The Memo:
>Today Apple’s store design is so iconic that saying somewhere is “like an Apple store” is universal shorthand for somewhere with a minimalistic design, with materials like aluminium, glass and wood.
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Eight Inc was the design studio Steve Jobs approached with the challenge to create a new concept of how we shop. Wilhelm Oehl led the team behind it.
While the interview is a bit fluffy, it’s always interesting to hear anyone talk about the design of the Apple Retail Stores.
Yeah, not too deep here, but one thing that always impressed me about the design/development of the first store was that Apple built a full scale prototype in a warehouse to study the design concept in real life, before committing to the final store design. Gap CEO Mickey Drexler is given credit for this strategy in Isaacson’s Steve Jobs and I think it has served Apple well. I’m curious how many other companies do this. If they don’t they should.