The
current retail marketplace has been increasingly saturated with traditional
marketing strategies, creating a condition in which brands must redefine a new
and creative way to convey their identity to the public in order to stand out
and be noticed. Retail spaces no longer focus only on selling
product, but rather on building an image for the brand and an emotional
connection with customers. This major shift from sales to experience is
blurring the traditional boundaries between marketing and design.
In my
thesis I argue that light can be used to create experiences that will trigger
an emotional connection with customers. The aim of this new spatial
typology will not be to sell the product, but to experience it. I chose
Ray-Ban as a theoretical client for my design studio project because of its
intimate relationship with light, and the fact that it has never had a
mono-brand physical retail space. The Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea, serves as the
location for my brand experience, which will be designed in such a way as to be
easily recreated elsewhere in the future.