EXPERIENCE LIVE

Retail Theatre ... literally

2011-06-24T16:51:00.000+10:00

In an appropriate response to the rising retail trend, Urban Outfitters has taken a more literal approach to the concept of retail theatre and customer experience. Refurbishing an unused theatre in Stockholm, the apparel store left the original facade largely untouched. The result is a truly experiential journey, from entry to exit.

Sliding House

2011-06-17T16:40:00.000+10:00

e2 Creative Day

2011-06-10T16:46:00.004+10:00

For our quarterly creative day, the team split into four groups and decided on an activity of their choice for the afternoon. Some went to the Bondi Winter Festival; others sketched along their walk to Manly. The only group who came back with photos were those who visited Cockatoo Island... We suspect the others lost theirs at the pub.

Best Retail Design in the Asia Pacific

2011-06-03T15:51:00.001+10:00

In Shanghai this week, our design of the OPSM Eye Hub received the award for Best Retail Design in Asia Pacific at the Asia Pacific Property Awards.

As the highest scoring design in the retail category, Eye Hub will now take the international stage, representing Asia Pacific at the International Property Awards in London this December. We will compete against winners from Europe, Africa, the Americas and Arabia, for the title of World’s Best in Retail Design.

Chris Beer, CEO of Luxottica APAC and China, announced: “When you take a truly exceptional concept like OPSM Eye Hub - with the focus of providing an equally unique and engaging customer experience, the design of the store is paramount. e2 understood what we wanted to achieve – an in store journey that touched each of the five senses. Through this collaboration, together we have delivered an unparalleled customer experience for the optometry sector.”

The Asia Pacific Property Awards are part of the International Property Awards and known to be the world’s most prestigious property competition. A record number of 21 different countries took part in the Asia Pacific Awards this year.

We are proud to be named Australia’s leading retail designer and humbled by the inclusion of our design amongst the world’s best.

For recent more news, please visit our website: www.e-2.com.au

BRW Fast Starters 2011

2011-06-01T10:02:00.000+10:00

After three and a half years of upward growth, we are proud to be included for a second time on BRW's 2011 Top 100 Fast Starters list. The list recognises Australia’s top start-up companies and is determined by businesses who have made an impact in their particular industry.

Ranked 50, above last year's position at 68, we look forward to what the next year brings in growth and development.

Sestosenso for BMW

2011-05-27T16:48:00.000+10:00

In Milan this year, visitors to an installation by London designer Paul Cocksedge at the Milan showroom of lighting brand Flos could view an animation of a BMW 6 Series car only by putting their heads inside a plastic lamp shade.

Called Sestosenso, the installation featured conical lamp shades suspended in a white-walled room. Through the shades visitors can view a movie of the new BMW 6 Series projected on the wall that is invisible to others in the room.

Food Shopping Destinations

2011-05-20T17:06:00.002+10:00

In recent research on the grocery store experience, we have found a few global best practice examples of food retailers doing it right. Wholefoods is amongst the top three. By revolutionising the way customers browse, try and buy, they have transformed their stores into destinations and created an appeal that draws not only a local crowd, but those who come to area specifically to visit a Wholefoods store.

The enormous 6,000 sqm space is one you might come to do your weekly food shop, but it is just as easily a great place to pop in for a quick meal, a beer or a glass of wine:

Heightened Street Theatre

2011-05-13T16:45:00.003+10:00

Target’s Kaleidoscope Fashion Spectacular, run on the side of The Standard in New York in 2010, has won Gold at The One Show 2011. The light and fashion extravaganza, featuring 66 dancers, was played out in the windows of 156 rooms with 44,640 LED bulbs, and original music from Sam Spiegel. On the street below models wore new autumn fashion from Target outfitters including Mossimo, Merona, Converse and Liz Lange.

The World Park

2011-05-06T16:39:00.000+10:00

The World Park was created by Michael Ferrare, Founder of Agency Magma — a next generation advertising and creative content agency that helps brands explore new and innovative marketing approaches. Magma specialises in integrated media campaigns.

The participate in this event, all you need is a web-enabled smartphone and a Parkode™ or Qr-Code reader. On the day of, you receive a map which helps guide you along an interactive tour of New York's Central Park.

Using the QR-Reader application, you can scan our location-based game codes called Parkodes™ — small digital trees. Each Parkode™ reveals a question relating to its exact location.

Answers come along with entertaining content and information you perhaps never knew about Central Park. Every map has a personal scorecard which you can use to compete with your friends across categories such as: Science & Geology, Pop Culture, Art & Music and History.

Barneys Retail Theatre

2011-04-29T16:24:00.004+10:00

Barney’s New York launched their latest fashion range (and accompanying window displays) with an interesting piece of ‘performance art’ by fashion icon Daphne Guinesse. At 5pm local time, one of the Barneys windows turned into a changing room in which Daphne Guinesse changed into one of her outfits before leaving for the prestigious Metropoliton Museum’s Costume Gala event.

The performance was filmed and streamed live. It’s a great piece of retail theatre with an engaging back story - one of the most effective ways to launch a new line:

The e2 Amazing Race

2011-04-22T16:04:00.000+10:00

For our quarterly creative day in March, our internals teams staged their own version of "The Amazing Race". Armed with a camera and designated colour, each team was released from the Paddington office with four hours to complete a checklist of findings across the eastern suburbs.

The objective? Quality, not quantity. The more unusual a team's photographs, the more points they would be awarded. There were no restrictions to any one area. Let the team with the best photos win...

With the highest number of creative, bizarre, embarrassing and sometimes dangerous photos, our interiors department team came out on top.

As a result, we now have 197 team photos we will never be able to show anyone. Here are a selected few ...

The Future of Advertisements

2011-04-15T16:12:00.000+10:00

With an audience increasingly disengaged by the usual bombardment of advertising and promotions, a few forward-thinking brands are developing ways to entertain, as well as inform. From the use of projection mapping to living billboards and 3D print methods, we applaud those brands who employ innovation, rather than scale or quantity, to attract our attention.

Cargo Container Housing

2011-04-08T16:06:00.000+10:00

Cargo container house plans have come a long way since people first started thinking of ways to to make these industrial boxes work as habitable spaces. While they have always be eco-friendly insofar as they recycle used shipping containers, they have evolved not only along stylistic but also sustainable directions.

Illusive Environments

2011-03-31T15:54:00.000+11:00

For the Fall 2010 Collection, Diesel wanted to create a dynamic and architectural model entrance utilizing metallic and reflective surfaces that would appear to emerge from the vast white-washed cinderblock venue wall.

A Museum for the Old and New

2011-03-18T17:05:00.005+11:00

We have been following the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, Tasmania since its opening in January this year. Designed and funded by David Walsh, MONA exhibits his own favourites from around the world and visitors can enter free of charge.

There are no labels on any of the artworks, instead visitors are given a touch screen MP3 player which can detect where it is in the building and tells you what artworks are nearby; you can read or listen to information about them.

The pieces are laid out in a way that feels uncoordinated; ancient Egyptian mummies are displayed alongside modern multimedia works. This is to show the art works as art, not as a chronological collection of a history of art.

Suspendable Sculpture

2011-03-11T15:00:00.012+11:00

Janet Echelman’s 230-foot-long aerial sculpture “1.26” suspends from the roof of the 7-story Denver Art Museum above downtown street traffic to commemorate the inaugural Biennial of the Americas:

Echelman drew inspiration from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s announcement that the February 2010 Chile earthquake shortened the length of the earth’s day by 1.26 microseconds by slightly redistributing the earth’s mass.

Because this monumental sculpture is made entirely of soft materials, it is animated by the wind. Its fluidly moving form contrasts with the rigid surfaces of the surrounding urban architecture. At night, colored lighting transforms the work into a floating, luminous form while darkness conceals the support cables.

‘The Business and Design Mind’

2011-03-04T17:19:00.010+11:00

The design and business mind share more in common than many would believe. The perception of the business mind as financially-driven, pragmatic and clinical is founded on our collective experience. From this position, there is little that the design and business minds share in common. However, on deeper investigation there are some key similarities. In these instances it would wise for both business and design minds to apply learnings from each other. This interactive presentation will examine the skills that designers exhibit, namely the ability to simultaneously think on multiple levels in devising a plethora of solutions and in the process determining the best solution from those proposed. During this session, David will lead attendees through a practical exercise which demonstrates the marked differences between these two minds and how both can benefit from understanding each other.

David Grant E2 strategist presents ‘The Business and Design Mind’ at the Brain Art Exhibition, on March 9, 2011 (Free Entry).

12:30 – 2:00
Global Gallery
5 Comber Street
Paddington 2021
Australia

Tickets are $85, but free entry is available as a special offer to e2 blog readers. Get in touch with david@e-2.com.au if you are interested!

American Design Heroes

2011-02-25T11:09:00.007+11:00

Form and function. Vision and pragmatism. Agitators and conformists. Wednesday, March 3rd at the American Club Sydney, Alex Ritchie and furniture expert, Alan Boyd, will discuss the impact of three iconic American design heroes: Harley Earl and Charles and Ray Eames.

Click here for tickets.

Projected Experience

2011-02-22T11:00:00.000+11:00

Mr. Beam transforms an entirely white room using 3D mapping, two projectors and a garish colour scheme. Patterns aside, the blank canvas and infinite variety of interior designs present intriguing possibilities within the concept of a completely transient experience:

Living Room from Mr.Beam on Vimeo.

Alex Ritchie in Australian Creative Power 20 Issue

2011-02-18T10:53:00.004+11:00

Our Creative Director, Alex Ritchie, has been included in the latest issue of Australian Creative, covering today's leading creatives, who are earning the respect of clients and peers alike:

Alongside top advertising execs and renowned photographers, Alex is noted for his talent, vision and "ability to process large amounts of information in a short timeframe and produce ideas that are both original and functional".

Read the full article and others on our Press page.

New York, New York Comes to Melbourne

2011-02-04T16:03:00.004+11:00

This Wednesday, February 2nd, we hosted the second installment of our New York Experience talk in Melbourne. More than 35 of our clients and friends gathered to hear Creative Director, Alex Ritchie, recount our recent visit to the Big Apple:

New York, New York

2011-01-24T13:03:00.011+11:00

Late last year, we visited New York City for a client audit and discovered some inspirational environments and innovative designs which we find particularly relevant to what we do here at e2.

To showcase our findings, we hosted an event for clients and friends, complete with a hot dog van and American beer:

Architects of Air

2011-01-17T10:33:00.010+11:00

The team visited Mirazozo by Architects of Air at the Opera House this past Friday. A giant inflatable sculpture of light and colour, the exhibit is handmade and inspired by religious structures such as Islamic mosques and Gothic cathedrals.

We thoroughly enjoyed this unique multi-sensory art experience, so much so that our Insights Director, Ben, was compelled to write a thought piece on the work. Read his article on our website:

The Noun Project

2011-01-05T17:39:00.008+11:00

The Noun Project’s mission is to share, celebrate, and enhance the world’s visual language. Their goal is to collect and organize all the symbols that form our language into one easy-to-use online library that can be accessed by anyone.

A visual language that can be understood by all cultures and people is an idea we find fascinating and highly useful. More examples below:

B&T Awards Night 2010

2010-12-14T15:20:00.004+11:00

A few images from the B&T Awards at Randwick Racecourse on December 3rd:

B&T Experiential Agency and Specialist Agency of the Year 2010 Winners

2010-12-06T11:41:00.022+11:00

We are pleased to announce that this past Friday we received two B&T awards for ‘Experiential Agency of the Year’ and ‘Specialist Agency of the Year’ 2010.

The judges for Experiential Agency credited us with “out-of-the-box thinking”, saying we “have taken the category to a new level”: “They have a sense of genius about them and the way they talk about the space with such clarity and confidence, gives you a real sense that they are a true experiential agency”. At e2, we believe that a holistic approach is the best way to create a truly memorable experience, and we are glad that industry experts agree.

The award for ‘Specialist Agency’ is given to a business which exceeds expectations in a particular field. The judges in this category described our work as “world class” and noted our global resonance in support of their decision. Our unique approach makes us specialists in what we do, and we are honoured to receive the award after only three years in the industry.

A BIG thank you to all of our clients, friends and family, without whom we would not have achieved these!

The Death of Harold

2010-12-03T16:16:00.005+11:00

We are very sad to report the sudden death of our office gnome.... At two months old, he had accomplished much more than most his age, from completing a degree with Billy Blue to leading our nighttime security team. He will be missed.

Urfun Lab Installation

2010-11-26T18:02:00.004+11:00

An installation by India based architects and designers Urfun Lab Surat transforms an eyesore into vivid public art using storm water pipes. We love the simplicity of the idea and its effective result:

Australian Creative: The Annual

2010-11-23T15:17:00.005+11:00

The Australian Creative Annual Issue has included e2 in their feature of "The Year's Best Work". Members of the e2 team were named for the design of OPSM's Eye Hub in Hawthorn, VIC and for the VB Pop-Up Pub experiential campaign. Visit the Press page on our website for the full article:

Toypography

2010-11-18T16:46:00.003+11:00

We are fascinated by Dainippon Type Organization's hand-made wood blocks. The organization breaks Japanese Katakana, Hiragana and the alphabet into pieces to recompose the parts and produce new characters - they even create images of the terms they spell:

A Return to Traditional

2010-11-11T20:52:00.003+11:00

The New York Times has highlighted a trend in retail towards to smaller stores, in response to the economic crisis. We find the result to be a refreshingly traditional experience, in which shopfronts welcome the surrounding community with a more engaging style:

Dispatchwork

2010-11-05T17:05:00.009+11:00

This work was done in Bocchignano, Italy, as part of the group project "20 Eventi". We love the unexpected yet seamless integration of materials:

InFrame TV: Alex Ritchie

2010-10-29T18:39:00.003+11:00

Our Creative Director, Alex Ritchie, was recently interviewed by InFrame TV for our 'Reinvention of Punt Rd' Master-Class at State of Design in Melbourne, July 2010. Alex speaks about the idea, the success, and the legacy we hope to build on at next year's event:

Punt Rd Project - State of Design from Compulsive on Vimeo.

The Fincube: Experiential Accommodation

2010-10-29T18:31:00.003+11:00

How could a temporary and simple accommodation, coping with the demands of a mobile society and its nomadic lifestyle, look like?   This was the question Werner Aisslinger, the famous designer, tried to answer in 2002 by inventing the Loftcube, a solid and mobile living unit guaranteeing high quality of accommodation. Following the designer's vision, the Fincube-Team developed a genuine and sustainable living unit in harmony with the rural landscape.

Snarkitecture

2010-10-29T18:23:00.003+11:00

Brooklyn-based office snarkitecture has designed a pop-up store in collaboration with American fashion designer Richard Chai in New York City. Contained by a simple black box, the interior features a topographical wall treatment constructed out of white foam that transforms the temporary space into an urban glacial cavern.

Underwater Experience

2010-10-29T15:51:00.002+11:00

British artist, Jason de Caires Taylor, created these 400 sculptures from casts of real people and placed them on the ocean floor outside of Mexico's Isla Mujeres National Marine Park. La Evolución Silenciosa (The Silent Evolution) aims to encourage coral growth in the waters close to Cancun. The result is a thoroughly engaging - and sustainable - underwater experience.

An Effective Illusion

2010-10-21T18:17:00.000+11:00

This espresso bar to be located near Grand Central Station in New York was designed by New York studio Nemaworkshop to resemble a library turned on its side. Called D’espresso, the interior has been rotated 90 degrees so that one wall features herringbone-pattern wooden flooring while the opposite wall will have pendent lights protruding horizontally. The result is both original and convincing.

Interactive Wayfinding

2010-10-21T18:07:00.000+11:00

An Informationboard designed and produced by Ritator in cooperation with ABB and Thinlight for Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design.Electric light cables where lowered into engraved lines and letters. The text was made by sewing the light cable through the board. Press a button and a shining cable shows the way in a truly innovative wayfinding experience.

Best Practice in Pop-Up Design

2010-10-16T13:54:00.000+11:00

Summer is almost here and the events season will soon be in full swing. With this in mind, we have been collecting inspiration from global best practice in pop-up design. Visit our website for images of the Pop-Up Pub we designed for VB last summer!

Silver Medalists

2010-10-16T12:59:00.001+11:00

Our Client Manager, Georgia, was a proud sister this week. She watched her brother and his team win a silver medal for Australia in Rugby Sevens at the Commonwealth Games. Congratulations team!

Tiny Art

2010-10-09T12:46:00.000+11:00

This reminds us of the cork chair competition we held in-house. The intricacy achieved is incredible.

Third Birthday for e2

2010-10-02T13:05:00.000+10:00

Today is e2's third birthday. Three offices and over 300 projects in just 3 years - we'd say that's reason to celebrate!

Unique Interior Design by Suppose

2010-09-25T11:33:00.000+10:00

The materials are paper tubes, which are also employed to wind the clothing pieces on display. These are placed in random layers to generate different types of forms, creating shapes of arches.

90's Party

2010-09-18T11:35:00.000+10:00

One of our Interior Designers threw a 90's theme party for her birthday last weekend. The Graphics department helped out with the invitation while the rest of us took it as an excuse to blast Ace of Base, The Backstreet Boys, Aqua and TLC.

Fusing Environments

2010-09-18T11:21:00.000+10:00

The Selgas Cano Office in Madrid fuses indoor and outdoor environments in this inspiring space. The design was created by and for the architects themselves.

Seamless Design for a Medical Clinic

2010-09-11T11:10:00.000+10:00

Created by mabarchitects, this space exemplifies a crisp, clean environment that sets the standard for the future of medical clinics. We love the circular theme throughout.

Australia’s Greenest Building

2010-09-04T11:00:00.000+10:00

Melbourne’s Pixel Building is the country’s first carbon neutral office building. Grocon’s Pixel Building has been awarded a perfect score of 100 by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) in this brilliant combination of Graphics, Architecture and Sustainability.

The Retail Doctor

2010-08-27T10:26:00.000+10:00

This Tuesday, August 31st at The Team Room QVB, e2's Managing Director, Robbie Robertson, will discuss the importance of the in store experience and how it motivates customers to connect with your retail offer.

The Retail Doctor Group is a specialist retail company that builds 'business fitness' to increase sales, productivity, profitability and wealth. Expanding on the creative process for recent projects, such as the OPSM Eye Hub in Melbourne, Robbie will demonstrate how strategy-based design can deliver real returns on your business objectives.

Join us at The Retail Doctor event, "Customer Connectivity 2010 and Beyond", to learn how businesses can connect with the modern consumer and keep them loyal to brand now and in the future.

Leaders in Experience

2010-08-19T18:38:00.000+10:00

When it comes to design, Tokyo is an inspiration and indication of what the future will hold for consumer experience. From individual interiors like the Bapexclusive store in Aoyama to placemaking exteriors like Roppongi Hills, the creativity and calculated innovation that governs this cityscape are unparalleled.

Living hoarding just behind Buckingham Palace... the possibilities are endless!

2010-08-05T11:15:00.000+10:00

E2 and Place Associates Reinvent Punt Road

2010-07-29T16:23:00.000+10:00

Held as part of the annual State of Design festival, the Reinvention of Punt Road workshop brought together prominent players who define the urban design direction of Melbourne.

In the four-hour session, six separate groups tackled specific sections of the notorious eye-saw. The resulting design directions were as varied as the experience of the participants. Naturally, some groups proposed a cut-and-cover approach to concealment. While others confidently re-diverted traffic creating human-scale develop. All of the six groups created thought-provoking suggestions to improve the visual aesthetic and design function of this much maligned stretch of road. With government and development stakeholders present it is hoped that the workshop will led to a deliberate and planned approached to reinvigorate Punt Road.

We might even see a Punt Paradise in the near future – watch this space!

Tis not the season

2010-07-15T17:44:00.001+10:00

For those of you that attended our christmas in July party last Thursday (8th July) thanks for making it such a great evening. There were a few sore heads the next day but everybody seemed to enjoy themselves (some a little too much!) and it was all worth while.

It was a huge success, and due to the combined efforts of the entire team, the studio looked great decked out with our typographic christmas light installation and even a snow machine, the neighbours looked slightly confused especially when santa arrived!

For those of you that couldn't make it this selection of images gives a small snap shot of the evening.

Australian Creative Article: Emotional intelligence

2010-05-19T10:29:00.000+10:00

There are some people you meet in life who may amuse, entertain, even keep you on your toes, but there are few that truly delight, both intellectually and creatively.

Robbie Robertson, managing director of experiential design consultancy E2, is one of them. We all know them. They have that extra something that makes us sit up and take notice, manage to keep our (otherwise waning) attention and make us miss them when they are gone.

Fortunately, you don’t just have to take my word for it. The long list of brands that have come to E2 in the last two years of the company’s short existence is testimony to its ability to not just offer, but to deliver something rather different.

E2 has completed over 178 projects in the last two years and is currently working on another 40, for brands both here and abroad, including Qantas, Commonwealth Bank, St George, Sony, Kodak, Westfield, Herman Miller, Virgin Mobile and News Ltd.

It is not hard to see how clients are engaged by E2. Reeling clients in with a fancy sales pitch is the easy part: retaining them and nurturing them so that they become a part of the fabric of the place itself and wouldn’t even consider going anywhere else is another question. This is where E2 excels.

Read further... http://www.australiancreative.com.au/yaf-news/emotional-intelligence

Arnold Schwartzman visits E2

2010-03-09T09:06:00.000+11:00

Last week saw Academy Award winning filmmaker, noted graphic designer and general legend Arnold Schwartzman visit the E2 studio as part of the AGDA open studio events.

It was a great evening and we watched in awe as Arnold gave a presentation of his incredible career, spanning his early days as an illustrator for the Sunday Times to his mentorship and later directorship for Saul Bass & Associates. He talked about highlights such as becoming the director of design for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and directing the feature documentary 'Genocide' which garnered him an Oscar in 1982.

Since reverting to his own design consultancy, his commissions include a number of commemorative posters, book covers for Len Daighton's war stories, print collateral and cinema trailers for the Annual Academy Awards.

As if all that wasn't enough he is also the author/photographer of a score of books, the recipient of numerous film and design awards including three D&AD Silver awards, elected to Alliance Graphique Internationale 1974, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002.

We were all amazed by the cultural icons he has worked with and helped to create in a career that really has defined Arnold as one of the great designers of our time.

Thanks Arnold.

Experience What?

2010-02-10T18:31:00.000+11:00

Amongst the gamut of creative, digital, media and integrated marketing agencies, E2 can confidently own the sensory engagement approach. And as more and more communications with consumers are all about changing human behaviour, and building brand preference, it is likely that this sensory approach to communications will become more prevalent in the future.

With this perspective in mind, E2 have come up with a series of talks which do exactly that, they talk about how we can develop in depth conversations with consumers, across a multitude of experiences by engaging the 5 senses.

Experience Corner will be running as part of State of Design Festival in Melbourne (14-25th July) and Sydney Design Week (31st July - 15th August). These talks come of the back of E2 winning B&T Experiential Agency of the year. The talks will challenge opinions and current customs about, mainly experiential design. By bringing the design and communications worlds together we think we could be defining a new category.

I can't reveal the speakers just yet, but they are all authorities on how experiences can change how we respond to brands, be it design, digital, retail, sensory, etc, you get the picture?

Watch this space over the forthcoming weeks for further info.

E2, fusing brands with neurons since 2008.

Christmas Bogan Mexican

2009-12-22T17:56:00.000+11:00

After the accolade of winning B&T Experiential Agency of the year, E2's christmas party this year was full of bogan cheer. The whole team gathered together at Bronte, where tequila and mexican hats were the order of the day. As resident photographer of E2, I managed to capture some of the more spontaneous moments of the day, using 35 mm b&w film.

Enjoy the highlights and have a festive new year.

E2 Team

Pop Culture

2009-11-20T16:43:00.000+11:00

It seems that 'pop-up' spaces are increasingly - well - popping up everywhere. Whether it be a retail store, bar or restaurant, creating a temporary space is fast becoming the best way to get people through the door and increase brand awareness.

The latest of these pop-up venues to hit Sydney is The Pond, a three month bar and restaurant nestled in a heritage cottage space in Burton Street's new bar triangle, between Pocket bar and the equally European feeling Dr. Pong. Having been starved of small, interesting independent bars for so long - and with a jealous eye on rival city Melbourne's thriving bar culture - it comes as no surprise to find that Sydneysiders are flocking to the latest venue openings in their droves.

The Pond is also a clever piece of experiential marketing created by Pure Blonde, building around their campaign, 'A place much more pure than yours'. We love the interactive website, which fuses venue information with campaign elements such as the TV advert.

http://www.findthepond.com.au

This week's post was brought to you by Joel Todd

Blowup

2009-11-10T18:11:00.000+11:00

If ever you've wanted to learn about how to make a building from air and plastic, E2's creative director, Alex Ritchie, will be talking about the sensibilities of transient structures in a public talk at Corporate Culture in a couple of weeks time.

Alex will draw on a gamut of inspirational inflatable spaces and express his views on the renaissance of impermanent structures in recent years. In what promises to be an informative and entertaining evening, the discussion will then move to cover the place of inflatable architecture in the commercial design world and lessons that can be applied to the design of exhibition, event and built environments. We promise you this talk wont be full of hot air!!

Inflatable Architecture

Corporate Culture

21-23 Levey Street,

Chippendale

Thursday 3rd December 6.30pm

RSVP Hettie Dearn

hettie@e-2.com.au

Touch the screen and see what happens

2009-10-09T10:48:00.000+11:00

When you look at the history of touchscreen technology, you will learn that the technology emerged from academic and corporate research labs in the second half of the 1960's. The technology has made significant advances over the last few years and has become ubiquitous with pda's, particularly the Ipod Touch and Iphone. This also means consumers are confident to use this technology across consumer electronics devices.

E2 have recently used touchscreen technology as part of a Virgin Mobile Australia, 50 store roll out. Consumers are given the opportunity to compare and contrast various handsets, features and tariffs from one touchscreen.

There are a few benefits why this technology benefits consumers. More information on screen, minimises paper wastage, easily updatable product content from a central source also ensures product information is fully up to date, without wasting time with design and print costs. Having this interaction with the customer in store also improves the efficiencies of the business to suggest through the touchscreen either alternative products (upsell) or complimentary products (cross sell), offering the customer a better purchasing experience and the business a healthy increase in customer spend.

This interactive technology is the first of it's kind in Australia's retail landscape and will no doubt become an integral hygiene factor to enhance the retail user experience of the future.

E2 TURNS 2!

2009-09-14T16:35:00.000+10:00

Next month E2 celebrate two years in the industry, and what a fitting way to mark the occasion but by moving into their refreshing new offices in Paddington.

This experiential agency has architects, interior designers, strategists, graphic designers and producers working together through the entire planning process, through to execution.

This breadth of talent has allowed them to successfully deliver experiential solutions across a gamut of brands, including Qantas, Commonwealth Bank, Apple, Sony, Kodak, Westfield, Herman Miller, Crestell and the list goes on.

Project after project, E2’s grounded philosophy which is about creating experiences as the powerful driver of human behaviour has ensured the success rate across retail, experience centres, exhibitions and events. For Qantas it’s about investing as much of their $10 million budget into the user end experience, so that employees can touch, see, hear and smell the brand’s customer service excellence. For Westfield, it’s about understanding the psychological mind states of the consumer when they shop and delivering a highly intuitive in-store experience in a relevant and memorable way. For Herman Miller, it’s about creating an immersive experience that merges design with innovation to celebrate this timeless brand.

But E2 is so much more than just the ROI on your bottom dollar. It is the passionate and enthusiastic people at E2, all bound by a common purpose to drive innovation and exploration, which sets this agency apart from any other of its type in Australia.

A miniature design adventure

2009-07-27T13:54:00.000+10:00

The E2 team got creative over the weekend, and all took up the challenge of turning a champagne cork into a classic or contemporary miniature chair. The impetus for this splurge of creativity is part of a competition organised by furniture design studio, Living Edge, as part of Saturday in Design, an annual trade event for the design community, now in it's 6th year.

The judges will be looking for wit, originality and craftmanship to be in for a chance to win an iconic Eames Lounge and Ottoman. Pop along to Living Edge (74 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills) at 3pm on Saturday 1st August, to view the assortment of entries for this miniature design haven.

http://www.saturdayindesign.com.au/about-the-event

Sparkling M towers over Melbourne

2009-07-24T10:46:00.000+10:00

The city of Melbourne may have paid "$A240,000 for a fat blocky M" however this flat block represents the culture in this cosmopolitan city. The national leader in architecture is represented through the geometric forms. The graphic segmentation represents the topography of this city from it's eclectic café and fashion cultures to the wine country. The reflective vortexes graphically sparkle like gems, signifying this forward thinking city.

Inspirational Spaces

2009-07-23T10:13:00.000+10:00

Last Monday, E2 gathered at Customs House in eager anticipation to listen to Alex Ritchie (E2) and John Bilmon (PTW) share their inspiration around what constitutes an inspirational space as part of AGDA's latest series of public talks. Both, impressive in their delivery, talked about the relationship between nature and architecture. This symbiotic relationship shed some light on just some of the places that Alex sources inspiration from when starting a new project. What I found most interesting from this talk is how nature informs engineering in so many ways. For example, who would have thought that the structure of the Millennium Dome was inspired by a Jelly Fish. In fact, when you look at many of the most impressive buildings in the world, much of the inspiration comes from the natural engineering that lives in our lands and deep in our oceans. Take for example Buckminster Fuller's futurist visions of cityscapes, where he addresses the importance of sustainable growth, taking its learnings and borrowing from some of natures core values, e.g. camouflage, adaptation, growth, interrelations and change.

John Bilmon's astounding and comprehensive description of The Water Cube - the Aquatic Centre for 2008 Olympics in Beijing, further compounded the importance nature plays in the role of engineering. Through an extensive series of design concepts, John explained how the planning team at PTW Architects had gone through a gruelling audit to identify how best to emulate the natural formations of bubbles as part of the Cube's structure. The team also ensured that the building naturally related to the adjacent Olympic building to strengthen the relationship between the gender roles each building had with each other, the yin to the yan. It was impressive to learn how nature had all the answers to some of their biggest engineering challenges and in fact the final structure was informed by Chinese culture, history and geographical location.

Although it may be an unfamiliar term to most people, biomimicry, or looking to nature for design inspiration, is not a new approach to solving design challenges. In fact, its guiding principles have served to inspire architectural works, breakthroughs, and consumer products for centuries.

Tangible vs Intangible

2009-07-17T12:06:00.000+10:00

The realm of brand experience is broadening all the time, and as media further fragments, so will the definitions that define a particular channel. So for example, outdoor and ambient media is case and point where the line between these two channels blur. The same can be said about brand experience; it is no longer just applicable to outdoor events, exhibitions or promotional sampling opportunities of a brand. The term is so much wider than that, the user experience through a website; the 5 second decision at the supermarket shelf; a recommendation from a friend for a new flavoured chewing gum, and the list goes on. So you could argue that any engagement a consumer has with a brand, is a brand experience.

In this post I'm interested in exploring the experience a consumer has with a brand in the physical space. There are two components that make up this form of brand engagement, broken into tangibles and intangibles. The tangibles comprise the spatial design; the materials used to form the physical construction. For example the structure, flooring, lighting, finish and so forth. The intangibles are driven by human factors and are about how a consumer engages with those aspects of a brand you can't touch, but you can feel and leave a lasting memorable impression. These comprise of service, process, delivery, education, tone and behavior. If you can get these aspects right you are likely to get your consumer recommending the experience to friends. We call this the design of the experience, critical to the holistic brand experience.

A great example of a project which successfully merges the tangibles with the intangibles is the newly constructed Qantas Centre for Service Excellence in Sydney. The project undertaken by E2 and MPA Construction Group is the first of it's kind in Australia. E2 Creative Director, Alex Ritchie has worked on some of the worlds most notable design experiences, including the Millennium Dome, Guinness Storehouse and Disneyland in Paris.

A 5000M2 space, with a 20 meter wide piazza in the centre. This is the heart or hub of the centre, where staff and attendees can socialise, eat and network. As you move into the peripherals of the hub, different zones address Qantas' different training needs, including simulated cabin crew pods, workstations, image and presentation areas. Critical to the Qantas brand, customer service is an omnipresent intangible factor to the Qantas experience. 'Every moment counts' is the creative concept behind this project, which is brought to life successfully by creating brand drama as attendees walk through this pioneering space.

In effect, this project sets the benchmark of what a total brand experience should embody by cleverly ensuring Qantas brand attributes are ubiquitously imbued into every part of the experience.