design:retail - October 2017 - 24

perspectives

024

Creative Reality

IRTUAL REALITY VR technology is becoming more and more,
well, a part of real life, and the
retail industry is embracing the
benefits of VR in both design
and in-store experience. Chicago-based
Chipman Design Architecture is out in front
of this developing technology with its Visualization Studio. We talked to CEO and Principal
(and professional musician) Lauren Chipman
about how VR is the new wave of design.

design:retail: How did your music background meld into your current career in design
and architecture?
Chipman: Immersed in the vibrant Los Angeles
arts scene as a classically trained professional violist
for 15 years, I had the extraordinary opportunities
to work with such creatives as John Legend,
Rhianna, Aerosmith, Christina Aguilera and even
John Williams on the latest "Star Wars" movies.
Absorbed within that creative West Coast culture
ultimately redefined my perspective, creating a growing fascination with the evolving design technology
that surrounded me. Recognizing this, my constant
travel ignited an appreciation for branded retail, as I
saw how it translated between domestic cities, as well
as international. Design has always grounded me, as I
quite literally grew up in the architecture and design
field. Both my grandparents had been designers and
my parents met working at an international firm in
the 1970s before joining the burgeoning family business. As a third-generation firm, Chipman Design
Architecture reflects decades of design, and we are
ready to challenge tradition with the innovations
of technology.
d:r: How did Chipman delve into the field of
virtual reality?
Chipman: Chipman Design's early launch dive into
virtual reality continued a company ethos built
around leveraging the opportunities of technology as they intersect with the art of the built environment. With roots tracing back to the adoption
OCTOBER 2017

DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM

LAUREN CHIPMAN
CEO & PRINCIPAL
CHIPMAN DESIGN
ARCHITECTURE

2-D images; reinforcing the functionality of
retail square footage while designing a physical environment that will truly captures their
customer's attention.

of AutoCAD v2.5 back in 1986, the firm has continually pushed this point of intersection towards
industry innovation, today using point cloud scanning for surveys through the firmwide use of Revit
and 3ds Max. It is this commitment to exploration of technology on all levels that has ultimately
evolved into CDAVR, Chipman's leading-edge
Visualization Studio. This Studio was advancing at
a time when national corporate clients were still
building physical models in warehouse spaces, a
concept that VR addresses head-on.
d:r: How is virtual reality changing the retail
design industry?
Chipman: Virtual Reality allows us to move through
the design process with much more dexterity, enabling a common language between trained
designers and corporate decision makers. Beyond
its innate abilities to create immersive and often
breathtaking 3-D worlds, VR frees the once-static
views of the 2-D drawing to allowing a full experience of the retail environment. The client can
now collaboratively make real-time decisions on
merchandise sightlines in flexible store layouts,
preview imaginative and eye-catching lighting design and vet the frictionless integration of a new
BOPIS cashwrap. Designers are now mobilized to
visually communicate beyond the formerly flat

GLOBALSHOP.ORG

d:r: How can designers include VR technology in retail settings?
Chipman: The role of VR and AR (augmented reality) in physical retail environments is
evolving at a speed that eclipses the once surprising installations that we have now come
to simply expect. The most important criteria
of incorporating tech into the physical space
is to create an installation that is easily updatable, escapes premature conceptions of
becoming outdated, and one that offers a frictionless, engaging customer experience. No longer
does a single tablet gathering dust qualify as innovation. While VR is now routinely recognized
for inventive installs where 3-D headsets continue
creating retail experiences at brick-and-mortar
stores, I believe that we will see the market for AR
integration skyrocketing within the next year.
Retailers will continue growing their in-store experiences by communicating with consumers directly
through their smart phones. Make no mistake that
AR is a ready in use by retailers today, for instance
when they allow the customer to "place" a chair in
their living room simply by looking through the
smartphone screen, ensuring more informed purchasing decisions on a big-ticket items. As we look
to the future, the combination of AR and beacon
technology will give designers the opportunity to
target, engage and direct the consumer throughout the physical environment by pushing exclusive
content to the customer's phone. This is the everevolving new frontier of technology; with goals to
not only create brand loyalty, but remake brick-andmortar into truly anticipated destinations.
LAUREN CHIPMAN IS THE CEO AND PRINCIPAL OF CHIPMAN DESIGN
ARCHITECTURE, AND IS A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND ITS VISUALIZATION
STUDIO. SHE CHAMPIONS CREATIVE APPLICATIONS OF EVOLVING
TECHNOLOGY INTO THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PROCESS.

Photo by THOMAS ANDREAS/SHUTTERSTOCK

http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM http://www.GLOBALSHOP.ORG

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