Beginning to Click

In March retail designers predicted in FX that far from replacing traditional stores, virtual and real retail will develop side by side, happily augmenting each other. Doug Barber, who founded retail design agency Barber Design in 1999, takes that a stage further, describing a virtual reality that could be a seamless extension of the 3D environment – and one that retail designers can make their own. Without doubt the increasing use of ecommerce for retailers has made a huge impact on the profits and brand presence of those canny enough to jump on board in recent years. Initially, websites were unsophisticated and only offered limited products and an online experience that didn’t match the real store experience. However, with the arrival of broadband and a multitude of options, such as zoom in and out facilities, catwalk showcases, spin rounds, music and the ability to shop with friends, the online experience is becoming closer to the real life one. Thus far, the missing link has to be the physical ability to navigate around stores and immerse oneself into the actual brand environment – we’re still lumbered with what is essentially a two- dimensional cyber-space. Wouldn’t it be great if you could pop over to New York and view the latest Top Shop flagship store online, wander around it and see the product on display, letting your eye take you to whatever catches its fancy, chat with a virtual shopping assistant, before going ahead and buying? Or how about an online trip down Oxford Street with your friends, navigating in and out of shops to see their latest offers. With this kind of scenario in mind, we’ve been working with a gaming company, developing test- bed solutions to enable customers to navigate into branded stores on virtual high streets and shop for products on display. This has a number of benefits. Customers can immerse themselves into a brand’s environment and get to grips with what they really stand for. Opportunities are being developed to virtually wander down aisles and check out the latest offers, or even enter VIP rooms to look at ‘special membership offers’ or view live events, streamed on demand. The possibilities are almost endless and there are several routes a client could take. A simple showcase of a branded environment, a virtual re-creation of what the designer has already created for the high street, or even a whole new virtual world developed without the limitations of a 140 sq m box. As in the real world, we recognise that product and windows need to be changed regularly to reflect the real-world offer, and this will all be possible. The synergy between what’s happening in store and what’s happening online to a brand needs to be consistent and vital, and we are currently working through the technical feasibility of doing this. While this is a chance to enhance a brand’s online presence, we know as retail designers that customers all shop in different ways. People should need to be given the opportunity to get online and buy what they want quickly. But we also want to make this a longer, more realistic experience. We know that people go to physical shops with certain purchases in mind, but that browsing often leads to other purchases. This is something we hope to replicate. We need to work with a client that wants to put these theories into practice. The framework of possibilities is currently being developed, and we can then apply this to an actual physical brand space. This is pioneering technology and there may be many doubters. But hey, 15 years ago some people said we didn’t need email because we had faxes. I hope that one day we can shop online with friends – wherever they are – at exciting online shopping centres where we can immerse ourselves in the branded environment. This is a clear opportunity for real-world retail designers, basically an extension of what we do already when we develop a store concept that then gets built. Soon we will be carrying that process into creating 3D online environments, that either replicate what we’ve just done for the client, or take the brand to new unexplored territory. This article was first published in FX Magazine.

Swarovski Wallpaper Fit for a King

Swarovski Elements has launched its first collection of wallpaper, with designs incorporating Swarovski crystals. Designed by British wallpaper designer Karen Beauchamp in collaboration with the brand's design team, the collection uses the innovative technique of 'crystal printing' to create dazzling patterns. The launch took place in Portland Place, London, in the house where the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech was filmed - perhaps an aptly regal location for the glam and bling of a Swarovski event.

The collection comprises nine designs featuring Swarovski crystals and two coordinating plain wallpapers, each in a range of colourways. Versailles (top image) is at the contemporary end of the collection, with a metallic leather aesthetic and clusters of crystals in a grid design. For our simple tastes, our favourite is Diamond Trellis, a geometric and playful design that uses the crystals in a simple way with dramatic effect (above).

Satellite Voices is Live

It’s official. Satellite Voices has launched and is now live. Head on over to Satellite Voices to see the Dazed and Confused and Swatch backed cultural and collaborative platform, bringing you instant access to a global creative community. A network of editors in seven major cities; Paris, Moscow, Rome, Munich, Dubai, Shanghai and Santiago will be celebrating their city by bringing together local talents in fashion, music, art+design, film, photography and culture. Look out for daily interviews, mixtapes and find out about the hottest local events. With the ability to select within topics or cities, the young and visionary creatives of the world are at your fingertips, prepare to be inspired. Satellite Voices is looking to revolutionise how you take in information from the Internet, handing you only the best bits and as you can see there's lots there. Go... check it out for yourself. This is a great creative platform and it reaches a worldwide audience. We are impressed. See it now here.

Dave Hakkens’ Edible Pens

Running with the idea that a pen is 90% waste, that you only need the ink/point and the rest is added for writing comfort, Dave Hakkens has created a pen that makes good use of that waste - by making it edible. From simply wanting a pen that he could chew on without getting ink everywhere, Hakens based the pen design on candy necklaces and even made the ink edible. It also doesn't melt in your hands. Not sure if we'd actually want to eat our pens as a regular snack but the idea is still very cool.

See more of the edible pens here.

'The Sun Is In The Sky' and also now in my shopping environment! Thanks to those clever people over at LAPD Consultants who have devised a heliostat to bring natural light into the atrium of Marks & Spencer at Westfield White City. In simple terms it is a device that tracks the movement of the sun and the name comes from the Greek word for sun, helios and stat, as in stationary. It is typically used to orient a mirror throughout the day, to redirect sunlight along a fixed axis towards a stationary target or receiver; in this case you and I as we go about buying our undies and M&S food treats from the store below. They didn't stop there, but went ahead to add a whole bunch of mirrors to harness the sunlight and bounce it around the building.

Comprising of a 2.5 sq m primary mirror system on the roof, this then tracks the sun (no mean feat in the UK) and reflects light on to nine secondary mirrors, each around a metre square, mounted on a frame on the other side of the atrium. Five of these mirrors contain 36 smaller mirrors at different angles, which dapple sunlight on to the floor some 20m below. The numerous escalators below then created a challenge in getting the sunlight through to all of the desired areas and it was a mixture of full-scale prototype mirrors and CAD models that helped LAPD to determine the angles and size of additional dappling mirrors to do the job. These mirrors became quaintly termed 'angel' mirrors.
Four mirrors on the secondary mirror structure are flat and are angled to strike these prismatic reflectors or 'angels' mounted to the escalators – these reflect and refract sunlight, creating rainbow effects and white light in the atrium that shimmers with the motion of the escalators on to the walls, escalator sides and floor.

LAPD wanted to go some way to creating a healthy, vibrant environment in which both customers and staff would be happy to spend time and they have admirably resolved this target. As with the design ideas that we can all have in this business, they simply never leave the page without the support of the client and it should be noted that it has been reported that M&S were extremely receptive to the concept from a very early stage.

I'm always pleased to read news in the advancement of LED lighting product and GlacialLight is at the forefront in launching such lighting product.

The Light bar is ideal for replacing current Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL) or incandescent lights for all kinds of on display lighting. This can include everything from cove lighting, cabinet and bookshelf low intensity lighting, to something brighter and more appealing, ideal for attracting eyes to a display in a showcase. Crucially, for the first time, these LED's are dimmable without the risk of breakage.

These huge advances in LED technology bring LED lights and bulbs that much closer to completely replacing traditional lighting.

It features a built-in dimming circuit for the extendable LED light bar, no dark zones and seamless connection, a built-in LED driver for a stable and uniform light output and is available in 30, 60, 90 and 120cm.

The light bar is a completely unique array of LED lights which spread light uniformly across a narrow bar, similar to CFL tubes. The LED light bar has a built-in driver for Voltage regulation, with special non-polar connection links, so that many light bars can be connected in series. The products come in eight (8) different models, varying in size from 30, 60, 90 and 120cm , while the different models cater for different light temperatures from 2300Kelvin(K) to 6300K and a variegated light Intensity between 190-1000 lumen depending on the model.

A unique feature includes different connectors which can be added as spacers between the light bars in series. Each different connector can be used in different situations. The closest being a direct seamless and rigid link between the bars, or on the other extreme, something more flexible with a cable between them. Each variation gives this green LED lighting product more form and function than anything currently available in markets today.The high brightness green energy saving LED bulbs from GlacialLight are constructed with light emitting diodes (LED) which add significant advantages over traditional lighting. The LED lighting solution is by far the greener solution and in combination with the GlacialTech family's RoHS energy compliant certification, each and every product is certified heavy metal free.

LED lights offer many advantages and benefits compared to traditional Filament and CFL products, such as directional lighting, which is ideal for torches, streetlights and spotlights. There are no starting problems in cold environments because LED's are “Instant on” with no warm up time needed as seen in conventional CFL lighting. In addition, LED lighting solutions do not contain environmentally hazardous metals such as mercury or sodium and do not emit potentially harmful Ultraviolet radiation or Infrared radiation like Halogen lamps. Another benefit is the extremely long life cycle of around 30 000 hrs which lowers maintenance costs in the long term.

As an iconic design classic, the Bic Biro must come in for praise. It falls into that small category of products that follow you through your life and that you can actually have a deepfelt belief for. Their 4- ink blue and white bodied biro looked as fresh and cool to me when I was a teenager as it does today. Like misplacing my drawing pencil, if I can't find one of these biro's on my desk it's enough to cause panic. And I KNOW that they're pinched by my colleagues!! The article below was published in FX Magazine on 31st March 2009 and is clearly from a kindred spirit.

Published:31-March-2009
By Simon Bond, FX Magazine

Sitting at the back of the class at my school only ever had positive connotations in my peer group. If you managed to bag the back right-hand desk, ideally with an accomplice, you ruled the room. Intellect had little to do with such a preference.
A down-and-dirty survival instinct and a competitive desire to win the next battle were the real drivers as one engaged in an early and primitive form of paint-ball. The weapon of choice? It had to be the 5inbarrelled 8mm calibre Bic Biro. Stripped of its refill and end bung this stealth weapon, coupled with ink-covered paper pellets, was the bane of many a teacher and Daz-deprived mother.
But what of the beginnings of such a marvellously simple and effective weapon? One has to go back 70 years to two Hungarian brothers – Messrs Lazlo and Georg Biro. The story goes that Lazlo, a journalist, had noticed that the ink used to print his newspaper dried quickly and smudge-free. He tried it in his fountain penbut, finding that the ink wouldn’t flow from a regular nib, got together with his chemist brother Georg and developed a pen tip which used a metal ball-bearing.
The ball-bearing’s rolling movement combined with a capillary action to draw the ink from the cartridge ensured a smooth flow, and the Biro pen was born. The product, essentially the first ball-point pen, was launched and patented in 1938.
It evolved further over the next few years and was embraced by the RAF during the Second World War as, unlike fountain pens, the Biro didn’t leak or explode at high altitudes.
Inevitably, competitors also established themselves with similar designs, but it wasn’t until 1950 that a French manufacturer of pen cases, Marcel Bich, came on to the scene. Apparently, Monsieur Bich was not impressed with the poor quality and seemingly high price of the ball-point pens on the market, so he approached the Biros and agreed to pay them a royalty on their patent.
Two years later Bich had satisfied his self-imposed brief of a developing a precision instrument which wrote evenly and reliably for a long time, and which could be sold for an affordable price. He dropped the “h” from his surname and launched the Bic Crystal ballpoint pen in 1952. It was an instant success.
All these years later the Bic Biro has hardly changed at all, and it is arguably one of the best-selling products of all time, with more than 100 billion having been produced. Daily worldwide sales exceed 14,000,000 pieces (that’s more than 160 a second!).
Strangely though, and perhaps this explains such high sales, they have a habit of disappearing. Let’s face it, how many Bic Biros have you owned or “acquired”, as is often the case, that have actually run out of ink? See – it doesn’t happen – they just vanish before they expire. We all know they get chewed but, despite that, logic dictates that there should be piles of them cluttering our home and work environments.
That said, they do get used for some bizarre applications – there are websites which explain how to perform an emergency tracheotomy with a Bic Biro. Other, fishing-focused sites, suggest that the child-friendly lid (the hole introduced in the top of the lid a number of years ago was in response to the number of children accidently swallowing the top and choking), makes a great “slidy boom” (don’t ask, I’ve really no idea). And of course, as already mentioned, many schoolboys used them as weapons.
But regardless of these other uses, the Bic Biro has made a name for itself being an excellent, fit-for-purpose, well-priced and competent piece of product design. In fact it is one of those few products by which the category has become known; just like Hoover with the vacuum cleaner, everyone the world over knows the generic term for a ballpoint pen is Biro.