Iconic furniture brand Freedom briefed McCartney Design to create a new interior concept for their stores, to showcase Freedom’s contemporary designs and emphasise the great value on offer.
The Design for Freedom had to cater to the needs of many different people. So Gary and the McCartney Design team began by holding a briefing workshop with Freedom’s management, marketing, buying and operations teams. They learned that Freedom had already made a shift from a style- d layout, to one that’s more functional. The task presented to the design team was to build on this by creating a space that was flexible, merchandise focused and user-friendly.
The decision was made to make Freedom’s merchandise the star of the show, adopting a neutral colour palette and keeping lighting warm and focused. But of course, with new collections constantly coming in, the design had to be easily adapted. So, the McCartney team ensured all partitions and dividers were moveable, and textures and colours could be quickly altered – allowing the merchandising team to tailor the environment to different products and buying strategies.
Anchoring the design is a central raised area of ceiling, and wayfinding is easy and intuitive, eliminating the need for category signage. Already, customers are finding the design inviting and immersive – and most importantly, easy to purchase from, with sales exceeding expectations from day one.
