Reimagining the retail experience
REI Store of the Future
In 2006, REI “pledged to be a climate-neutral and zero-waste-to-landfill company in 2020 focusing on the five areas of its business: green buildings, product stewardship, proper paper usage, reducing waste, and energy efficiency.” To achieve this goal, we helped REI develop the Store of the Future.
But we didn’t stop at incorporating the latest green building technologies. Every part of the retail experience had to tell the story of REI’s commitment to sustainability and showcase the brand’s core values.
We completely rethought the retail experience from the inside out.
Project at a glance
Teams I collaborated with:
Architects
Interior designers
Environmental graphic designers
Executive stakeholders
Facilities managers
Internal brand design team
Key elements of my role:
Environmental graphic design
Conducted a comprehensive store signage audit
Used customer personas to inform design decisions
Explored design solutions for seasonal in-store category graphics
Designed a signage strategy program for use in all REI stores
Outcomes:
Delivered a cohesive and consistent signage strategy system
Simplified the in-store communications program for customers and employees
Reduced the overall number of signs needed in stores
Reduced signage printing and waste
Improving the Experience for Everyone
The Store of the Future was a groundbreaking move for REI, but the new stores were just a small part of their portfolio.
We did extensive signage audits and looked at how different shoppers used the retail environment.
Ultimately, we delivered a blueprint and rationale that could be repeated in all REI stores, both old and new.
Creating adaptable environments
REI is a seasonal retailer and products change frequently. The fixtures and signage systems had to be adaptable while remaining on-brand, orderly, and easy to navigate for the customers and employees.
Designing a wholistic signage strategy
Ultimately, every signage element had to be detailed and rationalized for use on every fixture in the store. This ensured consistency across the system, ensuring that customers could easily find the information they needed, when they needed it.
The design of the system also allowed for integration of special event signage and product partnerships.
