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eeven visit the studio, they need to book a
timeslot. Once they’re at the venue, they have
to change their clothes, apply make-up and
wait for their photo to be taken. After all
that, they wait for their pictures to be devel-
oped. There are so many steps and it can all
be quite confusing. We turned the process
into a brand experience, guiding customers
clearly through each step. Another issue
is that there is often a long waiting period
between each stage. We designed multiple
small areas in which to linger and kill time.
Our goal was to directly enhance the overall
experience by focusing on good circulation.
That way, people wouldn’t interfere with
one another.
What is China’s biggest commercial chal-
lenge right now? DD: The same challenge
faced by the wider world: how to merge
online and offline. Here we call the phenom-
enon xīn líng shòu, or ‘new retail’. Take our
design of Heyshop in Shanghai, a physical
space for the e-commerce platform. The
client was more concerned with creating a
memorable experience for customers than
with earning money in-store. If clients enjoy
their visit, they’ll order online later.
Fitting rooms are often the last ele-
ment to be incorporated into a retail scheme
but, since we feel they play a huge role in
creating a great customer experience, they
were our starting point and our focus for
Heyshop. Two of the fitting rooms are huge,
large enough for a group of friends to book
for an afternoon of socializing and trying on
garments. Brands can also rent a fitting room
for a product launch.
Heyshop is a data-driven store. The
company monitors how well certain products,
brands or categories are performing – and
edits the selection accordingly. Our flexible
display system makes such changes possible.
In general, we want retail customers
to forge a strong mental link between online
and offline. To put this idea into practice in
Heyshop, we focused not only on bringing
Heyshop app users into the physical store,
but also on encouraging in-store shoppers
to visit the app. We therefore employed a
number of internet-related elements – web-
specific icons as wall graphics, for example- to remind customers that Heyshop is more
than a store; it’s an e-community.
Where do you want to take Daylab in the
future? YL: We haven’t really thought about
it – we’re more focused on the present. The
three of us are still quite young. While we’re
currently focusing on commercial projects, I
can see us eventually broadening our scope to
other areas – education, perhaps. For now, we
just want to continue making good design. ●
daylab.cn‘Economic
factors often
trump the
consideration
of how
commercial
environments
actually affect
the users’
Outdoor furniture and an open façade
draw in passers-by.INTRODUCING 61