Melbourne Design Awards: Studio D – Pop up for DULUX
09.04.19 - Alex Ritchie
Project Overview
Dulux is an iconic Australian brand that evokes a sense of trust and confidence in its products. From humble beginnings in Sydney, the brand has grown to be one of the most recognisable and respected leaders in paint technology and innovation. Dulux sits at the forefront of home décor, design and colour, influencing the colour trends of the season. E2 was engaged by Dulux to design a Studio D pop up within existing Armadale Inspirations store to support the company’s push to trial digital colour section tools to assist make colour selection easier and reduce reliance on traditional colour chips, which create hundreds of tonnes of paper disposed in municipal waste every year.
Project Brief
The core objective was to create and build an environment that made the selection of colour by digital methods inspirational, visual and less confusing and stressful to the customer. The pop-up needed to assist and support customers make a decision in-store, with the ultimate outcome being faster progression along the paint colour shopping journey through to paint purchase. Studio D needed to instil a sense of trust in new digital colour technology, remind customers of the confidence they have in the Dulux brand and transfer this to the new experience of selecting colour from a mostly digital platform. Studio D will also be a test lab to help drive retail innovations that may result in better colour-selection-to-paint-purchase conversion tools for the broader Dulux reseller networks.
Project Innovation/Need
By focusing on two primary areas, Dulux aim to transform the colour selection customer journey. Firstly, the transition to a more sustainable platform, relying less on costly printed colour samples that consume significant amounts of paper and are regularly pulped when colour directions change. Secondly, integrating the colour selection journey seamlessly into customer’s digital lifestyle to provide integrated colour information and guidance that bridge the digital and retail environments.
Design Challenge
The design challenge was to transition Dulux customers from a traditional colour selection journey (printed colour samples) to a digital colour selection. It involved a major shift in customer’s understanding of how colour would work in their home. New technologies and tools were introduced to assist customers in narrowing down their colour selection to one or two options that they can test in their home using large colour samples or sample spots. The challenge for Studio D was to build trust in digital colour via an integrated customer journey using a new digital process. Customers are now provided with the step-by-step tools to visualise their space and make the final colour choice simpler and with more confidence.
Sustainability
At the core of this project was assisting Dulux to reduce their reliance on costly and wasteful printed colour paint samples and brochures. Additionally, E2 place great importance on sustainability throughout our projects. We employ sustainable work practices within our office, focusing on energy efficiency and reduction of resources and recycling. We establish relationships with suppliers with proven sustainability policies and procedures.
Materials
• Prioritise recyclable materials – Materials including flooring with full product recycling, glass recycling, metals including recyclable steels and raw copper.
• Prioritise sustainably sourced materials – Natural Timber materials were selected from FSC certified suppliers and complemented with laminates to reduce the amount of natural timber in less visible areas.
• Prioritise materials with manufacturer supported product buy back and recycling programs.
• Careful selection of finishes and detailing facilitate disassembly of materials for recycling and reuse.
Lighting
• Use of highly efficient low energy, long lifespan LED lighting to meet stringent site energy requirements.
• Cool temperature LED lighting reduces building heating load requirements reducing air-conditioning loads in hot Sydney summers
• Prioritise products with manufacturer supported recycle options.
Equipment and Furniture
• Utilise Energy efficient technologies for digital equipment
• Employ digital technologies to reduce printed signage material turnover
• Prioritise manufacturer supported recycle or buyback programs for furniture and equipment.
