“The role of contemporary commercial design is to link instinct, art and commerce and it’s important that we as designers understand the innate techniques gleaned from years of first-hand contact with customers, while satisfying the objectives of those clients who have taken this so far that they have turned their business into a science.

We all share a strong user-need perspective derived by experiences and skills within the business that include past retail careers at quite senior levels. We understand the need better than most as well as the cost concerns and I believe that this forms a unique foundation of the formadesign approach.

When retail design was in its infancy in the sixties and seventies, it was generally art based and less concerned with function. Today we combine all concerns and aim to tick all boxes whilst still trying to provide some part, or parts, that result in the retail experience being positively memorable. To us, this is the Holy Grail, the retail ‘sticky point’. Your staff will hopefully provide it through great customer service. We will assist in trying to provide it through the physical space and the detail within it.

formadesign is nearly five years old and I am very proud of the team of people both past and present who daily meet the challenge from our clients to invent new environments which are both efficient (in terms of space, flexibility and cost) and effective (to communicate brand values and encourage consumer activity), in order to meet ever tougher consumer demands...Read more>>