A small stop motion film (below) and a downloadable pdf (127 pgs, 18mb) summarise the use of film & photography in documenting design contexts.

As the first pilot in India, Quicksand was brought on board to design the space, individual technology modules and integrate all system components. Technology interactions within the Red Lounge comprised of:

• interactive packaging (a special ink printed on the PET bottle label has a video code embedded in it – when swiped against a code reader it triggers the video on an adjoining display screen)
• mobile content download (a content portal from which users can download content locally through their bluetooth enabled mobile devices)
• Coke connect (a closed user group chatting interface which allows for users to chat with each other anonymously through their mobile phones – users SMS to a display screen which relays their messages real time)

Quicksand partnered with Nest and a Finnish startup to develop some of these interfaces. The Red Lounge was piloted in the city of Pune and later scaled to Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi.

Quicksand partnered the advertising agency Leo Burnett in developing a concept presentation to Reliance for the new retail identity. Published below is a walk-through of the proposed design. In-store observations of consumer walk-ins, customer service and back-office operations guided much of the design process.

Quicksand was mandated with conceptualizing and proposing a new restaurant experience that combined the strong equity of Nirula’s, Coca-Cola’s best practices from around the world and the changing face of food & beverage retail in India.

Breaking down the restaurant experience into a series of micro-experiences, Quicksand did a conceptual re-modelling of an existing space to demonstrate how the new retail identity & restaurant experience could play out. The concept was also a pointer at a new brand personality for Nirula’s and sought to make an impact at all customer touch-points beyond just the restaurant space. It became relevant in light of the brand getting acquired by a new management and hence was in need of being re-visioned.

Coca-Cola acquired the Nirula’s account in early 2007 and is now their preferred beverage partner.

The kiosks were built to be modular, adaptable to different foot-prints and optimising on space available for serving vis-a-vis stocked merchandise. Several installations of the kiosks now dot airports across India.

Click on image to download case study (1.3 mb, 10 pages)

The project was part of studio’s early foray into retail spaces and provided important understanding of vendor networks, material and process limitations of the flourishing retail VM industry.

The lounge would be located within prime retail estate and cater to a diverse range of beauty treatments – including nail bars, salons, spa treatments and relaxation massages. The final concept presented to the client is published below.

Reebok commissioned Quicksand to conceptualize and design an inspirational space in their flagship RBK Arena store. The brief required the space to accommodate Reebok’s line of fitness equipment, a biometric analysis space, a timeline of Reebok’s brand history focusing on their athletes, and a shoe customization space that would let customers create and order their own designs for shoes.

In line with the nature of the space requirements, Quicksand proposed a space concept that weaved in all the requirements into an aesthetic that mutates ideas of the future and those of creation. Quicksand also undertook the design of the software and interaction of the RBK KREATE system – in partnership with CoDesign – a studio space that customers can use to create, store, browse and order designs for shoes.

The software design effort included understanding the back end supply chain for the delivery of the shoes right up to the customer’s doorstep. The interaction design also included the preparation of a film that acts as an introduction and screen saver. Images from the store concept, and from the software are provided below. Also preview an in-store film Quicksand made for the brand.

Here’s a flash demo of the interactive software made for the store.

RBK MERCHANDISE

Quicksand was commissioned by Reebok to design merchandise for their 50 Cent shoe line, inspired by hip-hop culture, Manhattan and the 50 Cent artist imagery. The proposed design includes the use of innovative materials such as used music vinyls for surfaces and a modular system in moulded acrylic.

Quicksand designed a table top swim wear merchandise system for Reebok, taking a cue from the aesthetics of water and the lightness of the swimsuits.

Quicksand designed an exhibition space for the Reebok retailers meet that included a chronicle of Reebok’s brand history, highlighted new footwear technologies and displayed various new garments for that season.