01.02.2022
Milk Train Wins Best Experiential Design
We’re thrilled to announce FormRoom was awarded best Experiential Design at The Drum Awards for our Milk Train store design.
Celebrating the best of the best in the design industry, we want to say a massive congratulations to the talented team involved in this dream-like project. Thank you to The Drum Awards – brilliant work from all involved!
Instagrammable Interiors
Relaunched in December 2018, Milk Train’s first permanent space has been a phenomenon on Instagram for it’s trendy interior design and irresistible ice cream menu.
Milk Train partnered with FormRoom to create a unique, dream-like “wonderland” for it’s customers, transferring the sense of playful surrealism in the product through to the store environment.
Coffee, Tea and Ice Cream Magazine sat down with our Managing Director, David to chat about the creative direction and challenges involved with this project.
What’s the reason behind the combination of design, strategy for branding and marketing of such instagrammable shops? Is it now becoming a trend? Why?
We think beyond separate offline and online customer journeys. Brands need to create experiences, which leverage the advantages of both, because that’s how customers behave today. Online can drive footfall into stores through considered social media and brand experiences. If those spaces are engaging and shareable, they will then drive customers back online to share and shop.
For Milk Train, Instagram and social sharing were undeniably a focus. Our team looked to specific key accounts with a large following and trend impact to inspire some of the design choices.
So besides what is undoubtedly a beautiful space, the Milk Train space will go beyond aesthetics and promote a stronger sense of ‘brand love’ to a notoriously experience loving and digital hungry demographic.
How do you interpret the brand’s four core values into the design? For example?
FormRoom worked with the brand to strategize and evolve upon their four core pillars; Surreal, Timeless, British and Immersive. By catering the space to meet the demand of their social footprint, our biggest challenge was finding the balance between timeless and immersive.
As this was the brands first permanent space, the design needed to be unique and interchangeable across all seasons; allowing the interior to evolve as swiftly as Instagram trends do.
When it comes to combining design with branding, what’s the most important thing? What if there is a different idea in concepts between design firm and client?
A brand expresses itself in every customer touch-point and this messaging becomes intrinsic to the brand identity. It’s crucial to create a seamless experience across all consumer touch-points, whether that’s the store design or digital footprint.
A disconnect between client and firm certainly occurs. It’s inevitable. It comes down to understanding the brand and customer landscape, as well as managing expectations.
