This project was my first experience using SketchUp and planning a full spacial design concept from start to finish. The concept is a collaborative brand pop-up for athletic wear brand, District Vision, and meditation studio, Open. The initial idea was to create a space that communicated the joint visions of each brand which revolve around mindfulness and living a more meaningful life by strengthening the connection between mental health and physical health.
District Vision calls itself a “Center for Peace”, making “tools for mindful athletes” as “a sports brand for spiritualists”. These titles along with the following statement acted as the north star for the pop-up:
“We believe in a holistic approach to athleticism and the idea that mental wellbeing is the foundation of every form of physical exercise.” With these sentiments in mind, the concept is an immersive experience in which visitors create a personalized meditation kit while learning about mediation and ending in an opportunity to utilize what they've gathered.
Pictured below are the first three stops in the brand experience: Entry and Check-in, Tote Pick-up, and the Aroma Station.
Entry & Check-in: Upon entry, the visitor feels a sense of calm and connection to nature with the use of natural materials, colors, and shapes. After they check in and are given instruction on the space, they turn to make their way to the tote pick-up. Layered, semi-transparent curtains act as a physical transition to the brand space, further triggering a change in state of mind. There is a pathway through the curtains that weaves back and fourth to give a thoughtful guided interaction rather than pushing curtains aside and risking frustration or confusion.
Once through the curtains, the visitors find themselves at the Tote Pick-up. Here there is a written instruction telling them to grab a bag to start building their kit. The totes have the pop-up brand marks printed on them and are custom made with pockets for each of the items they will collect. Behind the totes there is the beginning of a wall graphic that spans across the entire length of the wall. This section features a closed eye to once again signal a sense of calm and peace. Connection to nature reoccurs as well through placement of plants, gravel flooring, and boulders. This space acts as another layer of gradual introduction to the space.
Thirdly, they reach the Aroma station. Here there is written instruction to choose a diffuser stone and an essential oil. The stones are made of different colors and textures to make it more customizable. The oils are split into different sections based on scent profile. The visitor is instructed to choose whichever oils make them feel the most at peace and apply a few drops to their stone. Each section has an oval skylight placed over it at a motif and nod to the original Open meditation studio, which has a large oval skylight and is seen later in the experience.
After the Aroma station the visitor goes to the Writing station where they can take a blank journal from the tree shelves and then sit at the table to decorate it with stamps and paints, as well as answer some pre-printed prompts that are oriented around mindfulness. This area is meant to help visitors feel empowered to start looking inward and reflect on their current state of mind. This section of the wall graphics feature birds in flight to add to the sense of freeing the mind and figuratively taking flight in life with meaningful action like journaling regularly. This space is also meant to be communal and give people the chance to talk with one another about the prompts and experience etc.
The next station is called Sound. Here visitors are instructed on how to create their own mediation soundtracks. There are iPads and headphones with software for simple mixing of various ambient tracks. The soundtrack is looped and a guided meditation from Open is overlaid with the created sound and then exported and sent to their personal device.
The sound station is continued in the form of a small recording studio where visitors can choose to spend an extended period of time creating a more customized sound scape. There is a microphone, simple instruments, and an iPad with slightly tweaked but still simple recording software. The back wall of the studio pulls in the same shelving system as the aroma station to help tie it all together.
The wall graphics on the sound sections feature an abstracted image of an ear, as well as the peak of a mountain, symbolizing the importance that sound has in the peacefulness of our environment.
The last piece of the experience is the Meditation Grove. After slightly weaving in and out of all the stations up to this point, the space opens up to a beautiful spacious garden-like area with seating, plants, and a large oval skylight for maximum natural light.
At the very back there are also individual meditation studios. Above the studios there are plants displayed behind the same frosted glass to bring in more greenery and life to the space. Positioned around the grove are varied seating options including padded benches, smooth boulders, and grass. This area is ultimately meant to be a refuge from the busy city streets and give people a place to retreat to where they know they can have a place to practice mindfulness and refuel mentally before reentering the loud world.
The private mediation studios are for visitors who would like to have a bit more of a private experience. The solo studios have a warm wood interior with movable cushions and individual oval windows that are tinted orange to add to the warm ambiance.
In the models above, the skylight pattern is shown on the ceiling from the top view, inspired by the ceiling at the existing Open LA studio. These skylights are both functional and beautiful. They provide a significant amount of light as well as highlight each section in the pop-up in an artistic way by guiding rays of sunlight over each area.
