O2 flagship stores up work for trio of consultancies

A triumvirate of design consultancies has collaborated on the redesign of O2’s flagship store on Oxford Street, the first of 50 new stores the company is planning to open on a fast-track programme around the country by October.

Murray 03, Digit and Ideo have created interiors, an interactive window and an LED ‘wall’ respectively.

The store, which opened this week, aims to combine ‘modern technology and art’, says O2 head of retail trading Becky Hughes. The space is also designed to be an interactive ‘test bed’ for more radical ideas.

‘We want the store to reflect our evolving brand,’ adds Hughes. Elements of the flagship will be applied across other O2 outlets.

The Oxford Street store, housed in an Art Deco building, features a ‘funky’ gaming zone in its basement. The first floor incorporates a dedicated space for corporate customers, including a conference room and laptop connections. Interiors are by Murray 03, which was founded by former Rodney Fitch executive creative director Gabriel Murray earlier this year.

Digit’s interactive window captures images of passers-by on camera and reproduces them as ‘floaty moving pictures as part of the installation’, explains Digit interactive director Orlando Mathias who led the work.

Ideo has created a wall covered in LEDs that takes the form of a giant bubble. The LEDs display short text messages with information on special offers and promotions. The group was approached by O2 on the strength of similar work on the Science Museum’s Comment Wall in the Wellcome Wing, says an Ideo spokeswoman.