Save the Date

Save the date. Thursday, October 25 is the Retail Design Challenge. Plans are underway for signature annual event to celebrate local design firms and showcase their creative talent.

Join member and friends of the Retail Design Institute by rolling up your sleeves for an evening of creative collaboration, education and networking!

There will be a tour of Quiksilver's 585 Boardriders' Store in Venice with store design insights provided by Paul McAdam (senior VP and GM, Retail, Quiksilver Inc.) store features in DDI Magazine's June Issue. The night's event will also include a showcase of Southern California's submissions to the 2011 International Retail Store Design Awards Competition. Also a show reel of the 2011 International Store Design Winning Entries.

Tickets can be purchased in advance through Eventbrite closer to the date. Check our website for details.

Please send us an email if you're interested in participating as an individual, a group entrant, or to become a Sponsor!

There will be food, drinks, and DJ. Come and join us for a creative night of design.  

Retail Design Institute Event

Tickets Going Fast!

We hope to see you in 2 weeks. A link to the self-guided tour locations will be sent out via email 1 week before the event, only those who pre-register below.

Register Here

for the

Retail Tour & Social Mixer

in West Hollywood, August 22

Afternoon Tour (Optional) & Evening Mixer from 6:30pm -9:30pm

Take a self-guided afternoon tour of the latest retail spaces in West Hollywood curated by  Trend Habitat, followed by drinks overlooking the Hollywood Hills from the deck of the Essensuals London Salon - a signature brand of the Toni & Guy portfolio.

The evening promises to be a "highlight" networking event with key insights by owner  Kiera Smith & designer James Schnauer of Glow Studio into the design of a new WeHo salon experience. Meet new members and some of the new faces on our local Chapter board.

Enjoy a well deserved drink on the deck of Essentuals' Salon to network with fellow members and guests of the  Retail Design Institute.

Details of the tour will be provided to those who register. Please RSVP with Eventbrite to help us cater to numbers and use social media to coordinate tours with one another.

Free to all Members & Members Guests

Non-members $10

Numbers are limited.

RSVP on Eventbrite only.

Please click here now to register and receive tour details.

The Southern California Chapter would like to thank our host and sponsors for their generous support of the Institute: Trend Habitat and Essenuals London.

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth from all of us at nextGEN! We hope that you have a wonderful and safe holiday! Enjoy the sunshine,  food, family and friends!

Source Don't Stop This Train

Source LF Stores

Keep Up Your Skills

Our goal at nextGEN to expose you as students to the realities of the interior design industry. We wanted to take the time to stress the fact that you should keep up your computer skills and any other design related skills. There is no denying it, technology and social media are taking over the world! Not really, but in reality technology is become more and more advanced. Which brings us to the first point we made, "keep your computer skills up!" Many design firms are using programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign; just to name a few. Some firms are also making the transition from AutoCAD to Revit. What does that mean for you? Our answer, if you don't know it learn it!! In the land of the worldwide web, there are unlimited resources to help yourself strengthen your computer skills. We have previously posted about a valuable resource here. Maybe leaning online isn't your thing. Local community colleges offer classes for the various programs you are interested in learning.

However, even though technology is upping the ante you still need to keep up your sketching skills. In a world of smartphones, tablets, and computers, industry professionals still use hand sketching as a tool to convey their thoughts and ideas. Get yourself a sketchbook. Sketch the various thoughts that come across your mind. There is nothing more impressive that stacks of filled sketchbooks with your thoughts in them. Sketching is not only a creative outlet, you are able to strengthen your skills the more you do it. Sketch something today! One of the most common block for people when it comes to sketching is that is doesn't look right. Most people over think the idea of sketching. The goal is not to get a perfect piece of artwork. Sketching is a form of art, there are no mistakes in art!

Bottom line, keep your skills up. If you want to be competitive in today's job market you have to be the best of the best. Happy learning!

Go For the Gold: Having a Successful Internship

After hours and hours of research you landed an internship in the interior design industry! Congrats! Now it is time for a reality check. You need to make the most out of your internship. In a way, an internship could be somewhat like "test driving" your future career. Many individuals go into an internship with the hopes it will turn into a full time position. Now that you have your internship, what do you do next?

First things first be professional! You are entering into the real world of the interior design industry, so it is important you act the part. This begins with your attire. You can take a few tips on what to wear from a previous post. Make sure you find out what the companies dress policy is because that will also help you when it comes to attire. You only have one chance to make a first impression, make it a good one!

Decide what you want to get out of your internship. It is helpful to make a list of the goals you have. Ask you supervisor to sit down to discuss your objectives. Let them know what you would like to get out of your internship. Do not be afraid to ask questions either. No one learned anything by passively siting down. Ask questions about the company's design philosophy or their design development process. Dive in to the company culture head first! Find out everything you possibly can. The last thing you would want to do is waste their time and yours.


At the end of your internship if you are not offered a position, that's okay. You can always ask for a letter of recommendation or ask if they know anyone who is hiring. If you have a portfolio or resume, ask your supervisor if they could critic it for you. It doesn't hurt to get a second set of eyes to look at your work. Who knows, you could get some fresh ideas to revamp the layout of your work.

Why Should I Compete?

A design competition can seem a little intimidating to a student. You have homework, models to build, presentations to prep for, and may even be working. Many students ask the question "why should I compete?" Students want to know if competing in a competition will benefit them. Here are some benefits in competing.

You are able to get practice. In the classroom, students may be given a set program they need to follow when designing. However, when you compete you are able to step outside of the classroom and implement design in the real world. You are also able to test your skills under pressure.


You allow yourself to be exposed to the design industry. These competitions are not solely attended by students, professionals in the industry attend as well. Let's be honest, it is intimating for a student to approach a professional. However, during competitions the atmosphere is pleasant and easier for students to mingle with professionals.  Competitions provide opportunities for emerging professionals to be recognized for their fresh ideas and a platform to showcase their work. If you do win you can create a social media strategy that will draw attention to the story by sending and cross-referencing the news via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, your blog and/or website, as well through the competition sponsors and by the press. Besides all the other pros, competing in competitions is fun!


We hope the next student competition that comes along, you decide to compete!

Competition Winner Spotlight: Rocio Vasquez

Rocio Vasquez was this year's student competition winner. We wanted to find out what Rocio is most passionate about the interior design industry.

What first inspired you about interior design? I grew up around "design" my whole life. My father is an automobile designer, so I loved learning about it. As I got older, I started understanding more about the field and the conceptual side of things and realized that buildings go through the same development process. That is where I developed my interest in architecture and interior design.

What area of the interior design industry are you most passionate about? I absolutely love hospitality and recreation design. There are endless possibilities in those areas. However, I am most passionate about institutional design. I feel most passionate when it comes to designing a place in which a person  is not only going to benefit from but also grow as an individual; whether it be anything from schools to religious facilities.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? In the next 5 years I see myself working in a firm here in Southern California and hopefully traveling at least once a year with non-profit organizations all around the world.

What would be your dream design job? Religion is a huge part of my life and defines me as an individual. My dream job would be to take part in the creation of a new cathedral. To me nothing would be more satisfying than to be able to partake in creating God's home.

Do you think competing in design competitions help benefit your career as a student?  I definitely believe that having taken part in the competition was a huge benefit for me as a student. Not only did it allow me to step out of my comfort zone when it came to presenting in front all the professionals, but it also tested my ability to work under pressure.

Would you recommend other students to compete in design competitions? Why? I would encourage other students to participate in design completions because it truly is a learning experience. It's also great and fun opportunity to network and meet professionals in the field.

For all of us at nextGEN, we wish you the best in your future endeavors!

Happy, Happy Birthday to nextGEN

Source Brown Eyed Belle

Today is our blog's birthday! It has been a year since our first post. We can't thank you you enough for all your support. We hope that you have enjoyed the posts we've made and the posts to come! Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on our various posts. 

Many thanks to all of YOU our amazing, encouraging, outgoing readers! We've not only made it through our first year, but we’ve also realized that this blogging lifestyle is something we love.  The past year has been more rewarding than we ever thought it could be and it’s due to the connections we have made through past events.

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

Second Annual Student Competition is Coming Up

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.

Behind-the-Scenes of Lamb & Flag

Thursday night, members and friends of the Retail Design Institute came together to get a behind-the-scenes tour at the new Lamb & Flag fashion apparel concept from Kellwood brands. Gray Winston, Vice President of Kellwood Brands, spoke of the brand’s inception and how it was translated from a concept into the bricks and mortar environment. The event was attended by key retailers, designers, consultants, and suppliers. Aside from  great entertainment and networking opportunities, the event was a great opportunity to learn more about the brand.

“The most important thing was to create 4 main filters for all design - product, marketings, smell, sound, music through to the store design...everything  you see in very intentional” Gary continued in his presentation to the group.

1. Age - While this proof-of-concept is proving to appeal to a much broader demographic, their core target is age 18-24 college graduates.
2. Style - Referred to as ‘Casual Beauty with an Edge’ demonstrated through a meticulous attention to detail. “We would spend time on 10 tiny things but the customer might only notice 1 of those, so in the store we had to create over 100 to ensure this comes across sufficiently, yet subtly enough for the customer to take away with them”. A tour of the store highlighted this wherever you looked and even areas you couldn’t see. A restroom in the back of house area includes their logo spelt out in the floor where only ‘brand reps’ would see it. On the customer facing side, wood floors are recycled from an old military base - a concrete infill plugging the cracks - delivering a unique experience in the dressing rooms where again the branding is featured on the floor, with multiple lighting effects that can be controlled by the shopper while streaming multi media on the embedded screens. 
3. Aesthetic - This speaks to the store design’s 'Wrecked Elegance’ which could be seen in their use of beautiful wallpaper that's been ripped and torn, or the beautiful chandelier that's slightly aged, through to rough plaster walls that show water stains. It’s something ‘Beautiful with a Twist' referred to as ‘perfect imperfection!’
4. Emotional - The most important differentiator to the store design team. “It’s not as tangible as the others but equally important to the experience. The smell, the way the ‘brand reps’ interact with you, the complimentary bracelet or box of water offered when you're in the dressing room... a lot of our time was spent defining what the emotion filters should be” continued Winston. “The brand menu on the front of store defines 'beautiful' in our eyes, the beauty of not conforming.”

To read more about the event click here.

A Social Event @ Lamb & Flag

Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of the new Lamb & Flag fashion apparel concept from Kellwood brands. Attendees will gain insights to the retail strategy, design and implementation process that delivered this brand new concept to the market place. Expect an evening of education, entertainment and an opportunity to network. Light refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Limited Tickets by RSVP only so book now!

RDI attendees will receive a 10% discount to shop that night and a $50 gift certificate will be given away.

Sponsored by:
Lamb and Flag, Retail Design Institute and Infuse Ideas.

One Launch, Two Nights, Two Cities: First City Recap

Previously posted here, last night was the first night of the launch of the Retail Design Institute's new website. The event was held at Nadel Architects in Los Angeles. The Retail Design Institute's website has been given a make-over. The website is now easier to navigate. The attendees got a first hand experience on how to use the new features on the website.

Please check out the Retail Design Institute's new and improved website!

There is still one more city, we hope to see you there!

Please join us again tonight at Little in Costa Mesa, California. We hope to see you tonight! See the information below for tonight's location:

02/16/12 (Thursday) 

Location: Little Architects Orange County

1901 Newport Blvd, Suite 300, 

Costa Mesa, California 92627

Time: 6pm Light Refreshments; 6.30-8pm Demo & 'Town Hall' Discussion; 8.30pm Finish ; Join us afterwards @ The Yard House, Triangle Square Shopping Center, 1875 Newport Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA www.yardhouse.com for those interested.

Sponsors: Little Diversified Architectural Consulting. 

Fee: Free to Members & Non-Members. Limited to 40 people by RSVP only.

Click here to RSVP via Facebook for the Costa Mesa location 

Parking & Access: Parking to front of building or around to rear in parking structure. Entry through courtyard at front or rear and take elevator to Level 3.

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.

One Launch, Two Nights, Two Cities

Limited to 40 people by RSVP only, per location...

RSVP on Facebook by clicking "Join" through one of the red links below.

A social mixer event to launch the new website for our members, demonstrate how members can benefit from it's new features, and highlight events we're planning on for the year. Please introduce a friend...non-members and potential new members are welcome to attend. Board members will be happy to answer any questions regarding membership. See you soon!

02/15/12 (Wednesday)

Location: Nadel Architects Los Angeles

1990 S. Bundy Drive, Suite 400

Los Angeles, California 90025
Time: 6pm Light Refreshments; 6.30-8pm Demo & 'Town Hall' Discussion; 8.30pm Finish ; Join us afterwards @ The Arsenal Bar 12012 W Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90064-1127 www.arsenalbar.com
Sponsors: Nadel Architects and ikonic tonic 

Fee: Free to Members & Non-Members. Limited to 40 people by RSVP only.

Click here to RSVP via Facebook for the LA location 

Parking & Access: Street Parking. Parking closes at 6pm. Building lifts close down by 7pm so please ensure entry by this time for access to 4th floor.

02/16/12 (Thursday) 

Location: Little Architects Orange County

1901 Newport Blvd, Suite 300, 

Costa Mesa, California 92627
Time: 6pm Light Refreshments; 6.30-8pm Demo & 'Town Hall' Discussion; 8.30pm Finish ; Join us afterwards @ The Yard House, Triangle Square Shopping Center, 1875 Newport Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA www.yardhouse.com for those interested.

Sponsors: Little Diversified Architectural Consulting. 

Fee: Free to Members & Non-Members. Limited to 40 people by RSVP only.

Click here to RSVP via Facebook for the Costa Mesa location 

Parking & Access: Parking to front of building or around to rear in parking structure. Entry through courtyard at front or rear and take elevator to Level 3.

*For any questions about either event, please email: caswpres@retaildesigninstitute.org 

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!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from all of us at nextGEN! 

We hope you had a wonderful year. See you in 2012!

Happy Holidays

We hope you have a wonderful holiday and a great New Year.

From all of us at nextGEN, Happy Holidays!