Rolling out a brand new experiential retail space.

SERVICES

Environmental Design
User Interface Design
Packaging
Production
Design System

DETAILS

Year: 2018/2019
Role: Senior Designer

In 2019, lululemon launched its first experiential store, a 20,000 square foot space in Chicago that pushed past their traditional retail offering to become a full-on community hub packed with amenities. I worked with an incredible team of designers, directors and writers to help bring this store to life alongside numerous internal departments and stakeholders.

The inaugural store incorporated fitness studios, high-end locker rooms, meditation lounges, a full suite of ambassador-driven classes, and a brand new Fuel space; geared towards replenishing hungry bodies with healthy and delicious food and drinks. Our work covered a broad spectrum of media and, as this store was the first of its kind, everything had to be built from scratch.

A holistic customer experience.

Our team was responsible for all environmental, print, and digital pieces related to the new space. From social campaigns and promotional materials to food packaging, digital displays, installation artwork, wayfinding signage, and even tiny brand messages hidden throughout the store—every detail was deeply considered and designed as an integral part of the customer journey.

Fueling workouts and stoking appetites.

The Fuel Space represented new territory for lululemon. Its first foray into food service required an identity-free, pseudo sub-brand that fit within the overall lululemon aesthetic and communicated something new and energetic without detracting from branded store elements.

The design system was inspired by the idea of nutrient focused food and the emotional benefits of eating well. We developed an extensive colour palette that mapped to a range of common ingredients from the menu and positive notions associated with good food. This allowed us to speak generally to the energy-rich elements at the core of this new offering and communicate specific ingredients where needed. This system was applied across a range of product descriptions, menus, drink cups, ingredients lists, packaging labels, and take-out bags.

Facilitating engagement with accessible information.

With the addition of a brand new restaurant, two fitness studios, locker rooms, a community lounge and a dedicated meditation space, there was a wealth of new amenities to guide visitors through—so we put a great deal of effort into surfacing key operational info.

Informative printouts, Tune Bed menus, a custom guided-meditation app, and a series of class schedules helped visitors to get situated and discover the range of new offerings while wayfinding elements, interactive display interfaces, and a broad range of rotating content for digital fixtures—like upcoming and current classes—led people where they needed to go.

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