Good brands are conversation pieces. Any brand proposition needs articulation and tries to make its essence felt, heard and experienced. Any brand, whether it’s a product or service has a spatial presence.

Spaces are like brackets. They enclose happenings. In fact, they create opportunities for events to occur yet they don’t create experiences. Experiences are created by people. So does it mean, that if one introduces people inside a space it would be synonymous to experience creation? Answer is not an emphatic yes. Such experiences are random and not controlled. Brand experiences are controlled experiences and they occur inside spaces. Controlled experiences happen when the spaces are designed for people or created by the very people who are going to experience the space.

By the people & for the people

A key question that should touch an experience designer’s mind is who are these people?  The word, people is like looking at a beam of white light. A beam of white light when passed through a glass prism splits to reveal a range of its constituent colours. People ecology is somewhat similar and it is important to identify all the key people who are going to be influenced or will influence the brand experience. Any product or service will be associated with multiple stake holders. It is crucial to identify them right in the beginning. Most brands are driven by brand custodians, who are brand managers or many a times owners of a enterprise. In most scenarios brand custodians start becoming the voice of the people. And that in most cases represents a diluted version of the needs and understanding of the people, who are the actual users of the space. Let us take example of a retail space as a brand experience zone. The list of people experiencing some part of the retail space is not limited to the set of usually identified customers but also the sales personnel, the maintenance crew, the product managers, the owners, the supply logistics people and so on. It is the combined interpretation of all the stake   holders’ needs that will lead to creation of a seamless and effective brand experience. It is this definition of people which creates the foundation on which experiences can be created.

People are emotional beings and react to their surroundings. They harbour desires and disappointments. Strong desires are usually accompanied by determination to achieve. Many times when the desires are unmet, disorientation sets in leading to disappointing experiences. While working on Bajaj Probiking retail, the research team quickly understood that the hi-end performance bike customer was a different breed. This customer is a bike enthusiast, a serious biker and not a point A to point B commuter. The Probiking store is a cluster of touch points where a serious biker understands the technical nuances of the bikes, takes a performance ride without stepping out on the road and even selects his own bike accessories. The sales person is a bike dude and quickly bonds with the customer. Understanding all stakeholders’ latent needs and desires and articulating them into experiences is the first footstep, critical to the creation of any experience.

Tracking the user journey

Visit to a store or for that matter any branded space is a 4D experience. A person passing through a space experiences multiple touch points through a varied passage of time. By mapping a potential set of user’s journey in a space, common touch points can be identified. Each touch point can be used to dispense a controlled dosage of functional and emotional needs of the user with reference to the brand, its persona and values. At the new Suzlon campus, the horizontal monotony of the architectural lines and flows is broken by using iconic visual nomenclature for spaces. The core brand thought of sustainability is broken down into iconic building nomenclature like Sun, Aqua, Tree, Sky and the campus itself is called One Earth. The theme played as visual elements reinforcing the core message on to visitors. The basement, which is the entry point for the employees has been transformed into an energetic Terminus. This works as energiser to employees entering or leaving their work spaces. Subtly engraved quotes in the centre court create curiosity and propel minds towards open learning. These design interventions at various touch points create residual memory points, just like post cards from a vacation.

Tell a good story

To catch people’s attention you need a good story and it needs to be told in the most compelling way. Narrative strategies reinforce the impact of spaces. A good story creates a modern day temple where symbolic narration in spaces has the potential of inducing a sacred experience.
A holiday store that constantly reminds the customer of the weekend holiday ambience and fun, the eye wear store Titan Eye + which tells a customer of its expertise at lens making while you open the door or the ICICI bank centre which makes you proud of your local state heritage are all narrative experiences. As humans we love to listen to stories. Coca Cola museum in Atlanta showcases giant cans which tell great stories of passion for buying coke since WWII. These remain as memorable stories in the visitors mind and are told, retold several times over. The power of brand can come alive through stories. The stories need not be restricted to just the brand. There can be stories on people, technology, business and the space itself. Placing the right story at the right touch point can have just the right effect on the people within a space. Duration of the story is directly proportional to the length of the time a visitor may want to spend in the space. What stories will you place in your store? Which story should engage people while the salesperson packs your box or prepares the invoice? A relationship is created when a retail space ceases to be a shop and becomes a place where passion is shared. Stories have the power to engage and that is exactly what you want your space to do. Tell a great story.

Media equals all senses

Play of light, shadow, smell, textures has a profound effect on our perception. Suddenly from a one-dimensional experience space becomes multi dimensional. Emotional depth rises into a multi sensorial experience orchestrating in symphony. At the pharma packing Research Company, Bilcare, emotive graphics on the exterior becomes a play of interesting shadow forms. Think while you walk! Feel while you walk! Strong coffee and cookie aroma as you enter the Zest holiday store drives the desire to purchase. There definitely is a link between Gastronomy and Buy-ology. While designing the LG innovation Centre, Anant, it was important to cause a mindset change with employees coming for a think tank session. Any team member carrying a mind load of his shop floor and other day to day issues to the thinking room would turn counterproductive. The design team played with light, visuals and sound to create a dark entrance foyer. The 13 second walk through this foyer places the visitor into a contrasting ambience filled with calming imagery and sounds. The medium of the foyer here acts as a filter and by the time visitors immerge into the innovation centre, they are calm, curious and cleansed of any pre thoughts. Being in two situations, charges up the air. Media needs to be seen as a tool to drive various senses, create effects and situations.

Total Experience

Experiences could be stable or could be spontaneous. More spontaneous the experience, more they are exciting to the people immersed in the experience. Constantly shifting conditions create opportunities for new experiences to occur. A night market or Sunday bazaar are great examples. A busy thoroughfare during day. A memorable, exciting market with eateries, curious wares and performers at night.  Great spatial experiences are created when all people connected with the space choose to enjoy and stay immersed in the environment. People can see, feel, smell and share the experience. They have chosen to be there and are therefore highly receptive to it. This is certainly different than staring at a poster or watching a remote commercial in your living room. Brand and the product become part of the experience process. It’s this process which involves people, tells great stories that people want to hear, at the right space, in the right amount, using the right media and at the right time, is what creates great brand experiences.      

This article was published in Jan-Feb 2010 issue of VMRD Magazine.