Interview. Oliver Michell (Uxus/FutureBrand) over het design van een ervaring

How is Uxus doing and how are you? Everything is going really well, thank you. I am really excited to see some of our recent projects coming to life after months of hard work.

De Bijenkorf has just unveiled the Uxus-designed holiday window scheme, rolled out at all locations in the Netherlands. The project required a high level of creativity and imaginative thinking, so we were happy the campaign received a very positive response.

This year Uxus has collaborated with Qatar Luxury Group to launch their first homegrown luxury brand, Qela. The pilot retail experience opened in Doha in September 2013 with more locations to follow. The store offers a completely bespoke environment, showcasing Qela’s high-luxury couture and haute-joaillerie, with a focus on elevated service rituals. [tekst loopt door onder afbeeldingen]

Uxus was acquired by FutureBrand… The acquisition fosters a dynamic synergy between our firms, built on shared passion for delivering cutting-edge consumer experiences that break through industry standards. It brings together FutureBrand’s brand building capability and our expertise in consumer experience strategy, forming a holistic response to the evolving needs of the market.

The combination of our skills will enable us to produce new and exciting ways to engage with the 21st century consumers, as well as expand our geographic and multidisciplinary reach to offer clients a fully integrated strategic package.

What do you consider the best work of Uxus ever?
We are very lucky to have worked on a tremendously diverse range of projects, well beyond what we have imagined. Every project is special for different reasons, and we are proud to achieve a lot of success for some of the world’s most remarkable brands.

The two projects that really stand out are the Selfridges Beauty Workshop and the H&M Home Reflections. The Beauty Workshop offered UXUS a unique chance to redefine the beauty industry and create an innovative experience that broke away from a brand-driven approach to a new consumer-centric service model. UXUS is flattered that this concept is being emulated by many multi-brand retailers globally.

The H&M Home Reflections is probably our most disruptive and artistic project, developed for the launch of the H&M Home collection in Stockholm. Imagined through a looking glass, the concept was designed as a gallery of mirrors and suspended furniture to showcase a variety of looks that could be created with the H&M Home collection. This project enabled us to demonstrate our creative credentials, garnering a lot of media attention and creating strong resonance with a progressive urban crowd.

What work do you admire? I admire architect Kengo Kuma for his intelligent and poetic spaces. Recently I came across an amazing project by Philip K Smith III, the Lucid Stead - dematerializing a physical barn to expand the boundary of assumed perceptions.