Imagine yourself getting ready to do some shopping. Or perhaps grabbing a bite to eat. Do you choose a store or restaurant you’ve been before, or do you try some place new? If you try someplace familiar, somewhere you’ve been before, chances are it’s because of good products or good food. But it might also have something to do with the experience, the way that place made you feel, and how much fun you may have had before. Not only is a quality product important to a brand, but also the space that product lives in. A well designed branded environment can have a significant impact on the performance of a company and ultimately its brand.

What is a Branded Environment?

A branded environment is a physical extension of a brand’s visual identity. It is the embodiment of a brand’s visual language, product or service and values within the space that the company operates from. Every time a visitor enters a retail store, restaurant, museum or corporate office they are entering a branded space. A brand’s environment should emphasize the qualities, messages and products that make it successful, by way of design elements such as typography, color and form.

What Identity Can Do

Let’s zoom out for a minute and talk about identity in general. A well designed brand identity can accomplish many important things for a company. Most importantly (and most obvious) is that it provides a clear, memorable identification for a company. Logo and visual elements give shape to the intangible qualities of a company. When you think of Nike you probably think of the swoosh; if you think about Target stores you probably think about the bright red bullseye and patterns in red and white. Identity helps a company build credibility and differentiate itself from the competition.

Internally it creates a focus for the company culture, something employees can adopt and rally around. It helps to unify an assortment of individual personalities, products and values. Externally it communicates the company’s message and enables the audience to for a personal relationship with that company.

Translating a Brand Into Space

Most companies offering a product or service have the opportunity to develop a branded environment. Restaurants, retail stores, banks, corporate headquarters or even theme parks all have brand identities and visual languages that can be translated into a physical space. The brand experience starts when the customer walks in the door (or sometimes even before that), and companies should strive to achieve total immersion in the brand’s culture.

Primarily, a brand’s identity exists within two dimensions — websites, marketing materials and even signs all reside on a relatively flat plane. Bringing a brand to life in a physical space is an entirely new challenge, however. As many have said before, this is where traditional graphic design, architecture and interior design converge. Designers benefit from spatial awareness skills to visualize how elements of an identity can take shape. It also requires a collaboration of many individuals to realize a brand in a physical space. Thoroughly evaluating brand elements can help designers prepare for the environmental design exploration. Here are some design elements to keep in mind when designing:

• Typography — consider the existing corporate typeface(s) in use and if they are appropriate for use in the branded environment. Things like signage, interior wayfinding (if present), exhibits or menus will need to be clearly visible and easily legible. If the existing corporate typefaces aren’t functional in those applications, it would be worth considering an alternative.
• Colors — if there is a corporate palette it’s a good idea to stick close to it. Otherwise, consider what colors could be used to convey the brand and its message. Understand the meanings of different colors and how they can be used to affect the way visitors feel and interact with the space.
• Materials — materials can also help support the character of a brand. Is it organic (wood), is it clean and corporate (synthetics/plastics) or raw, industrial and rugged (metals)? If the company supports sustainable business practices, it’d be wise to consider materials that are sustainable as well.
• Textures and patterns — textures and patterns of materials can also help tell the story. What textures should the walls be? What pattern or style of carpeting (or hardwood floors) would be appropriate? Pink shag carpet in a corporate bank headquarters might not be a good idea, but you never know.
• Lighting — the way a space is lit can have a significant effect on how the environment is perceived by the customer. If it’s too dark people won’t be able to see the menu or merchandise properly, and if it’s too bright things will get blown out and eyes will be strained. Unless it’s an attempt to be cool, customers shouldn’t have to wear sunglasses inside.
• Smell — it sounds odd, but scents can also be part of a brand experience. A pleasant smell (or lack of one altogether) will be more comfortable and memorable, while the smell of cleanser or rotten food will drive people away quickly.
• Tone — this is very important. The tone of an environment should jive with the tone of the brand it is supposed to support. A luxury hotel should have classy, high quality interiors, while a drive-in motel will likely feel cheap and dirty. How will the tone of a space make the visitor feel? A mismatch in tone of the environment versus tone of the brand will create an awkward tension.

Physical Elements for Consideration

Once design elements have been chosen, it’s time to start applying them to forms within the environment and designing the complete experience. How should visitors feel upon entering this environment? What will they see first, what will they interact with? If it’s a large environment, how will they find what they’re looking for? A well considered branded environment should address each aspect of a visitor’s experience.

Entrance or Gateway

The front door or gateway is often the first physical point of interaction a visitor will have with your brand. It should welcome them, make them feel comfortable and happy to be there. How will it visually greet the visitor?

(via Brand Flakes for Breakfast)

Things like window displays engage visitors on the outside and draw them to the entrance. Anthropologie stores for example have some of the most interesting and uniquely designed window displays I’ve seen. Their holiday displays are built out of plastic jugs, dixie cups and the plastic rings off of six-packs of cans. I find myself constantly dragging my wife inside to inspect how the displays are made!

Touchpoints & Collateral

Restaurants, hotels or corporate offices sometimes have business cards and other printed materials set out. It’s important to think about where these will be placed, how they will be arranged and what purpose they’ll serve to the overall experience a visitor will have in an environment. Determine the importance or hierarchy of these items — pieces like maps or catalogs should be clearly visible while corporate brochures and the like can be secondary.

Waiting Areas & Common Areas

At places like banks or hospitals, it’s important to have a comfortable waiting area for visitors that will be staying a while. The space should be designed to be comfortable and also provide reading materials, televisions or other things to entertain visitors while they wait. Children’s play areas keep little ones engaged and out of trouble. Common areas on the other hand should be designed in a way that encourages interaction and collaboration. These areas are meant for socializing, so they should be open spaces with comfortable accommodations. Many have public art pieces or water fixtures to promote relaxation.

Retail Fixtures

Retail fixtures can play a big part in helping to integrate merchandise into the environment. Plain industrial racks do their part in putting product on the floor, but well designed product displays that are purposefully arranged encourage exploration and increase the sale of merchandise.

(via PromoBricks.com)

LEGO stores are a great example of this. Products are displayed on shelves as usual, but interspersed on the shelves are product displays showing completed models or video displays. Giant models of animals or buildings dot the space, and the floor is arranged with bins of loose pieces children (or big kids) can build with. Usually one wall of a store is devoted to tubes or bins full of individual parts, referred to as Pick A Brick, where shoppers can stock up on unique parts.

Corridors & Hallways

Hallways can be much more than thoroughfares. Murals, wraps or other wall graphics can be used to make transitional corridors more interesting. Fixtures such as donor recognition displays are common in corporate offices or hospitals, while universities frequently have sports histories and award displays. Consider how to make a corridor a graphical transition from one department or office to the next.

Signage & Interior Wayfinding

Exterior signage is commonly a plain illuminated panel, but think about how it can be designed to integrate with the architecture of a building. Unique forms and materials can be used to make signage feel unique and integrated with the environment. If the space is large enough to need wayfinding elements (like a corporate headquarters), consider how the brand visuals and personality can help direct visitors. Colors and typefaces are important, but so are things like language and tone. Instructions and directions at someplace like Chase Bank would have very different language compared to the Walt Disney Company. Materials are also important. As mentioned before, a company with sustainable business practices should use materials that are sustainable as well.

Point of Sale/Transaction or Point of First Contact

Once a customer reaches the point of purchase, it’s important to keep them immersed in the brand when completing the sale. Checkout areas should be well designed, and many include displays of impulse items. How can these areas be designed to maximize the sale? Borders book stores have nicely designed checkout areas that also feature unique hard-to-find products behind the counter and lists of upcoming book/movie/music releases, encouraging customers to return when a certain product is released.

Office buildings, hotels and restaurants usually have a welcome desk or information counter of some sort. These can be designed to compliment the design of the environment, but also be well indicated and easy to find in a large space. They should be staffed by friendly, helpful people and provide access to important directory information.

Customer Service Representatives

The way employees interact with customers is a tremendously important aspect of the brand. Often overlooked, the dress and behavior of company representatives can be designed just as the rest of the space. If not in branded uniforms, employees should be dressed professionally but also in harmony with the personality of the brand. You wouldn’t walk into a Chili’s restaurant and be greeted by someone in a three piece suit. Even small details like name tags can be branded.

What employees say is also important. How a receptionist answers the phone or greets you at the door should compliment and communicate the personality of the brand.

It’s All in the Details

An environment can be branded right down to the details. The style of pictures on the wall, shape of the door handles and the look of the furniture should all fit within the design of an environment.

Lincoln Square in Bellevue, WA, has these great door handles that are a combination of an L and S. Even the little things matter when translating a brand into a space.

Opportunities Present in a Well Designed Environment

Putting the time and money into developing a well designed space can have great benefits to a company, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Repeat business — if a visitor enjoys the experience, they are more likely to return. Granted the quality of the product plays a very important part as well, but both the quality product and the well designed space reflect on the company. Indirectly, lots of repeat business usually means more cars in the car park, which can be comforting to a first-time visitor.
• Increased comfort and ease of the customer — a well designed space will be more comfortable and enjoyable for the visitor. If the visitor is more comfortable, they have a better chance of staying longer, spending more and returning again. A comfortable experience will be more memorable and familiar feeling for repeat customers.
• More time/money spent — an immersive environment will draw customers in and make them feel at home, leading to more time spent in a place and hopefully more money spent.
• Word of mouth referrals — if a visitor enjoys the experience of being in your environment, they are more likely to bring it up in casual conversation and tell their friends and family about it.
• Complete, connected experience — a well designed environment can bring the brand experience full circle. A visitor can connect a company’s logo and collateral to their website and now to the environment and experience, enabling them to form a personal relationship with your company based on the complete brand experience.
• Increased internal productivity — branded environments can also have a positive impact on the performance of a company’s workforce. Employees working in a well designed space will have higher comfort and satisfaction, leading to increased productivity. Employees that are surrounded by the brand daily will have a greater understanding of the company’s objectives and ideals.

Pitfalls of a Poorly Designed Environment

In contrast, an environment that either hasn’t been designed or has been design poorly has many drawbacks:

• Irrelevance — as mentioned before, the design of the environment needs to be in harmony with the rest of the brand. When it isn’t it creates confusion and awkward tension which can push visitors away.
• Durability — quality of materials used is huge. If things are falling apart or weathering poorly, it reflects negatively on your brand and communicates that you don’t care about your own image (and therefore don’t care about the customer).
• Functionality/usability — the design of a space also needs to be functional. If the doors don’t work or products can’t be found easily, visitors get frustrated and don’t return.
• Efficiency — this seems like a no-brainer, but visitors need to be able to find the entrance. If someone gets lost, or worse, sees other people standing around or wandering aimlessly, it doesn’t bode well for the experience. Again confusion creates frustration and unease.
• Word of mouth complains — the saying goes that if someone has a great experience they’ll tell one person, but if they have a bad one they’ll tell ten. Negative buzz can discourage visitors before they even walk in the door.
• Influence on visitors’ self-perception — the design of an environment can obviously have a psychological effect on visitors, even a negative one. A trashy, dirty place will make a visitor feel less about themselves and disappointed.

Examples of Well Designed Environments

Science Museum of London

(via Johnson banks)

When thinking about branded environments, the first application to come to mind isn’t usually a museum. Designed by Johnson banks, the Science Museum in London is a great example of an environment that fits not only the Museum’s brand but also the subject matter. The design of the vast open space encourages exploration of the four floors of state-of-the-art technology.

Jamba Juice

(via WD Partners)

Jamba Juice stores interiors, a collaboration between Hornall Anderson, WD Partners and GGLO Architects, feature bright happy colors and fun details that compliment the brand well. The clearly designed menus are easy to read and the layout of ordering and receiving areas are understandable.

The Sofia Hotel

(via The Sofia Hotel)

The Sofia is a classy little historic boutique hotel in San Diego. Exterior signage and interior environments, designed by Hollis Brand Culture, are clean and stylish but welcoming, speaking to the sophistication of the brand.

Sony Ericsson

(via Lorenc + Yoo)

For the brand launch of Sony Ericsson, Lorenc + Yoo Design put together this beautiful exhibit using colors, materials and styles reminiscent of the designer phones and devices. The bold design clearly communicates the company’s vision for the division.

Salt Lake City Public Library

(via Pentagram)

Designed by Pentagram, the brand identity for the Salt Lake City Public Library translates beautifully to the Library’s environment. The type applications and brushed steel signage carry the brand throughout the space.

Target

(via Current)

Target stores are a great example of how a well designed environment can help shape perception of a brand. Beginning in the early 00s, Target underwent a thorough realignment of their brand and emerged with a stylish, sophisticated new look that really emphasized great quality at a lower price. The retail environment was no exception — the stores were remodeled with stylish interiors and unique exterior architecture and signage, many incorporating sculpture-like elements. This shift targeted younger shoppers and positioned Target as a supplier of more upscale and designer merchandise compared to competitors Kmart and Walmart.

All projects copyright their respective design firms, companies or copyright holders.

While designing a branded environment presents many new challenges, investing in the translation can offer many benefits for a company and its brand. While things like quality products and solid customer service are certainly a primary concern for a company, realizing a brand within a physical space does much to enhance and complete the brand experience.