Retail business Up in Smoke – selling American Candy and Vape Supplies – tasked us with creating an energetic store which would draw in customers on a Birkenhead high street. From developing their image to shop-fitting their premises we worked from a completely blank canvas.
We needed to create an over-arching brand – separating the two sides of the business but keeping them visually similar.
Rather than develop a logo we created a mascot – a cartoon dragon which is posed differently every time we use it. Sitting or flying, smiling or scowling, the dragon constantly changes on signage, flyers and video. This gives a strong corporate identity whilst ensuring the visuals always look fresh.
Before and after...
The premises had been empty for a while and needed considerable work to create a modern and inviting retail space. A deep clean and several licks of paint were required before we could start upgrading the shop and creating a bold new identity.
We kept the slat walls – which are perfect for constantly changing stock – and used vibrant vinyls to hide the antwacky laminate. Two colour schemes work really well together – half of the shop is deep purple fading to pink, the other half deep orange fading to yellow. The dragon mascot changes colour to match his surroundings – with the purple American Candy version licking his lips and his orange Vape counterpart blowing smoke. This creates two distinct zones whilst maintaining a solid and consistent corporate identity.
Neutral white glass display counters bridge the two zones to pull everything together. And a huge TV dominates the wall facing the door.
The telly shows a half-hour video on continuous loop, showcasing products whilst the dragon watches on. This offers opportunities to up-sell to customers and more importantly to keep them on the premises – the dragon is fully animated – tempting customers to hang around for a few minutes to see what he does next. Here’s a quick clip:
The shop frontage makes good use of the space available with a substantial 5.5metre x 1.5metre sign.
Two of the three windows are fitted with 2metre x 1metre contravision prints which make a big visual impact outside whilst having minimal effect on visibility inside.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkNo