We have come a long way. The design of our space struggled with looking too boxy for a natural open feel. So we were challenged to break out of the traditional roof and extend the branches to become the ceiling. In order to do that we found that the double layer of wall with lighting between would have caused too much commotion for the roof so we reduced it down to one layer of wall. And we decided to soften the corners and make entrances on two sides of the four-sided structure.

We also found it difficult to incorporate the nail polish, which is a big problem if you're marketing nail polish. So we decided to use color to draw people in and explore the polish inside. The images of the birch trees in Aspen have such wonderful oranges and reds in the fall so we decided on a gradation of those and a soft yellow-orange for the floor to make the focal point of the room, the white display tree in the center, stand out more.

We created an abstract display tree and made replicas of our packaging to display on the shelves. The display tree mimics the cut out walls in shape and in the shelving. The shelving on the display, however, we made with colors to stand out against the white while the shelving on the walls remained brown, like the bark of a birch tree.

We decided to use soft packaging for the object to maintain the integrity of the sustainability of the product. Too much packaging would be inconsistent with the goal of 'green' nail polish.

We found that once the tree branches were bent they pulled the attached trees with them in contorted directions so we stabilized them by gluing them at the top. We had some cool lighting that we wanted to use but there was no way to use it without seeing ALL the wires and it would have been messy.

We are pleased with our final result but it is certainly far from where we started. Until next time.

Cheers!

Canopy Layers

For our organic nail polish project with the canopy of trees concept we worked on a space that gave the shopper a feeling of fresh air. Professor Volchansky-Nieves liked our idea of using a more open wall. We had two walls made of carved out trees (white bain board in keeping with the birch trees we were representing) and a back wall with a more abstract tree whose branches served as display shelves. She suggested we consider how light falls on the space and how you get the sensation of being surrounded by layers of branches. So we explored that option and made the trees in the walls a little more narrow and added a second layer of wall to really enhance that idea.
We felt we needed storage and we included a cabinet attached to the wall but suspended from the floor. The strong horizontal, geometric lines cut off the vertical organic lines and felt inconsistent with the tone. We were getting closer to our target but there were still issues with the roof and the entry.
We decided to package the nail polish in sets of three to be able to create an interesting package and cut down on the amount of waste, being that we were shooting for a more sustainable target. The chairs I posted earlier on that look carved out with bright colors for the seating was the inspiration. But as we developed our space it became necessary to take a second look at if that worked best with our concept.





More to come.
Ciao!

Gaiam

My team met with some ideas on how to compose the space. We were struggling with which part of the assignment to design first. Should we start with the structure, then the display and then the packaging? Or do we start small with the packaging and move up to the overall space. The product we chose was Gaiam, an all natural product line. We looked to see if we could market the nail polish in a way that was consistent with their existing campaign.

Our first challenge was to find a way to represent a brand whose main asset, in our minds, was its non-toxic nature. So we looked for ways to represent nature and what we felt people might connect with. In using this product you can take a breath of fresh air and not worry about any harmful side effects. So how could we represent fresh air? We thought of being outside with a breeze blowing and the trees waving in the wind. We jumped up into the trees and sat under its canopy. And, hence, the concept of the canopy of trees was born.

We designed a 10'x 10' x 12' space that felt a lot like a traditional retail space, four walls, a floor and a ceiling. We saw some examples of spaces that took the outdoors and brought it inside. We thought we could develop our own way. Our walls came together pretty well and we liked the idea of using thin shelving on one wall as a display for our packaging. So we started there.

One of our biggest challenges was giving the space the feeling of being up in the treetops therefore not using heavy solid pieces to bring the experience back down to the trunk. We needed to find a way to capture the light, airy feeling of being in the treetops. We decided to each work on it along with packaging ideas and display and meet again.

Until next time,
Ciao!