VMSD - January 2015 - (Page 34)

DESIGNER PROFILE lighting Autopilot 34 JANUARY 2015 | VMSD.COM STUART FINGERHUT CREATIVE LEAD STUART FINGERHUT DESIGN "The store is still the physical hub, but it's not just about selling stuff ... It's a lifestyle experience where the audience connects and shares and has a good time. Then they buy the stuff later - probably online." AU TO S H OW RO O M : K AT H RY N R A P I E R , D E T RO I T; F I N G E R H U T, L I G H T I N G : B E N G I B B S , LO S A N G E L E S Stuart Fingerhut seems to have this experiential design thing all figured out. As creative director for Toyota's Scion brand at the George P. Johnson Experience Marketing Agency in Los Angeles, Fingerhut is responsible for creating Scion's presence at major international automobile shows. The old idea of a booth with large advertising graphics and a car turning on a rotating platform with a bunch of attractive models has become about as relevant in today's automobile industry as an AMC Gremlin. "We create from the ground up," says Fingerhut, "establishing a brand personality that we hope resonates with the Scion buyer, who says, 'This is my brand, they get me.' " To do that requires being steeped in all the 21st Century technology - social media, digital messaging, experiential design. The 29-year-old graduate of the Pasadena (Calif.) Art Center recognizes the power. "It's amazing what one-to-one marketing on social media can do for your message," he says, "exciting but also scary, because you can't control it." On the side, Fingerhut has used social media to develop a thriving studio, Stuart Fingerhut Design, where he creates eye-catching functionality in the spirit of his inspirations like Karim Rashid and Frank Gehry. While an Art Center student, he designed a wall-mounted gun rack organizer (you sort of have to see it) that went viral, leading to orders from all over the world. One of his current specialty areas is pendant lighting for residential and commercial installations; it's all available on his website. "If you've done it right, soon everyone in the world is looking at it," he says, and that phenomenon will eventually rewrite the store design handbook. "Too many brands still hold onto the old trope that a retail store is for selling," says Fingerhut. "The store is still the physical hub, but it's not just about selling stuff, it's a 360-degree gathering place where you know other people like you are there or have been there or will be there. It's a lifestyle experience where the audience connects and shares and has a good time. Then they buy the stuff later - probably online." -Steve Kaufman http://www.VMSD.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of VMSD - January 2015

Contents
From the Editor
Editorial Advisory Board
Props + Decoratives
Lighting
Stuart Fingerhut Design’s Stuart Fingerhut
Mannequins + Forms
Cnl Mannequins’ Tasha Kusama
Materials + Wallcoverings
Artistic Tile’s Nancy Epstein
Furniture
Fixtures
Flooring
Signage + Graphics
Best of the Rest
Lasting Impression

VMSD - January 2015