Recently my prof Mike Roller (http://www.michaelroller.com/) posted about his favorite design objects, and why they are his favorite. It seemed like a good design exercise to pick favorites and then explain why, so I am going to post mine one-by-one. First up? Camper shoes.
Camper is a Spanish shoe company. Each season they release a line of shoes to their retail stores and department stores. They are very difficult to find in the U.S., but very easy to find in Europe, and especially Spain (In big Spanish cities Camper stores are almost as popular as Starbucks in big US cities.) The shoes are expensive. high quality, stylish, and ...cute. The brand has a very cute, charming personality. Even though the inventory in all of the Camper stores is the same, each retail environment is distinctly different- and all are distinctly creative. Their website is also always engaging. The whole brand draws you in and makes you want to be part of their culture. Their slogan- "imagination walks"- is even charming.
So, in concise terms, this is what I like:
high quality and long-lasting
cute but not kid-ish designs
complete brand experience including retail environments
I really like the fact that they are European. Something about European shoes just shouts awesome and great...
More favorite things to come...
I am going to pull a carly....i think you are overstating the abundance of Camper stores in Europe and their following! Starbucks is on almost every corner in huge US cities where as there are never more than a few camper-stores in major European cities. I think because you have such an infinite love of Camper, you noticed and the stores more than most. Also unlike Starbucks, there was rarely more than a few people in the Camper store when we visited them. None-the-less I think the brand is great and the store designs are probably more interesting than their product.
ReplyDelete