ABOUT

I worked on this project from January 2017 to October 2017, leading the design process from concept generation to finish completion. The shop was open on the 24th October 2017, in the Westgate shopping centre in Oxford, England.

I always like to start the process sketching my ideas on paper. First, I wanted to create a really striking and memorable window design. The shop is located in the Westgate shopping centre, and Blackwell’s is the only place selling books, so I thought about making this the main feature: BOOKS. I integrated the Blackwell’s branding to create the ‘B’ and all the rest of the characters had their own functionality: display books, let people in, seating space...

I also wanted to create a focal point in the shop, to make it memorable and to attract customers to come into the shop. It was necessary to create a calm and relaxing space to sit down and enjoy a book, taking a break from the noise, the lights, and the stress that normally comes with a shopping centre.

I was inspired by nature, by books and by reading. This is a reference to one of the most famous anecdotes in the history of science. Isaac Newton sitting under a tree when an apple falls on his head and inspires him for the understanding of gravitational force.

The Children’s area needed to be extra special. This space is designed to inspire and encourage children to discover the magic of reading. I created a little world only for them, with green flooring representing the grass, stepping stones, and blue bookcases representing the sky. The curve in the bookcase helps to find the age groups: starting from 0-2 years, going up to teenagers. The design itself indicates the sections.

I supported all the process with images, 3D renders and finally technical drawings. It was really very important to maintaining very close cooperation and communication with architects, booksellers and other contractors. I supervised all the shop fitting to make sure everything was being executed as per my designs. I was very pleased to see all slowly coming to life and all the concept starting to be real.

The shop was opened on the 24th of October of 2017.