2011 PAVE Student Design Competition

During the PAVE gala at the Retail Design Collective in December, the organization handed out awards in its 2011 PAVE Student Design Competition.

In the store design category, students were challenged to design a 1000-square-foot environment for Sephora that extrapolated the language and client experience of a typical store, but in a more temporary, concentrated brand experience, according to PAVE guidelines.

University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) student Liz Baverman took home first place in the store design category for her Sephora outdoor concept that’s designed to travel to college campuses across the U.S.

Among the design elements, technology plays an important role, says Baverman. “Since space limitations were a factor, it was important to incorporate technology only in ways that were useful and informative to the user,” she says. For example, the touchscreen Beauty Wall – where users could interact with peers by viewing each other’s glamour shots – helped spread product awareness while also inspiring the user to create her own unique, bold look.

“It needed to be both useful and informative,” she says. For example, 3-D face-scan technology recommends products based on a facial feature analysis. Customers also have the option of ordering product via mobile shopping devices or picking up items from an on-site truck.

Tapping into the trend of social activism, she also partners the retailer with Girls For a Change, a national organization that empowers young women. A touchscreen info bar near the entrance of the pop-up informs customers about the organization and its mission statement.

“As a designer, it was important to make decisions not based simply on aesthetics, but also on the way in which the physical space could become an authentic reflection of the Sephora identity,” she says. “Creating a seamless brand experience makes the user’s journey through the pop-up memorable and, in turn, brings the user into the physical stores to buy product.”

Baverman says she was inspired by a recent trip to Paris in creating her design. “Retail is such an important part of Paris’ culture,” she says. “The mobile market systems incorporated into the neighborhoods served as a big source of inspiration.”

Browse through these images of Baverman’s winning renderings.

For more on the 2011 Student Design Competition Winners, click here.
http://www.paveinfo.org/competition/comp_2011winners.cfm

Renderings and photography courtesy of Liz Baverman, Cincinnati