C A S E S T U DY

One message—multiple
perspectives. That’s the
theme of this case study, a
visually-rich overview of
Paula Stafford,
Executive Vice
President, Callison

how one company tailored

the design of its stores to
more effectively respond
to differences in the global
marketplace.

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Creating a Cultural Point of
View: Design for International
Brand Translation
by Paula Stafford
Global brands and instantaneous
access to lifestyle trends have in many
cases turned retail into a ubiquitous
commodity and made retail design
more challenging than ever before.
While most retailers are facing
unprecedented turbulent times, the
modern consumer is increasingly
sophisticated—global, cosmopolitan,
empowered. Shoppers are more sav-
vy; clients’ needs are more complex.
Space, time, and resources are limited.
For the retail designer, this presents a
particular set of challenges as in-
creased exposure calls for continuous
innovation of the brand to attract an
increasingly discerning customer.
To thrive in this kind of market,
retailers must engage customers by
offering more than just a place to
shop, but also a destination driven by
inspiration, storytelling, and meaning-
ful connections. The brands with the
equity to scale globally have moved
well beyond distribution into the
world of retail strategically blended
with hospitality, societal, and enter-
tainment offerings.
As a result, the department store
has evolved. In the past, department
stores were primarily local institu-
tions serving a specific customer
base—with brands like Harrod’s,
synonymous with London, and Saks
with New York. But in today’s world
of endless choices of specialty stores,
and big box stores offering a plethora
of everyday goods, the opportunity
for department stores to once again
become the authority of fashion and a
lens to the world is ripe.
With this opportunity comes the
challenge of establishing and main-
taining a strong house brand along-
side the showcased designer labels.
The result is the rise of the branded
flagship—a department store with
a personality, which serves not only
as a mercantile channel but also as a
purveyor of international culture and
style.
The flagship as a branded desti-
nation often serves as the entry into
new markets and as a venue in which
retailers can distinguish their brand
and create a unique cultural point
of view. As a result, they need to be
© 2010 The Design Management Institute 23
 Brand: Developing a Holistic Customer Experience
adept at maintaining brand clarity
while leveraging the distinct style and
preferences of the local culture to
create a distinctly tailored experience
and merchandise offering.
To make this translation a reality,
the process for international retail
design requires the ability to maintain
the strength, integrity, and core traits
of the brand above all else. The brand
needs to remain as strong as its local
context but translate distinctly into
the new environment.
The Harvey Nichols brand
UK-based Harvey Nichols is one
of Callison’s clients, and a prime
example of a retailer that has been a
forerunner in the integration of visual
design, marketing, and merchandising
to create authentic, original experi-
ences. With often-theatrical visual
merchandising, an exclusive offering
of cutting-edge international labels,
VIP fashion events, and an in-house
food and beverage service, Harvey
Nichols is recognized for an atmo-
sphere that evokes playful sophistica-
tion and edgy merchandising.
What differentiates Harvey
Nichols across the world is its sophis-
ticated use of visual programming
and distinct design to engage and
entertain the customer. Companies
like Harvey Nichols are experts at
using design to engage their custom-
ers through the use of conceptual
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merchandising, personalities, art
installations, and fashion shows to
transform the brand of the store into
an experience. The result is stores that
are not just places to shop but actual
destinations, driven by imagination,
connections, and storytelling.
Callison designed Harvey Nich-
ols’s first international department
store in Dubai in the United Arab
Emirates, and we most recently de-
signed their Jakarta, Indonesia, store,
which opened last fall. Each destina-
tion features a distinct environment,
but each shares the DNA of a com-
mon brand.
The Harvey Nichols brand is
heavily rooted in a British heritage,
and the design for both new locations
needed to respect the brand’s roots.
However, it was equally important
that the brand distinctly respond to
the environment and cultural influ-
ences in both Dubai and Indonesia.
For example, the Dubai store is stark,
sparse, and heavily dosed with white
in response to the cool, desert envi-
ronment. In contrast, the Indonesia
store is vibrant, rich, and bright—full
of traditional Indonesian patterns and
colors.
But both remain embedded in
their roots. The common elements
throughout both the stores evoke
the sense of humor and whimsy the
brand is known for.
Harvey Nichols Dubai
Harvey Nichols in Dubai is an
elegant integration of retail func-
tion and sophisticated style that
takes advantage of carefully designed
ceilings, planned sightlines, and
large-scale architectural features. For
example, a grand, three-level escala-
tor, dramatically lit by an array of
overhead circular LED fixtures that
shifts colors continuously, stands as
the heart of the store, and as a way to
give customers traveling up and down
enticing glimpses onto each level
(Figure 1).
The result is the most modern,
edgy, and fashion-focused store of its
scale in Dubai. Taking cues from the
desert climate, the Harvey Nichols
store is a striking shopping environ-
ment defined by strong structural ele-
ments, minimalist detailing, modern
finishes, and exceptional lighting. Its
mall-side façade, repeated on each
of the store’s three levels, presents a
highly articulated geometric design
that boldly reinforces its position as
the luxury anchor store surrounded
by luxury brands, while large show
windows highlight inventive and en-
gaging displays (Figure 2 on page 26).
For this store, Callison created
rooms or halls that group similar
merchandise delineated with unique
architecture and finishes, including
ceiling treatments and flooring pat-
 Creating a Cultural Point of View : Design for I nternational Brand Translation

Figure 1. Color-shifting lights and animation leverage the Dubai store’s dramatic interior perspectives.

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 Brand: Developing a Holistic Customer Experience

Figure 2. The mall-side façade repeats on each of the Dubai store’s three levels.

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 Creating a Cultural Point of View : Design for I nternational Brand Translation

terns. Casework finished with deep
textural woods is used extensively in
the ladies’ designer area, providing
a rich contrast to the white, glossy,
large-scale floor tiles (Figure 3).
The flooring throughout the
store is nearly all hard-surface; carpet
is specified in only a few areas, such as
the ladies’ shoe salon and the intimate
apparel department, which also in-
cludes frosted-glass privacy screening
in deference to the Middle Eastern
shopper’s emphasis on modesty. Oth-
erwise, highly polished wood, stone,
and other hard surfaces reinforce the
sparkling, edgy atmosphere.
The lighting is bright compared
to European standards (Figure 4).

Figure 3. The store design allows merchandising to quickly change while strong structural elements, minimalist detailing, and exceptional lighting
amplify the brand’s international buzz.

Figure 4. The icy cast of 1,200-lux lighting psychologically “cools” the space, a sharp contrast to Dubai’s desert climate. Intimate Apparel and the Nail
Bar include frosted glass privacy screens in deference to Middle Eastern shoppers’ emphasis on modesty, while shiny, hard surfaces reinforce the edgy
atmosphere.
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 Brand: Developing a Holistic Customer Experience
We used a variety of lighting types to
reinforce the differentiation of zones
within the store. A backlit stretch
matrix ceiling system on the first floor
allows for glowing, colored light to
wash the space, adding visual inter-
est and energy to the space. Together
with custom fixtures, display pieces,
and fittings, the effect is a seamless
atmosphere of edgy luxury.
Because the Harvey Nichols
Figure 5. Offering a specialty store’s attention to service, personal shopping salons entice shoppers to appreciate the department store’s curated selec-
tion of multiple luxury brands.
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customer is a connoisseur of global
fashion and design trends, we sought
to incorporate changeability into
the store design. Sensory affects like
color-shifting lighting and flat-screen
animation, as well as the open floor
plan and adaptable platforms, make
updating presentations to the newest
designers and trends more efficient
and effective (Figure 5).
Tying it all together is an impres-
sive window display designed to
celebrate and showcase this visual
merchandising to the outside world.
Harvey Nichols Jakarta
For its part, the Jakarta flagship store
draws inspiration from the rich arti-
sanship of Indonesia. Bold, striking
architectural elements and refined
interiors characterize the four-level,
96,840-square-foot department store,
 Creating a Cultural Point of View : Design for I nternational Brand Translation

which features exclusive, international

luxury brands in an environment dis-
tinctly tailored to the time-honored
traditions and cosmopolitan flair of
Jakarta. To begin with, we referenced
a batik pattern known as parang and
extended it throughout the store
using the craftsmanship of local
artisans for hand-cut tiles, hand-
crafted furnishings, fabrics, metal, and
woodworks (Figure 6). At times, the
parang pattern was fused with British
op art, as well as with the Harvey
Nichols logo; it is also showcased
on Harvey Nichols’s exterior front
façade, which towers eight stories
over Grand Indonesia, Jakarta’s lively
commercial center. From a classic In-
donesian three-wheeled rickshaw taxi
covered in British buttons to parang-
inspired hand-woven metal screens
and mannequin birdcage installations
in the main atrium, the traditional
artisan culture of Indonesia has been
tastefully applied to modern design
concepts.
Again featuring custom crafts-
manship and materials for public art
displays, each floor is designed as a
presentation of art. As such, each
floor is designed with a distinct char-
acter based on the energy of artistic
environments, tied together through
bold, playful architecture. An open,
meandering layout; annular, curving
walls; layered glass; and dramatic Figure 6. Designs for the Jakarta store relied heavily on the Indonesian batik pattern called parang,
lighting creates a sense of theatrical which can be seen here in the carpet design. It can even be seen on the store’s exterior front façade.

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 Brand: Developing a Holistic Customer Experience
Figure 7. A bold palette of white, contrasted with deep bronzes and golds, reinforces the feeling of luxury in the women’s shoe department.
movement through the space.
Shoppers entering the Jarkarta
store move through a dynamic gallery
space where accessories and shoes
are elegantly displayed across a white
landscape accented by polished silver,
mirrored surfaces, and curved glass
walls (Figure 7). Adjacent to the
artist gallery (so called because of its
artsy yet casual feel) is the cosmetics
area, distinguished by a bold and rich
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palette of deep chocolate hues, bright
white glass, and faceted reflective
display elements.
A dramatic sculptural curved
staircase links this level with the
men’s and women’s designer shops,
and a private elevator takes customers
directly to the Harvey Nichols Social
House restaurant on the top floor.
The men’s designer shop, which
stands on the lower ground level, is
characterized by an industrial aes-
thetic and a dramatic palette of deep
tones and layered surfaces. Modern,
backlit metal screens—hand-cut,
layered, and patterned) create an art-
ful atmosphere contrasted with boldly
sculpted spaces, concrete floor tiles,
and polished metalwork. A dramati-
cally styled men’s personal shopping
lounge reinforces the distinct feel of a
social club.
 Creating a Cultural Point of View : Design for I nternational Brand Translation

Figures 8 and 9. Women’s fashions are presented as a curation of art. Rich, sophisticated details and luxurious materials evoke a soft, intimate gallery setting.

The upper ground level houses
the womenswear collection. The
space is fluid in form and treated
with playful and sophisticated details
(Figures 8 and 9). A warm white
metal curtain subtly filters light onto
the hand-carved limestone flooring
and blush-toned finishes, creating a
soft, luxurious setting. Curved screen-
ing elements create intimate salons
within this open, light-filled space
and encourage exploration of the
fashion collections.
A global future, locally
Design for each of these projects
required the ability to draw from a
myriad of cultures and a dexterous
approach to design. As evidenced
from locations as diverse as Dubai
and Jakarta, this is an exciting time
for designers as we rise to the chal-
lenge of creating fresh, innovative
environments across the globe.
With tight deadlines and limited
resources, creative professionals will
continue to be challenged to innovate
through learned skills, natural talents,
and a passion to communicate stra-
tegically through design. Fortunately,
as innovation and design continue to
evolve as a key driver to growth and
differentiation, the role of design to
add value remains relevant. There has
never been a better time in the world
for creative and design services to lead
the way in defining leading brands
and the consumer experience. n
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