The Chicago office of RTKL has provided branding and interior design services for the new retail environment. The 3,700 square feet store is the first of its kind for Just Born and is designed to be an example of the latest trend in brand-focused retailing. Just Born is a US-based family-owned company that makes the popular Easter candy and Marshmallow Peeps.
From collaborating in the naming of the store to working with Just Born to develop the store’s commercial positioning, RTKL created a branded retail environment similar to a story book where the product is the star and the brands are the main characters. Lori Mukoyama, RTKL principal and lead designer for the project says, “The design showcases the personality of each brand within the built environment.”
The store’s focal point is a giant iconic Peep flanked by a Mike And Ike bulk candy wall and an interactive Hot Tamales “How Hot Are You” thermometer. Illuminated by thousands of multi-chromatic LED’s, the glowing Peep—and the overall environment—changes color and mood to reflect the different seasons and highlight the assorted brands. Music, background tones and video clips are composed for each brand, creating a choreographed poly-phonic narrative.
RTKL’s Environments Studio, which is based in the firm’s Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, offices, consolidates the firm’s traditional offerings of interior design and graphic design but adds a strategic component that responds to the market’s growing attraction to brand-focused and experienced-based environments. RTKL’s Special Systems Design Group also contributed to the project, providing expertise in experiential media design, lighting and technology.
