‘smell’ through beauty products, ie. creams represented through the petri-dishes and jars in the mock-up. Using this scientific and clinical reference and styling in the video/mock-up not only links to the brand’s indentity, but also links to other trends such as ‘no bullshit’ and ‘selling science’ which presents to the consumer raw facts and zero fiction when presenting products, and information. Here, its factual futures.
Beauty & cosmetics : Physical and Digital ‘touch’ and ‘smell’
Garment : Physical and Digital ‘touch’ through haptics.
Idea: Behind the scenes