Tiny letters

'My' department stores by FITCH for Tesco

Tesco Prague
February 26, 2009

Today,‘My’ department stores welcomes first customers in the Czech Republic.

Tesco launched an exciting new department store brand called My, developed in conjunction with leading retail design consultants FITCH. The opening of the first My department store in Liberec, near Prague, will be the first in a series of stores under the new concept with plans to upgrade other sites over the next few years, including Prague and Bratislava, which will become flagship stores for the new brand later this year.

“Our new stores will offer customers what they have told us they want: A wider assortment of local and international brands; a world-class shopping environment and great customer service,” says Marcus Chipchase, Managing Director of Department Stores for Tesco.

FITCH was appointed in May 2008 to create the new department store concept with Tesco, developing all elements of the brand experience, including brand strategy, name, identity, and environments.

My’s core brand idea is “Accessible Aspiration”,Simon Threadkell, Creative Director at FITCH said “Tesco has always been at the forefront of large-format retail design, and this project brings together a number of key themes we’re seeing emerging about the way we interact with retail brands into one successful department store format.”

Change will predominantly concern rebuilding of interiors that will be tailored to satisfy the latest trends of comfortable shopping. A single check-out system enabling to pay for any goods at any check-out within the department store shall contribute to customer comfort. Customer will get a clearly organized choice and free movement throughout the sales floor from counter to counter without having to walk from store to store.

The new My stores will bring to customers in the Czech Republic a range of inspiring, fashionable and affordable products which includes classic and trend-setting clothing; a wide selection of beauty brands; children’s zone incorporating fashion and toys; electronics and home products. A new format food hall will be introduced and remain under the Tesco banner.

Customers will be able to enjoy a fresh and contemporary ‘one stop’ shopping experience that utilizes opinion and lifestyle suggestions throughout the design approach to both the brand and environment. My stores have been designed with clearly defined zones that target different customer profiles. “Trend” zones have been created for the more fashion-forward consumer, while “Classic” areas appeal to the more traditional shopper. FITCH’s design balances multi-branded concept shops with space dedicated to individual brands.

At My department stores, many international brands will be on offer to the Czech market for the first time. These include fashion brands Cortefiel and Trucco from Spain and French Connection, Simon Carter, Full Circle and Sonneti from UK. New Lingerie brands include Maidenform from USA and Women’secret from Spain. Existing brands include Cherokee, F&F, Steilmann, Wrangler and Lee, among others. The beauty offer will be considerable: My Liberec will include premium brands such as Chanel, Clinique, Estée Lauder and Lancome along with mid-market names such as L’Oréal, Rimmel and Bourjois.

Press release via FITCH

New Diesel store in NYC

New Diesel store in NYC, originally uploaded by KenjiSummers.

The new Diesel store on 54th and 5th ave. A creative store front greets you before entering the new Manhattan shop. A taste of things to come in retail.....

via The Future is Bright

BAMAKO - 7th African Photography Meeting at Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona

Maazouz Azamourm, Camel Boy.

BARCELONA.- The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona presents the exhibition Bamako – 7th African Photography Meeting, curated by Pep Subirós, from 24 February to 1 June 2009. As in previous years, Bamako has two main objectives. The first is to present an overview of contemporary African photography, a particularly outstanding art on the creative scene of that continent, which, despite its geographical proximity, is only now beginning to receive the attention its cultural and artistic vitality deserves. The second is to showcase the importance of the Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie, a biennial event which, after seven outings, is now consolidated as one of Africa’s biggest artistic meeting points. With these objectives as its base, and thanks to an agreement with the organizing bodies of the Rencontres in Bamako, the show at the CCCB presents the pick of the 2007 event: some 200 photographies and a selection of original videos, and printed and film documentation. With the title “In the City and Beyond”, most of the seventh Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie de Bamako centres on the theme of the urban phenomenon. The urban phenomenon rather than the city because, over and beyond the usual reductive views that see cities as material, functional structures and devices, they are, in reality, fundamentally networks of relations between individuals and social groups. In addition to its specific theme, represented in particular by a selection of some 150 photographs from the “International Exhibition”, this latest review of the Rencontres at the CCCB includes the “Tribute” to a foremost African photographer, the late Serge Jongué (Guyana, 1951-2006); a “Monograph” given over entirely to Samuel Fosso, one of the great contemporary creators who are taking photography to the forefront of the visual arts; and, finally, a selection of the original videos submitted in the section “New Images”. via Artdaily

Dior Blow Monobloc

Le modèle Blow sera disponible en édition limitée de 500 exemplaires à partir d’avril 2009.

Dior Blow

Après une présence remarquée lors du défilé Dior Homme, voici cette série printemps-été de lunettes de soleil. Le modèle Blow monobloc en couleurs tranchantes, est disponible en édition limitée de 500 exemplaires à partir d’avril 2009.

En vente dans les points de vente Dior.

via fubiz

The Future of Adverising, APA, 17/02/09

The Future of Advertising, APA, 17/02/09

View more presentations from John v Willshire. (tags: communities social)

Mobile Youth

1 Billion

View more presentations from Graham Brown. (tags: media social)

NORTH Office by Skylab Architecture & M House by architecturew

2 good projects over on Coolboom

NORTH is a team of designers, writers, creative directors, film and music makers that asked Skylab Architecture to help them to create a space that is not an office.

The design responds to alternative social interactions that inspire creative work. Workstations are replaced with modular structures, furniture and equipment defined around activity.

Pine paneling, raw steel and a carpet tile mural on the floor are the predominant interior features. Like an expedition that collects equipment that can handle the unknown challenge, the eclectic materiality of the movable office is selected for the ability to tackle different solutions to the design problem.

Responding to limited street access and a cliffside site, architecturew designed the residence making the most of its unique site.

The house has a top floor living area, cantilevered over the entry. The north and south facade is enclosed by sliding glass walls that allow the space to open to the sun, breezes and distant views afforded by the site.

Via Archdaily, Coolboom, Contemporist

Priestmangoode Design New First Class Suite for SWISS

Priestman Goode has designed the new first class suite for airline Swiss.

The suite will enter service in April as part of the airline's new first class cabin.

This is in conjunction with a fleet renewal programme that will see Swiss' Airbus A330-200s replaced with A330-300s.

Priestman Goode has previously worked on the interiors of Lufthansa's intercontinental fleet and the Airbus A350 cabin design.

Goode says the consultancy worked with Swiss on the design concept, and then worked closely with the super first class division of US manufacturer BE Aerospace to develop the suites.

He says, 'BE has a seat mechanism that has been certified and passenger tested, and everything else in the suite is bespoke. We worked closely with BE, at this level you have to be very precise.






images via Dexigner

Kill it, cook it, eat it: restaurant trend

Photo by photo: Jena Cumbo

Marlow and Sons is and all in one restaurant in Williamsburgh and the latest venture from the owners of Diner. It is a Café by day that doubles up as a raw bar and restaurant by night. If you come across an ingredient you really love, up front is a quasi-organic gourmet general store, stocked by a retail savant. The chef butchers its own meat at the butcher shop Marlow and Daughters and you can buy grass-feed beef, pork, rabbit and homemade pâté.


via Grub Street

Designer Breakfast: The virtual agency, the cataclysmic shake-up, and the artists’ attic …

Come and hear design industry legend Michael Peters tell us why small is the new big.

From the Michael Peters Group of old to today’s Michael Peters and Partners (via Identica), his extraordinary story has taken him from the biggest consultancy in the world to a home studio of just one – plus assistants. And clients love him for it.

Today Michael Peters runs a virtual agency, adding creative partners as required according to a new business model he describes as the ‘artists’ attic’. Why? Because he believes a cataclysmic shake-up is forcing the design industry to reinvent itself.

“Clients,” he says, “are sick and tired of the bullshit in our business. They want to connect around ‘the kitchen table’. They want the killer idea, not the Mayfair address. And I want creative people to be recognised as crucial cogs in the wheel of commerce. It has to be a partnership, not a client-servant relationship.”

Come and hear Michael Peters describe his model for increased creativity, improved contact with the people who matter, and – above all – better reward. “In February I’ll be unveiling a landmark initiative that will revolutionise the way we do business – a whole new approach to remuneration for our industry.”

Like to be there when Michael spills the beans? This essential event is for anyone who wants to understand where we are, how we got here, and where we’re going.

“It’s time to cut our business in half. When times get tough, the greatest thinking gets produced.” You heard it here first.

Exhibition Room, St Bride Library,

Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8EE

Thursday 19 February / 8am breakfast / 8.30 event / 9.30 close

Designer Breakfast

Mc Village

Without a golden arch in sight, the McVillage play area designed by UXUS teaches kids (and their parents) to enjoy and experience the magic in food. And yes it's part of a McDonald's restaurant.

By Jeanne Tan

Do you eat to live or live to eat...?

Over the years, McDonald's has slowly been changing its image both with their food and their interiors. Words like 'organic' and 'healthy' have crept into the menu and some of their restaurant interiors have had makeovers courtesy of some pretty well known designers like Claesson Koivisto Rune in McDonald's Stockholm for example.

Over to The Netherlands, McDonald’s commissioned Amsterdam-based creative agency UXUS to create an inspiring children’s activity area for kids under the age of seven, bringing the theme of “What I eat, what I do” to life. The concept is to embody an inspiring, playful, educational and entertaining area within McDonald’s restaurants in Europe, no bigger than 20sqm in space. This initial 'guinea pig' playground is located in Bodegraven in The Netherlands.

We speak with Oliver Michell from UXUS to find out more behind the project and what makes kids smile.

What was your inspiration?
The design is based on a magical world of Victorian tin toys, blown up in size like a Alice in Wonderland experience.

What were some of the unique ways that the design has catered for children?
It has interactive features - both analog and digital - which engage children and help educate them about food.

What were some of the challenges with the project?
The main criteria for the material selection was durability. Kids really can beat up a space and the materials need to be able to take a beating and still look great over time.

Any funny stories?
The prototype was tested with kids and their parents in the Netherlands, and neither wanted to leave the play area after the test was conducted - they were enjoying it too much!

Did YOU have a lot of fun working on this project?
Yes, it's always a pleasure to go back to being a child and imagining what would make you smile. This kind of project transforms work into play, and allows you to flex your imagination muscles.

What do you want kids and their parents to take away from your design?
We want kids and their parents to share a fun and meaningful experience together, to explore why food is an essential and fun part of their lives, and how they can learn to enjoy it more. In other words, we want them to feel that food is magical, and that it is more than what it appears.

Do you think there's a conflict between the high design of McVillage and the fact that the style will probably be attractive to the type of parent who may not be so keen on taking their kids to McDonalds? You wouldn't normally connect this interior with a McDonalds.
I think the whole point of the project is to show a different perspective on food and our choices as a consumer. For instance, McDonald's is taking steps to introduce more organic and free range ingredients in its meals, such as eggs and milk, so the whole brand's attitude towards food is shifting to follow what its customers are looking for. The McVillage is a reflection of that change of perspective, where food has more meaning than just convenience and empty satisfaction. Here food and healthy alternatives are celebrated and given the spotlight, to enchant and inspire kids to try a carrot or to get them excited about how milk is not just from a carton. Ultimately, that's something all parents will be interested in, and will appeal to all kids because of the highly imaginative and stimulating design environment.

Photography: Dim Balsem

via design.nl

Pixel Hotel Linz: Opening Party: 13.02.2009

Pixelhotel is a Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture project.

Pixelhotel invites its guests to spend their stay in Linz residing in not-your-everyday accommodations—in a Pixelhotel providing a very unconventional sort of lodging. The individual rooms and suites are dispersed throughout the entire city. Here, a room’s situated in an old storefront; there, it’s in a former workshop set on a backstreet courtyard or on a ship. All over town, there are interesting but unused premises that are being converted into hotel rooms in conjunction with this urban development and architectural project. They’re in nice residential areas, downtown, industrial zones and working-class neighborhoods—after all, every part of town has its stories to tell and the Pixelhotel lets guests experience them right up close.

A Pixel is the smallest unit of the hotel. For breakfast, though, guests have to leave the premises and make their way to one of the cafés located nearby. Same goes for lunch and dinner: you’re called upon to take city map and transit system pass in hand and discover the culinary pleasures the city has to offer. Thus, the restaurants of Linz serve as the hotel’s dining room, and neighborhood pubs with their local color more than make up for the absence of a lobby bar.

Pixel in court
Marienstr. 10a

The Pixel im Hof is located in the heart of downtown Linz. It’s very close to museums art-house cinemas , bars and restaurants. You’re just a short walk from Linz’s Main Square (Hauptplatz) and the adjacent Alter Markt and Landstraße, one of Austria's liveliest shopping streets. And yet, right around the corner in a narrow little lane named Marienstraße, you’d never guess you were surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a big, modern city. An old-fashioned notions dealer sells buttons, ribbons and elastic waistbands; the African shop across the way purveys exotic culinary specialties. Hidden amongst the storefronts is the narrow passageway leading to the Pixel im Hof.

What long ago was a cabinetmaker’s workshop that has since been occupied by a wide array of tenants (including a mender of pots & pans) is now a spacious, 90-m² hotel room. Many of its features seem to have been here for an eternity: the industrial-strength freight elevator that’s been converted into a walk-in closet, or the ‘60s-vintage camping trailer that now serves as a sort of adjunct living room. A hand-operated color organ has been installed on one of the space’s walls to evoke the photo studio that once occupied these premises. This Pixel features a small bath-oasis that exudes a wonderfully cozy warmth.

King-size bed (it is possible to give a supplementary bed for 1 or 2 persons), lot, bathroom with WC, minibar, SAT-TV, free WLAN internet, hair-dryer, safe, smoker

Pixel with garden
Wimhölzlstraße 25

The Pixel im Garten is located right in the heart of Linz’s Franckviertel neighborhood. Here, a former working-class flat and a storefront have been merged to form a spacious hotel room. The retail space has been converted into a living room featuring a garden designed to provide privacy from inquisitive glances through the shop window. The authentic working-class architectural style has been preserved. The attached apartment is now the bedroom and bathroom, in which a sound & image installation by Janina Wegscheider and Martin Lasinger tells of how things used to be here in the days when the flat had no bath and the residents had to go to a nearby bathhouse to wash.

Wimhölzlstraße, the square on which Pixel mit Garten is located, is a popular meeting place for the inhabitants of Franckviertel. This was the site of a chicory coffee roasting plant and a horse hair spinning mill, and the quarter long considered Linz’s quintessential working-class neighborhood. The local borough hall is also on Wimhölzelplatz. The square’s park benches are quite inviting; in summer, locals like to sit in the patio garden of Gasthaus Union, a pub that’s been quenching locals’ thirst since the beginnings of this part of town.

King-size bed, 2 bicycles, bathtube, WC, minibar, SAT-TV, free WLAN internet, hair-dryer, 2 canvas chairs, safe, non-smoker

Pixel in the textilpassage
Graben 3

Graben 3, located in the centre of Linz’s inner city, houses our "Pixel in der Textilpassage" and the gallery that keeps the Pixel supplied with artworks from its collection. Walk down the passageway past the gallery on your left and you reach a small, rather idyllic inner courtyard. You are now in front of the "Pixel in der Textilpassage", which is remarkable in architectural terms above all for the playful use it makes of the vertical dimension.

Living, sleeping and, last but not least, playing are assigned four different levels. The room is dominated by a floating island offering storage space, seating furniture and a bed for the night. The island also gives you access to adjoining Nimmerland (Neverland), a small room so low it’s almost impossible for fully grown people to stand upright in it. This room was specially conceived for children and/or the eternal child in us. Furnished with pillows and a games console, it serves as a den to withdraw to from the hubbub in the city.

“Pixel in der Textilpassage” is located in the heart of the oldest part of Linz. Newly renovated Pfarrplatz is only a stone’s throw away and has a number of attractive restaurants with outdoor seating; there is always something on by way of cultural events. Hauptplatz, the old city, and Donaupark with the Lentos Kunstmuseum and Brucknerhaus are only a few minutes away.

King-size bed (it is possible to give a supplementary bed for 1 or 2 persons), bathroom with WC, minibar, SAT-TV, free WLAN internet, hair-dryer, safe nintendo entertainment system NES

Pixel in the gallery
Hirschgasse 17

Located near Landestheater is the art gallery Simone Feichtner specialized in young contemporary art. In 2009 the gallery contains pixelhotel based on the design of Thomas Feichtner, who created a very special bed for this pixel.

kingsize bed, bathroom with shower and WC, hairdryer, Minibar, TV, WLAN internet access, no smoking

Book directly by phone or e-mail, or through Tiscover.at
phone +43(0)650 743 79 53
office@pixelhotel.at
www.Tiscover.at/pixelhotel

Pixel Hotel