The layout is pure and simple, with a symbolic ‘milestone’ placed at the centre right on the central-axis. The milestone holds an obvious implication – a new starting point for SND to move towards an internationally representative buyer’s shop. In addition, the church-like architectural form serves as an embodiment of SND’s brand belief, which is to strike a balance between keeping the brand personality and catching onto fashion trends.
SND store
Project name: SND
Design firm: Various Associates
Main designer: Dongzi Yang
Project leader: Qianyi Lin
Designer team: Dongzi Yang, Jingjing Tang
Project location: Shin Kong Place, Chongqing, China
Completion time: March 2019
Area: 288m2
Professional lighting supplier: Viabizzuno
Photographs: Shao Feng
The open display area on both sides resembles a square. Through its unique layout, customers can know clearly the routes and can view every product in display while walking, offering them a chance to select and compare goods easily. The design team had not only taken into consideration the site’s own narrow and linear characteristics, but also the brand’s functional requirements for art, behavior, and display. Seen from any angle outside the shop, its hierarchical layout and the texture of materials have enabled the shop to be a memorable landscape for any passerby.
Within the cube, Various Associates continues the idea of symmetric design, offering the interior space a sacred and ceremonial sense. Jewellery is displayed in the long straight showcase right in the middle, which is easy for customers to choose carefully. Luxury brands of haute couture are displayed in both sides, and are illuminated with professional soft lighting so as to show the texture of the clothes. The reception desk is curved and stands at the heart of the space, dividing the display area and the rest area in the cube while offering timely services to customers in need.
In this project, Various Associates has overcome the conventional thinking mode of traditional brand stores. Not only have the products been fully displayed, the brand personality of SND was also highlighted in its own unique design language. The size of window display area has been maximised to the largest extent, while at the same time, the flexibility and diversity of product display were retained, which offered more possibilities for brand activities and presentations follow up. This innovative design by Various Associates marks the achievement of quality and visual performance, and realised the association of brand space with urban life.