Spatial Design ll / Project 1

Spatial Design ll / Task 1

Starting from 12.2024

4.2025 -8.2025 / Week 1 - Week 14

Ge Xianjing / 0377636

Spatial Design ll / Interactive Space Design

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Week1

Personal Reflection (Expanded Version)

After today’s class, I gained a deeper understanding of my own learning path.
At first, I thought choosing Smart Home Design would be a more practical option, since this field is rapidly growing in China and seems to offer better job prospects. However, one thing the instructor emphasized truly resonated with me:
"Those who go far are the ones who combine passion with professionalism."

Reflecting on my past learning experiences, I realized that whenever I was genuinely passionate about something, I learned faster and felt more fulfilled. In contrast, when I pursued something just for its practicality, it was hard to stay motivated — especially when challenges arose.

Even though my programming skills are still developing, I am deeply passionate about designing spaces that tell stories and create emotional connections. Compared to cold automation, I want to craft environments that touch people, that create memorable experiences.
This realization strengthened my decision to choose Smart Environment Design.

I know this path won’t be easy.
It requires me to continuously refine my artistic expression and also master new technologies, such as sensor applications and interactive programming. But it is precisely because of these challenges that the journey feels meaningful.

In the future, I hope to design spaces that make people pause, smile, or even feel moved.
Maybe my starting point isn't the highest, but I believe that if I stay driven by passion, keep learning, and push through obstacles, one day my designs will become a beautiful part of people's lives.

This time, I am not choosing based on “better job opportunities.”
I am choosing based on the path I truly want to walk.

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Personal Reflection (Expanded Version)

After today’s class, I gained a deeper understanding of my own learning path.

At first, I thought choosing Smart Home Design would be a more practical option, since this field is rapidly growing in China and seems to offer better job prospects. However, one thing the instructor emphasized truly resonated with me:

"Those who go far are the ones who combine passion with professionalism."

Reflecting on my past learning experiences, I realized that whenever I was genuinely passionate about something, I learned faster and felt more fulfilled. In contrast, when I pursued something just for its practicality, it was hard to stay motivated — especially when challenges arose.

Even though my programming skills are still developing, I am deeply passionate about designing spaces that tell stories and create emotional connections. Compared to cold automation, I want to craft environments that touch people, that create memorable experiences.

This realization strengthened my decision to choose Smart Environment Design.

Course Summary

Week 2

In today's class, the teacher first explained a courseware on design research. 📖 The content of the courseware focused on the research methods and key points of design projects. It emphasized the importance of studying precedents in enhancing our understanding of design. We were taught to analyze from multiple aspects such as space, materials, user experience, and design thinking. Instead of simply copying, we need to interpret critically to gain new design inspiration. 🌟

After that, the teacher introduced the assignment for the next two weeks. This assignment requires us to research two stores. One is an overseas store, for which we can obtain information through online research. The other is a physical store in Kuala Lumpur, where we need to conduct on - site inspections and take photos. 📸

 When choosing the stores, we should ensure that there is sufficient information for analysis. It is advisable to select stores of the same type but with different brands, such as restaurants or clothing stores. The assignment includes analyzing various aspects of the store design, such as design features, material usage, lighting design, color schemes, the impact of layout on customer behavior, technological innovation, and sustainable design practices. At the same time, we need to identify areas for improvement in the stores and draw sketches. The assignment report should be at least 15 pages long, including photos, sketches, etc., and we need to cite at least three reference resources and mark them correctly. 📚

To make us more aware of the assignment requirements, the teacher showed excellent assignment examples from senior students. 📋 The assignments of senior students started with an overview of the store and then analyzed in detail the store's layout, functional zoning, material usage, technological applications, sustainable measures, and other aspects.

 They also proposed improvement plans for the existing problems in the stores, such as enhancing the customer experience by changing the spatial layout and optimizing material usage. This gave me a more intuitive understanding of how to complete the assignment and I learned a lot of analysis and design ideas. 💡

🌈After returning home, I looked up information, trying to find some retail stores with unique features. For example, a store that uses a lot of interactive installations, or one that has a smooth layout, making it convenient for customers to browse the entire store. Fortunately, I came across a post about Gentle Monster's pop - up concept.

I think it would be a really interesting store. It specializes in selling sunglasses, and the designers are fond of setting up large - scale exhibition installations in the store.

Moreover, I found on Xiaohongshu that they have already opened a physical store in Malaysia. So I can tentatively choose it as the store for my offline exploration.

When it comes to choosing an overseas store, I originally planned to analyze Glossier NYC Flagship Store. It is a very famous beauty brand, and its interior decoration is quite interesting. The store meets customers' needs for trying out cosmetics and taking a tour. Even though it specifically caters to women, it also considers the needs of those who accompany the customers and has set up many seats for them to rest.

However, after consulting with the Mr.Zeon . I learned that he thought there weren't many interactive installations in this store that were worthy of analysis, and he hoped I could choose another one. So, after some thought, I decided to go with the Gentle Monster sunglasses brand instead. Their store in London is truly outstanding. It has two floors, with an entire floor dedicated to showcasing interactive installations. They feature really avant - garde concepts like "Alien Invasion", which is really fascinating.

 I’ll switch the overseas case back to Gentle Monster London Flagship and structure the content around the 10 evaluation points from the tutorial handout:

1. Store Overview

2. Design Feature – Layout

3. Design Feature – Materials

4. Design Feature – Lighting

5. Design Feature – Colour Scheme

6. Brand Identity

7. Customer Experience

8. Technology Integration

9. Sustainability

10. Challenges & Opportunities (plus improvement sketches)

I’ll expand each section with London-specific details, add critical insights, and format everything so you can drop it straight into your e-portfolio slides or web page.

Week 3

Interactive Spatial Design Class Notes

In today's class, I learned storytelling techniques in interactive spatial design and how to evoke users' emotional responses.

Storytelling is vital in this field. It can make the space more appealing. In UX design, emotional factors are powerful. Emotional resonance deepens users' engagement and understanding, and positive experiences boost brand loyalty.

For spatial design, thematic organization matters. Divide space into zones around a theme, like in a space - exploration museum. Use spatial transitions to guide users and create a narrative - like experience. Interactive storytelling with elements like touchscreens is also important. Multiple entry points and open - ended activities give users more choices. Ensure intuitive navigation and clear feedback, with visual, auditory, or haptic cues.

（Case Analysis: Take IKEA and others as examples to analyze the impact of different spatial designs on user behavior. Some spaces increase product exposure and sales by controlling the path, while setting up unobvious shortcuts; while some other spaces give users more freedom, enhancing the user experience.）

The Hero's Journey model, with 12 stages, can help build engaging stories. To create an emotional journey, define user personas and map their journeys, recording behaviors, touchpoints, emotions, and improvement areas.

Finally, we should learn from user journeys, set tasks, and improve designs. Design is an ongoing optimization process. I'll apply these learnings to create better interactive spaces.

Gentle Monster London Flagship

（In fact, speaking based on pictures can be quite challenging. Especially when drawing layout diagrams 💔，I have to observe the picture repeatedly and then mark it）

On Google, I searched for as much content as possible, including some ChatGPT suggestions. After all, I cannot personally observe this store.

• Store Overview

Opened in 2018 at 28–29 Argyll Street, Soho. Roughly 465 m². First U.K. outpost of the Korean eyewear label known for turning retail into art exhibitions.

• Layout

The interior unfolds like a one-way gallery walk: no central cashier, just a linear sequence of “scenes” where kinetic sculptures and eyewear islands alternate. Immersive, but the single path can make visitors miss products if they double-back incorrectly.

• Materials

Mirror-polished stainless steel, brushed aluminium, and raw concrete create a sci-fi shell. Occasional wood or fabric softens touch points while mirrors visually double the narrow floor plate.

• Lighting

Museum-style spotlights isolate frames and art pieces; ambient light stays low. Programmable LEDs inside the moving sculptures add theatrical pulses that boost photo moments.

• Colour Scheme

A restrained base—black, grey, metallic silver—lets the eyewear pop. Small jolts of saturated red or blue in the art help steer attention through the space.

• Brand Identity

Every Gentle Monster store is “one-off.” London’s theme—mechanised flora and fauna—cements its avant-garde image and blurs the line between gallery and shop, turning the act of browsing into a spectacle.

• Customer Experience

Visitors behave like gallery-goers: discover, photograph, then try on. The drama lengthens dwell time and generates social content even when no purchase occurs, expanding brand reach.

• Technology Integration

Kinetic art runs on Arduino-type motors; some display tables test RFID triggers that launch digital content on nearby screens, hinting at future virtual-try-on upgrades.

• Sustainability

Durable metals and modular plinths extend fixture life; all lighting is low-energy LED. No formal green label, but the long-life specification reduces waste from frequent store refits.

• Challenges & Opportunities

1. Linear flow can confuse newcomers and cause skipped SKUs.

2. Moving art demands high maintenance.
   Fixes: subtle floor arrows or wall beacons to clarify the loop; QR plaques by each display for instant product details; colour-coded plinth bases to separate collections and aid navigation.

Online store reference website

As it is an overseas store, it is necessary to search for a lot of URLs, but it is obvious that some URLs may not be described in too much detail. Even on the official website, there are only a few pictures, so I will search for some videos from publishers on YouTube.

Week 4

During the third-week weekend, I visited Gentle Monster’s TRX flagship in Kuala Lumpur and made a conscious effort to view the store through two different lenses.

As a customer, I entered with no agenda except to browse. The flow felt intuitive: a gentle left-to-right path guided me past the kinetic bison at the entrance and into successive product islands. Eyewear displays sat at eye level, framed by mirrors that multiplied their presence, so the merchandise never got lost amid the art. I did notice, however, that if a visitor turned back too soon, a few side bays could be skipped—something casual shoppers might not realise.

As a designer, I stepped back to dissect the space. The bison sculpture is a master-class focal point: its scale, motion and matte-bronze finish instantly differentiate the store from the polished façades of neighbouring luxury brands. Inside, mirrored walls widen a long, narrow floor plate, while green carpet inserts subtly zone product clusters without adding walls. Interactive elements are mostly analog—kinetic art, reflective surfaces—yet they invite selfies and prolong dwell time just as effectively as high-tech screens.

Overall, the TRX store confirms Gentle Monster’s strength in merging exhibition design with retail strategy: a headline sculptural piece to pull people in, a clear experiential path to keep them moving, and product vignettes that balance theatre with shoppable clarity.

(Compared with researching an overseas store online, visiting the TRX flagship in person let me spot its strengths and weak spots much more directly. Up close, I could study the exact materials, judge their finish, and see how every display was sequenced and positioned—details that photos or press releases often gloss over.)

And I am also very willing to go for photography check-in myself. Try on some very trendy new products.

In class, the teacher also requested that we observe the target audience and main consumers in the store. So I put it into practice by strolling around the store pretending to be a customer and then taking notes.