Recap of the Student Competition

The Southern California Chapter of the Retail Design Institute held it’s signature Student Challenge Event on May 31st in the heart of NicoNat Manufacturing’s facility in Commerce, CA.

In recognition of the Institute’s recently judged International Student Store Design Competition, the brief was centered on the creation of High End Accessory Store Designs, featuring students from California State Long Beach & the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.

The event provided local students the opportunity to demonstrate their creative talent and showcase their innovative competition entries to local retail design firms. Each student was partnered with a mentor from the Industry and given one of five brands to work with: Oliver Peoples, Tiffany & Co, Cartier, Christian Louboutin and Tous.

“What I love about this event most, is how energized everyone is!” commented James Farnell, President of the Institute’s Southern California Chapter. “Through this event, the students are given an amazing stage on which to perform, with an audience of leading industry experts and exposure to many other members of the local retail design community. Our professional members equally enjoy the opportunity - to get out of their studios and work alongside emerging Southern Californian design talent in a competitive, raw environment. It’s a win-win formula!”

During the course of the afternoon each team created store concepts and a presentation board against the backdrop of the raw manufacturing facility that hosted the event. As guests arrived for the evening event and took the opportunity to network on the red carpet, each student presented their work to a panel of industry experts.

Guests included professionals and faculty from H&M, Westfield, Disney, Forever 21, Little, Quicksilver, Callison, Pacific Fixture Co, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, California State University Long Beach, Hekman Company and several others.

The successful finalists were then asked to develop their designs into models for a final presentation as members and friends of the Institute were invited to join an educational tour of the facilities’ new technologies and energy efficient systems.

Congratulations to winning team Rocio Vasquez (CSULB) and Philip Otto (Callison) whose award was designed, fabricated and later fabricated during the course of the very same evening!

Check out the event photos here.

Students

Rocio Vasquez – CSULB

Nicole Robinson – CSULB

Deanna Pech – CSULB

Britt Lang – FIDM

Megan Moussamih – FIDM

Mentors

Josh Breeden, Designers/Project Architect, Gensler

Philip Otto, Director, Callison

Amanda Thevenot, Sr. Designer Store Concepts, BCBG

Hethe Breuer, Design Director, Kellwood

Michelle Tomlinson, Tomlinson Consulting

Judges

Jude Elledge, Creative Director, Trend Habitat

Christine Nakaoka, Director of Creative Services, Forever 21

Susanne Andrey, Owner- Founder, Infuse Ideas

Sponsors

NicoNat Manufacturing

Infuse Ideas

Signage by Victory Display

Credits

Photography - Kelly Nguyen

Special thanks also to board members Susanne Andrey, Mimi Yacobucci and Jenny Diaz for co-ordinating the event with Kelly Nguyen, Michelle Curry and Hedi Carrigan of the RDI nextGEN Team; and for the additional support from the staff at NicoNat Manufacturing. You made the evening a huge success!

Students who wish to join the institute or enter next year should register their interest with Jenny Diaz

For more details on our previous events visit us here or for general inquiries please contact caswpres@retaildesigninstitute.org

Pantone + Gap

Pop up stores have become a popular trend in the retail industry. Last year, Gap and Pantone partnered together opening a pop up store on 5th Ave. Combining the iconic and popular Gap t-shirts with the vibrant hues, created a energetic color filled t-shirt shop. Who doesn't love color? The store featured Gap's upcoming spring collection in the true Pantone Colors, including a limited-edition tee in Mimosa (Pantone's color of the year 2009). 

“We wanted to create an explosion of color and bring some warmth and optimism to our customers,” said Patrick Robinson, executive vice president of design for Gap Adult and gapbody. “Mixing Pantone’s vibrant colors with Gap’s signature t-shirts gives everyone an opportunity to find the perfect tee they can mix and match for their own personal style.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Gap to bring PANTONE Colors to life in such an accessible way,” said Lisa Herbert, executive vice president of Pantone’s fashion, home and consumer division. “We recently selected Mimosa as the 2009 color of the year because yellow, more than any other color, best expresses hope and reassurance. During this time of economic uncertainty and change, we are excited to bring optimism and joy to consumers by offering products in this imaginative color at the Gap & Pantone T-Shop.”

 Source Lintcoat 

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Source Lintcoat

Second Annual Student Competition is Coming Up

3D In Living Color

"From catwalk to the crayon box, the lure of the 3D image has capture designer's imaginations. But rather than an influx of expensive production techniques an hi-tech, time consuming processes, the creative world has returned to the art of the red-green 3D image." Source Stylus

What is a anaglyph, you ask. An anaglyph is a red-green or red-cyan 3D image that has the ability of the human brain to create a sense of depth within a 2D image. It forces each eye to simultaneously look at a slightly different version of the same object. It's all about tricking the mind into precieveing depth. Here how the process works:

Using anaglyphs is nothing new. The process of creating depth with color was first demonstrated in the mid 19th century by Wilhelm Rollmann. Rollmann exploed the effect of a red-blue anaglyph line drawing viewed through red and blue lined glasses. A few years later Joseph D'Almeida began showing red-green magic lantern slideshows to audiences with red-green glasses.

The process boomed in the 1920s, however the term 3D was not coined until the 1950s. Anaglyph imagery began appearing in popular publications and movies such as The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Dispoable 3D glasses with the colored acetate became a popular giveaway with comics.

Now let's fast forward to present day. Anaglyph images have recently began to resurface in today's society. History always seemes to repeat itself. These images have been have been seen in fashion and publishing, packaging, technology, and even children's toys. The technique gives a retro 3D effect and feel without the high budget and lengthy post-production treatments used in films such as Avatar.

Anaglyphs were first seen in Alexander McQueen's Autumn/Winter 2006-2007 show, Baillie Walsh's 3D approach to fashion in motion was revisited in September 2010 in KM3D-1, an anaglyphic film starring Kate Moss.

Re-Thinking Retail: Anti-Malls

"People today want to have more of a relationship with their purchase. Creating an environment for communication and interaction will allow retail to act as an agent for social change with the SoCal community, beyond weekend farmer's markets and evenings out in the surrounding affluent neighborhoods," says Shaheen Sadeghi. Sadeghi spent almost 20 years building a successful career in the sportswear retail industry. He was the president of the world renowned  brand Quicksilver, executive LABve vice president at Gotcha Sportswear, and merchandise manage at Jantzen/VF Corporation. Sadeghi successfully created "community-oriented" retail shopping centers in Southern California; the LAB and the CAMP.

"When I started my career in retail, I saw a lack of community. There were only large air-conditioned boxes sprawling around Orange County," says Sadeghi. "I was 20 years old with a surfing industry background, frustrated with the limited retail spaces I had available." The traditional mall has become of a large box with many stores inside. In today's society, people are interested in having an unique shopping experience. This need for and unique and individual experience has people flocking to anti-malls.

The LAB Anti-Mall

It all began in 1992 when Sadeghi built the LAB (Little American Businesses) Anti-Mall. The LAB is an Orange County, California retail destination with the urban youth in mind. Orange County was on the brink of bankruptcy, Shadeghi transformed his first Bristol Street venue into a lively, arts-focused indoor-outdoor retail and restaurant mecca. "I'm selling culture, not fashion. We're moving away from being a 'mass nation' to a 'niche nation,' declares Shadeghi--who believes we're currently experiencing a paradigm shift where consumerism is based on smaller, niche interest groups rather than everyone chasing the same ideal.

The CAMP

In 2002, Lab Holding opened the CAMP retail complex. The CAMP caters to eco-conscious Orange County families, environmentalists and outdoor-sports enthusiasts. There a great environmental conscious features like a grass roof, on site watering system of the grounds, use of California redwood trees and indigenous landscaping. The award winning venue showcases like-minded, one-store retailers and restaurants, which target healthy living in an unique, green-oriented environment. "Sadeghi labels his ventures as “retail activism” but is keen to emphasis the link to “real things beyond just a philosophy” as part of his long­term vision. He reiterates his belief in the capacity of innovative retail areas to affect both social change and provide positive business results for retailers such as The SEED People’s Market – a shop dedicated to handmade, sustainable and local products plus a full­stock of leading brand Patagonia (of which it is consistently the largest seller of the major brand’s products outside of the Patagonia home stores). It also hosts classes, such as jewellery making in an upstairs workshop setting, and a monthly Handmade Fair. Since initiating these kinds of activities, the store has also seen an overall 45% increase in sales."

Save the Date

Calling all students!

Are you interested in showcasing your work to industry professionals? nextGEN is proud to be hosting its second annual student competition. The competition will be May 31, 2012.  So mark your calendars! The competition is open to ALL interior design students currently attending an accredited design program. If you didn't have a chance to compete last year May 31st is your chance!

Last year's competition was a great success! If you would like to read about last year's competition, you can check out our publication on Issuu. There are also some posts about last year's competition here, here, here and here.

We will be posting more information about the competition, so please keep checking back.

Join Us at Global Shop

Please join us at Globalshop In Las Vegas for the Retail Design Institute's Sessions:

Future Store: Do's and Don'ts of Implementing Cutting-Edge Technology into Retail

When:  Thursday, March 1, 2012 at Global Shop Las Vegas, Nevada

Time:   1:30 PM to 2:30 PM

Where Sands Convention Center, Las Vegas 

Join two leaders from the Retail Design Institute as they present a spirited examination of every aspect of technological advancements currently touching the consumer space. The session will touch on everything from mobile payment systems to game-ification, QR tags to AR (augmented reality), social applications to local search applications, SMS to the latest digital scape store window touch systems making impact throughout  the United States and Asia. Included will be live demonstrations and video clips of bleeding-edge technologies that will influence the marketing sectors. The conversation will be rooted in the day-to-day realities of a major retailer such as Supervalu as they balance the need to innovate while examining the ability to roll out and test such advances. Bonus: Attendees will receive a comprehensive “road map” of the current technology landscape, which will be an ideal work sheet for attendees to understand the technology language their clients will be increasingly speaking.

Speakers:
Brian Dyches, FRDI  International President, Retail Design Institute
Sharon Lessard, RDI Chief Design Officer, Supervalu, Inc.

29 Ways to Stay Creative

Let's Talk Domain Names

We hope the previous post about building your website got you thinking. Once you have finished with the design of your website it is time to let the world view it! Now it is time to choose your domain name. What is a domain name? A domain name is used to identify one or more IP addresses. Domain names are used in URLs to identify a particular web page. Every domain name has a suffix that indicates which top level domain (TLD) it belongs to. Some common suffixes include .com, .org, .net, .gov, .info, etc. Source Webopedia

There is one word to describe choosing your domain name, thoughtfully. When considering your domain name make it simple, specific and one that makes sense to anyone wishing to find your site. There is no point in choosing a domain name that's not going to easily direct visitors to your site. Choose a name that best describes the nature of your site.

Once you have decided on a domain name, it's time to register it. There are many different companies that will register your domain name. Before you register your domain name, you need to make sure that name is not already in use. Here are a few companies that you can use to register your domain name.

GoDaddy

Network Solutions

DreamHost

Nettica

Doster

Also when choosing a company to host your domain name, make sure that it offers a full DNS service.

International Store Design Awards Gala

On January 16, 2012 the Retail Design Institute has a grand opportunity for you to be part of the most exciting and significant awards presentation and celebration in retail!

The one night where you can celebrate with the winning teams and key retail design industry players after the most prestigious retail design awards show in the world. For over 50 years, the Institute has set the standard for excellence in store design, and since 1971, in the industry's only peer reviewed competition, we have publicly reorganized those retail projects, which are the best of the year, and the designers and retailers who plan and create them.

The Awards Gala is a one of a kind evening. The event will be held in Manhattan's most exciting venue, the Times Center Stage designed by the world-renowned architect Renzo Piano at 242 West 41st Street at Times Square, NYC.

There will be a chance for networking at the after show reception and buffet with 300+ attendees, award winning architects, designers, retailers and NRF members.

The 2011 Retail Design Institute Member(s) of the year will be recognized. The Award show will also recognize the best stores in the world for the year 2011 in over 18 categories of architecture and design.

This will be a truly remarkable and notable evening! 

Please visit the Retail Design Institute events page to purchase tickets.

Questions regarding this event, please contact Retail Design Institute at LBullis@taminc.com or by phone at 1-914-332-1806 ext. 324

New Year, New Connections

Happy New Year everyone! It's a new year and it's time to make the best of it!

Students are you interested in becoming apart of nextGEN? Join the Retail Design Institute today!

Let's Talk Website Building

Times are changing. Having your own website and online portfolio is becoming a necessity for design students entering the industry. You may be asking yourself were to I begin? There are various website building companies out there. 

It may seeming overwhelming to start designing your website. The easy out would be to have someone else design it for you. If you are extremely busy, having someone else design your website may be the best choice. However, we strongly recommend designing your website yourself. Our society is fulled with many do it yourselfers. So why not build your website yourself? It will expand your skills and a great experience. 

Here are a few companies that help you design your own website. 

Squarespace

Wix

Flavors

Mooonfruit

Cargo Collective

Carbonmade

Happy designing!

Make the Most of Your Break

Hey students, we hope you are enjoying your break from school. Why not make the most of your time off and apply for a job or internship. US Green Building Council (USGBC) has some jobs available!! If you are interested in learning more about sustainability and design then apply for one of the positions available. What a great way to expand your knowledge about sustainability and design.

To see the positions available please click here.

The Young Guns Contest

Hot off the Twitter feed, Dwell is having a design competition for students. What student would not want to be recognized in a world-renowned magazine such as Dwell.

Reprising last year's solicitation of student-made graphic, industrial, font, interactive, and architectural design work, Dwell is proud to invite students to submit their work for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue of the magazine. (Accompanied by an online feature, naturally.)

If you were enrolled in some kind of schooling when you engineered your groundbreaking design, and it can be visually represented in a photograph or rendering, then we want to share your work with our community. Once we gather up some favorites, the editors will pick a selection for a page in the May 2012 issue. The community-led voting session will determine which twenty submissions will be featured in an online roundup. Cue accolades, congratulations, toasting, laurels, and so on.

All it takes is one static image to represent your hard-won academic achievements. When you email it to us, don't forget to include a short statement about your project's theme, what materials you used, when you created it, and what school you attend. And it goes without saying that we only want to see your own work. Source Dwell Magazine

Read more: http://www.dwell.com/articles/the-youngest-guns.html#ixzz1h71dLBNg

Intersecting Retail & Philanthropy

Who doesn't love design, fashion, and charitable causes? Treasure & Bond wants to generate change for its surrounding community. With every purchase made, 100% of all of their after-cost profits goes directly to those who are in need.

What may surprise you is Nordstrom is the name behind Treasure & Bond. Treasure & Bond opened it's doors in August 2011. Part gift boutique, part art gallery and part neighborhood gathering place, it’s an exciting new experiment in giving that has, at its core, one simple goal: To help people help people—and to do so with wit, imagination and style.

Treasure & Bond has an unique feel. The merchandise itself is used to display goods. The space has a funky, trendy feel that is exhibited in the SoHo neighborhood. The design of the store is flexible with the varying merchandise that comes in.

You can read more about Nordstrom's charity concept store, Treasure & Bond, here.

Let's Talk Portfolios

A portfolio is a great way to showcase your work to a potential employer. There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you design your portfolio. Who is your audience? Are you interviewing with a large or small firm? Commercial or residential? What is the size of your portfolio? How will your portfolio be bound?

First, come up with a concept or a design for your portfolio. You can come up with ideas by cartooning, or sketching, them out on paper. When you are cartooning, make sure you are using some kind of scale. You want your cartoon, or sketch, to be as accurate as possible. It is better to lay out the design on paper, then  go straight to the computer. Work out the kinks on paper. It will save you a lot of time and headache.

Another important part of a portfolio is editing. As a student you may love all the past projects, however, do not put them all in your portfolio. Go through your past projects and find 3-4 that are your best work. You want to be able to showcase yourself when you are in the interview. Don't underwhelm a potential employer with mediocre work.

It is important to consider the overall design of your portfolio. Make sure the background image or color is neutral. You do not want to detract from your work.

If you need to find inspiration, don't be afraid to look through books of browse the internet. Here is a simple yet effective portfolio design, found here.

Have fun designing your portfolio!

A Little Piece of Shoe Heaven

What girl doesn't love shoe shopping? The Frye Company has finally opened a flagship store. The Frye Company is the oldest continuously operating shoe company in the United States. The 148-year old brand is known for its quality and attention to detail in the boots and shoes they produce.

The company's rich history begun by pioneers and cowboys wearing Frye's footwear. Generations of American soldiers in the Civil War, the Spanish War, and World War II wore Frye boots. There is so much history behind the Frye Company.

Since the Frye Company as well as its leather footwear that has stood the test of time, the design of the store needed to reflect that. The design team at AvroKO showcased the timelessness of the brand by using suitably design fixtures and fittings. Inspiration of the flagship store was drawn from 20th-century workshops and toolboxes.

The design of the store is reminiscent of an industrial factory. The cash-wrap desk from vintage industrial drawers and blackened panels gives the space an aged timeless feel.Above the sales floor, locally fabricated brass pendant fixtures flank a ceiling installation of more than 400 leather straps, each fitted with a brass ring meant to recall Frye's War-era boots.

This is an unique store that was able to rack up enough LEED points to achieve Platinum certification for Frye. Rolling display cases were built from reclaimed American walnut. Flooring is reclaimed oak, oiled and stained. Original structural columns and brick walls remain, but there are some key additions: the HVAC system, low-energy lighting, and low-VOC finishes. Source Interior Design Magazine