Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
’Creative design construes retail space’
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Incorporating technology, interactivity and design to modern retail space is crucial to its power of attraction, according to an Italian design expert.
Alfio Pozzoni, a special projects consultant of Fabrica, was in Seoul last week to impart this message at a seminar hosted by the Seoul Design Foundation Thursday and Friday.
Fabrica is a communication research center founded in 1994 by Italian fashion brand Benetton. The name Fabrica comes from Latin word meaning "factory."
"When people want to know exactly what Fabrica is, I always say that it is not a university, an agency nor a school. I think Fabrica is an incubator of activity, free from rules,” Pozzoni, said.
Pozzoni is currently leading the Benetton Live Windows project, a research endeavor combining technology, interactivity and design in the context of the retail experience.
After working as a fashion photographer in the 1970s and '80s he then directed many events and projects with popular brands such as Louis Vuitton, Philip Morris and Prada. He joined Fabrica in 2006 and oversaw exhibitions such as "les yeux ouverts" and "Opening Soon."
Fabrica assists young designers under 25 years old for a year and the designers are integrated into many undertakings at the center. "If a student has a project idea and we think it is valuable, it is possible to develop the project with Fabrica. So this is an important possibility for young designers," he said.
Live Windows Project
Benetton Live Windows Project is not just to display goods, but to infuse art and creativity in the goal to lure customers to a modern retail space, Pozzoni said.
Live Windows are currently installed at several flagship stores of the brand in Milan, Munich, Barcelona, Shanghai and elsewhere. The entire network is connected and managed by Fabrica.
"Live Windows is a way to display and interact with people on the street. It is a new language and we have to understand the reaction of the people and provoke the reaction,” Pozzoni said. “People can throw flowers or see their face appear on the screens installed at display windows.”
The seminar drew about 400 people over two days from students to teachers and professionals in the field of design, covering topics such as the evolution of communication, experience design and the Live Windows Project.
Lee Jun-hyeong, a display designer at a local department store, said the Live Windows Project was quite interesting for him. "The display window is the most important thing in the department store presentation strategy and the Live Windows Project approached the window with a new angle," he said. "It successfully drew people's attention with state-of-the-art technologies."
However, he is concerned about effectiveness of the project in a commercial aspect. "The store wants the shop window to be linked to sales directly, but the Live Windows Project obviously is not," he said. "I am curious about the future of the Live Windows Project and I will try to break conventional window displays while striking a balance between innovative design and earning sales at my job."
Students also enjoyed the seminar which introduced Fabrica and its enterprise. Kim A-ra, a 20-year-old visual design student, said she first learned about Fabrica at this seminar.
"It was fun to actually be a part of the Live Windows when they demonstrated it," she said. "I want to send my portfolio to Fabrica someday."
The management at Fabrica plan to hold a joint seminar with the Seoul Design Foundation next year, and Pozzoni hinted at a possible assignment in collaboration with Seoul and its designers.
It is his third time to visit Korea after two in the early and late 1990s.
"I think the big sports games such as Olympics and World Cup changed Seoul in the aspect of design," he said.
Though he didn't have much time to tour the city yet, he praised the concept of Dongdaemun Design Plaza.
"What I like is that this block will be a center of culture. It is an attempt to develop culture and attract new energy. I think Koreans are lucky that governments and institutions are interested in and invest in design."
Social interaction through design
He also put emphasis on social interaction.
"For instance, we create special contents for special occasions such as festivals. We work with local art schools and students and give them a space to display their work," he said.
Though there is no Live Windows in Seoul now, Pozzoni suggested "connection" as a possible theme for one in Seoul.
"We considered which topics could present the city and have to research intensively first," he said. "We usually create links with other cities. In Seoul, we could provide videos showing what's going on in Milan and Paris and show Seoul to the other side of the globe. It's the network."
Pozzoni said evolution is important in the Live Windows concept. “Because it is a system to let people make community," he added. "The task is not to promote the brand, but the perception of the brand.”