Mortar & More

Retail spaces are undergoing a continued and noticeable transformation, becoming more relevant, connected, and engaging for today’s shoppers.

We recently wrapped up a design project for our good friends at Udemy, transforming their Dublin workspace. The opportunity to create a space that not only embraces their team but also fosters connection and collaboration was exciting for both them as clients and for us as the design team. We aimed to build something that would complement their existing culture and bring teams together in a meaningful way.

Here is a background look at our exploratory process when it comes to a concept design. This was for a cosmetics brand. As a studio we invest a lot of R&D, team time and focus into a concept. Some win and some don’t, but through the creative process the team time which goes into each isn’t wasted, the learnings get carried forward and evolve into something new… There is a book in the making of celebrated pitches lost!

Earlier this year, we delivered our first project in Decentraland. With some experience under our belts designing spaces in the metaverse, this was the studios first pass delivering a project on this platform, and while it came with a whole new gambit of challenges and learnings, it paid back in spades when it came to opportunity and potentials for an elevated visitor experience to the space.

There is no doubt that while retail has somewhat recovered post pandemic, there is still a need for each sector of retail to find ways to earn the commute of their customers, gain a greater footfall in stores, drive more transactions and make the footprint of the stores work more efficiently.

Brand collaborations within retail are increasing in popularity. Why is this? It is a way for brands to generate new ideas, create fresh spins to existing collections and build on their brand community.

Physical retail is a place of opportunity for brands to make authentic connections with their customers. As humans we seek compelling experiences, something which has become more pronounced over the past three years and that cannot be found through online shopping.

For a long time, the idea of working from home was a total impossibility for the vast majority of people. But then, of course – Covid happened. Workers everywhere were dragging their office chairs and desktops into the back of taxis to bring home and try to negotiate the new challenge of remote working.

XR, meaning Extended Reality, is the umbrella term for VR, AR and MR (virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality respectively). These emerging technologies enhance physical environments by superimposing digital elements with the real world.

Imagine, for a moment, on arrival for a doctor’s visit, your child is greeted – digitally – by Winnie the Pooh. All of a sudden, delight overtakes any nervousness and a positive memory is formed.