Market: Consumer Experiences

Corporate Campus Food Hall

Culinary wellness, elevated

Faced with an aging, closed off cafeteria space and disjointed design unrelated to the company or regions in which it resides, MG2 was tasked with creating an inspired dining experience for our client’s corporate campus employees to enjoy. Through a ground-up expansion, interior renovation, and the introduction of eight new culinary venues, our team was inspired to create an atmosphere on par with the best modern food halls around the world.

Modeled to reflect the “approachable industrial” feel of the existing structure and the forest-scape along the perimeter of the campus, the food hall design includes an extended footprint and elevated roofline, further highlighting the outside-in experience.

MG2’s design team created several “from-scratch” brands (complete with separate design languages for each, as well as logos and environmental graphic design) to reflect a wide and varied menu of fare for the diverse population of diners.

Since its reopening in 2016, the cafe—now an authentic representation of the building and culture—has bolstered employee participation, enhanced meaningful technology into the customer experience, driven guest satisfaction, and elevated its customer service through expanded offerings and reduced queue times.

Tommy Bahama

Restoring the sand into the brand

Founded on the idea that life is “one long weekend,” Tommy Bahama, a lifestyle brand, is known for its relaxed, sophisticated casual wear and island-inspired victuals. To re-invigorate the retail experience, engage all the senses, and holistically reflect the brand, Tommy Bahama partnered with MG2 to develop a new design language. The ultimate intention was to cultivate a cohesive customer experience across their many stores, restaurants, and bars.

MG2 designed three unique retail concepts, Iconic Resorts, Family Retreat, and Island Bohemia, inspired by the authentic spaces one might inhabit throughout decades of sun-soaked, salt-water getaways. Iconic Resorts renders lush greenery, and geometric screens while Family Retreat features worn-in surfaces reminiscent of a 1960s beach home. Last but not least, Island Bohemia offers rich, unconventional textures with abstract prints. All three concepts provide an exploratory customer journey filled with layers of delightful, tactile experiences.

Equally important, the comprehensive system of fixturing, materials, and merchandising elements devised by MG2 affords Tommy Bahama the benefit of scalability as it continues to deliver each concept to multiple markets varying in size and programming.

Evereve

A window to the soul

Curated to accommodate styling sessions and women shopping with children.

Balancing sophistication with playfulness, MG2 partnered with Evereve to design a space for discerning women who work hard, care for their kids, and want to look fabulous.

Our designers worked closely with the styling company’s founders and visual merchandising team to create a new retail concept that elevates their brand stories. The “soul” of the store is the fitting room and lounge area where seating and tables are thoughtfully curated to accommodate styling sessions and women shopping with children.

Throughout the environment, pops of color, metallic accents, and eclectic imagery are juxtaposed against poured concrete, white brick, and industrial fixturing. The result is a space that feels energetic and visually communicates to women they don’t need to stop shopping for chic, fun outfits simply because they’ve entered motherhood.

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Nordstrom Local

Nordstrom Local

As part of its growth strategy to better serve customers and expand its presence into the New York market, Nordstrom sought to expand its local store experiences to offer new services such as online order pick-up, alterations and tailoring, styling, and more, catering to the unique needs of customers who live and work in target neighborhoods.

They partnered with MG2 / The Lionesque Group to bring their vision of offering boutique, local services to life in New York City’s Upper East Side. Working side-by-side with the Nordstrom team, our designers ensured furnishings, fixtures, customer flow, and build-out met the demands of the local shoppers. The resulting space features a flexible model and floor plan that is adaptable to the changing needs of customers.

Manhattan Beach, CA
New York City, NY
Manhattan Beach CA
Manhattan Beach, CA
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Nordstrom Rack

The next evolution of mission-driven design

Today’s retail customers crave simplicity, fun, and personalization in their shopper journeys. To meet this rising demand, Nordstrom enlisted the help of MG2 and challenged us to design an innovative, flexible ‘Store of the Future’ concept for their Nordstrom Rack locations. 

The resulting design granted Nordstrom a new direction they could trust in, complete with elegant, bold details such as impactful in-store diagrams, signage, and fixtures that highlight merchandise stories. MG2 also delivered gender-neutral fitting areas and user-friendly check out zones. These cost-neutral solutions advance Nordstrom’s mission to offer the customer the best possible service, selection, quality, and value.

MG2 continues to work with Nordstrom in evolving the store planning and design of this concept, positively impacting the customer experience for over 25 locations across the US and Canada. The innovative design remains active today, helping consumers achieve their immediate goals while providing moments of delight.

Seattle Chocolate Factory Tour

Unveiling true confections one step at a time

Several years into our partnership with Seattle Chocolates, their CEO and Founder invited MG2 to design a memorable, interactive tour experience for their factory. Through chocolate tastings and seeing first-hand the detailed steps that lead to the confection’s creation, visitors would get an inside look into what makes the Seattle Chocolates brand so extraordinary.

The technical process, which encompassed dozens of moving parts, required research of the existing factory. Meetings with the local jurisdiction were critical to transforming an industrial use-group facility into an attractive public space, while simultaneously utilizing cost-effective design solutions.

The tours guide customers down a bright magenta walkway, submerging them in a behind-the-scenes journey of how the product is made, sorted, and packaged. It then leads guests through an interactive classroom, equipped with a tasting bar curated with custom tables, jars, and finishes. It’s a multi-sensory, one-of-a-kind, branded experience that immerses guests from the moment they enter through the signature retail space and raises the bar for factory tours.

Allen Edmonds

Recrafting an American original

The iconic 96-year-old upscale shoe manufacturer and retailer, Allen Edmonds, partnered with MG2 to redesign its in-store experience to align with their rebranding initiative. The new environment fuses industrial elements (a nod to the brand’s nearly century-old “made in the USA” heritage) with modern details, accenting the artisan craftsmanship of the footwear. 

Elements of Allen Edmonds’ Port Washington, WI factory – where all its shoes are produced – are stitched into the customer experience through furnishings, finishes, and visual merchandising.

The integrated approach elevates the brand using a modern design language that feels high-end and radiates authenticity.

Allen Edmonds’ products are heirloom quality pieces that should last a lifetime if cared for properly. In that way, the value of quality and enduring style for each pair of shoes becomes immeasurable. The fresh store design from MG2 communicates that brand promise, differentiating the company to a new generation in an era of fast-fashion.

  • Project Details

  • Location Multiple locations, U.S.
  • Client Caleres, Inc.
  • Market Sectors
  • Size 1,200 SF
  • Services

The Escape Game

Unraveling physical enigmas

Just five years ago, you would have been hard-pressed to find an escape room near you. Today, however, the number of available adventures has exploded, with a 2400% increase in the United States alone. As natural puzzle solvers working on complex physical environments day in and day out, MG2 designers were over the moon when founders of The Escape Game approached our team to partner with them on their prototype location in Atlanta, GA. 

Integrating the unique, specific escape room technology crafted by The Escape Game’s internal teams, MG2 worked with stakeholders to bring to life a prototype experience design, brand standards, and project process for future locations. The client also received the added value of MG2’s experience in working closely with local jurisdictions to navigate the challenging building code requirements for this unique type of project.

The Escape Game experience incorporates strong, consistent brand identity attributes while offering customers a one-of-a-kind entertainment experience in each of their spaces. MG2 assisted The Escape Game in opening their first location in Atlanta, Georgia, and has continued to collaborate on conceptual development as they expand across Nevada, California, and the Pacific Northwest.

Burrow House

Enabling the retail evolution of a D2C brand

When Burrow—an innovative home furnishings brand part of the new direct-to-consumer retail movement—sought to follow up on the success of two pop-up shops with permanent flagship locations in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, the design of these spaces hinged on a central question: How could these new flagships transform a successful online retailer into a lively, exciting lifestyle brand shoppers would now have the opportunity to interact with in-person?

Partnering with MG2 / The Lionesque Group, the teams collaborated on store design, site evaluation, and project management to bring to life Burrow House: immersive, multi-faceted, award-winning retail environments designed to grow with the company’s product line and tell the brand’s story in an experiential way.

Designed to showcase what life would be like with their furniture, Burrow House illustrates vignettes from the smallest city studio apartments to sweeping suburban family rooms. They flow from one space to the next, curating distinct narratives that offer fully shoppable bed and living room experiences. Each Burrow House location is unique, individually scouted, selected, and modularly curated by designers to best represent the brand to its target demographic in each given neighborhood.

Sustainably sourced materials reflect an inviting and familiar, mid-century style within a refined atmosphere using temperate woods and warm paint colors. And, like their award-winning furniture, the store design is flexible and modular, allowing for the continued evolution of their interiors to align with seasons, design trends, new collections, and blossoming partnerships with other DTC brands.

With locations in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, and more on the way across the country, Burrow House is a memorable retail experience that emboldens one to redesign their living spaces far beyond a single purchase of a new couch. 

Since opening its doors, Burrow House has been featured in Furniture Today as well as Forbes, and recognized by Fast Company’s Innovation By Design Awards for Retail Environments.

Press Coverage

Meet Our Team

Nick Caputo

Principal

Nick Caputo has a hyper-focus on setting up clients for long-term financial success, by streamlining operational efficiencies. As a Principal for MG2, he excels at putting visual plans into action and helps clients remain agile to ensure projects are delivered on time and budget, helping brands such as Purple, Nordstrom Local, and Burrow evolve their offering and consumer engagement through experiential retail business models.

Having spent his career helping grow and scale businesses of all sizes, Nick revels in the fast-paced energy and unique challenges that come from working with innovative brands, nurturing, and growing the relationships he develops along the way. His passion for his work is rivaled only by his love of quality family time, a sun-soaked day at the links, and his aptitude for improvising a mean omelet.

Team collaborating around a table

Perspectives

Meet Our Team

MJ Munsell, IIDA

Chief Creative Officer

An award-winning strategist, MJ Munsell has spent over three decades studying consumer behaviors and mentoring the next generation of designers. In her role as Chief Creative Officer, she champions human-centered design across MG2’s diverse markets to craft meaningful solutions for our clients. Throughout her career, she’s collaborated with brands like Nordstrom, Anthropologie, and Hyatt to create unforgettable experiences. When she’s not dreaming up novel spaces, MJ can be found enjoying music festivals or exploring urban landscapes in search of inspiration and the perfect cappuccino.

Perspectives

Target

The joy of discovery

Based on a shared belief in exceeding customer expectations, MG2 and Target have partnered for more than 15 years on a wide variety of projects, including new build, adaptive reuse, and everything in between. With over 600 projects delivered throughout the U.S., MG2 has perfected the art of adapting each prototypical design into store experiences that attract new customers.

Able to scale projects that range between 90,000 – 140,000 square feet, MG2 incorporates regionally-relevant attributes while maintaining the esteemed Target brand experience through program oversight and detailed prototype design documentation. Like Target, MG2 is committed to delivering spaces that allow every guest to feel welcome and included while discovering moments of joy throughout their journey.

CityTarget Seattle designed by MG2
CityTarget Seattle

PCC Community Markets

consumer experiences in grocery retail

Holistic community, unrivaled sustainability

Since its inception in 1953, PCC Community Markets— the largest consumer-owned food cooperative in the United States—has meticulously curated their store designs, programming, and community engagement to embrace and empower the neighborhoods they serve. In 2017, they began a journey that would not only elevate the co-op’s dedication to health and wellness on an unprecedented scale but would pioneer a goal that no grocery store or chain had ever sought before. PCC Community Markets was undertaking the challenge of becoming the world’s first LEED-certified grocery store to obtain Living Building Challenge (LBC) Petal Certification. And in the winter of 2020, their vision was realized.

PCC Community Markets in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, WA is the first LBC Petal Certified grocery store on earth. The Living Building Challenge is a rigorous and highly revered green building certification program and sustainable design framework that visualizes the ideal for the built environment. Since its extraordinary achievement, two more PCC stores—West Seattle and Bellevue—have also achieved LBC Petal Certification.

Overflowing outside and welcoming you in, each PCC Community Markets experience holistically emulates that of an open-air farmer’s market and is one that serves as an authentic reflection of the neighborhood it serves. Furthering that reflection, each store incorporates a handmade art installation, crafted exclusively from reclaimed materials and/or painted by a local artist. In Ballard, for example, shoppers are greeted by “Peggy”: a three-story multi-dimensional octopus and her accompanying mural, a display whose materials were conscientiously selected to ensure the LBC’s Materials Petal standards were met.

Store programming is holistically designed to be flexible, transparent, and engaging, adaptably built to evolve alongside culinary trends. Elements throughout the store, such as reclaimed local cedar wood produce bins, can be easily rearranged to fit the needs of every seasonal showcase.

Instead of being tucked away, interactive departments like the meat, seafood, and bakery reside adjacent to natural light sources, promoting visibility and authenticity while doing away with the traditional “back-of-shop” perception.

The decision to work with a limited materials palette was intentional, aligning with the goals of durability, sustainability, and minimizing waste.

In Ballard, for instance, 100% of the store’s wood—showcased across fixtures, custom benches, and countertops—is FSC certified, with 10% of elements, from foodservice equipment to shelving, having been reclaimed or reused. Over 40% of the materials, just shy of $1.4M, were sustainably sourced, with 9.2% of those being locally derived from within 100 miles. Stores are now able to capture substantial heat and energy savings and reduce water use by 50%.

Achieving the world’s first Living Building Challenge Petal Certified grocery store—an unprecedented accomplishment in the United States—PCC Community Markets continues to push the boundaries of sustainability by pursuing certification in a number of its other new stores.

  • Project Details

  • Location Multiple locations, WA
  • Client PCC Community Markets
  • Market Sectors
  • Size 20,000 - 25,000 SF
  • Services
  • Certifications LEED v4, Living Building Challenge Petal Certification

Press Coverage

People Make the Place: Leading the Way at MG2

MG2 is thrilled to announce the promotion of over 40 employees across our studios and offices. With a culture rooted in recognition and appreciation, MG2 celebrates not just the advancements of those within leadership, but those of every single team member. There are no small roles here; without the outrageous talent and unwavering dedication of all our employees, we would not be the firm we are today.

2020 promotions grid of photos and quote

It’s with great pride that MG2 fosters creativity, acknowledge achievements, and promotes from within, and with that, we’re excited to introduce you to this year’s rising stars who are paving the way for our future across design, operations, program management, and more:

Irvine

  • Nubia Herrera | Promoted to Associate 2
  • Mackenzie Gibbens | Promoted to Associate 3
  • Meadow Pirigyi | Promoted to Associate 3
  • Jessica Labac | Promoted to Associate 4
  • Isaac Perez | Promoted to Associate 5

WASHINGTON, D.C.

  • Gabriella Santostefano | Promoted to Associate 2
  • Hazel Ventura | Promoted to Associate 2
  • Krysten Gormly | Promoted to Associate 3
  • Ishana Mistry | Promoted to Associate 3
  • Paola Moreno | Promoted to Associate 3
  • Behbood Vatani | Promoted to Senior Estimator
  • Meridyth Cutler | Promoted to Senior Associate 1

MINNEAPOLIS

  • Ryan Hartsuff | Promoted to Associate 5
  • Monica Russell | Promoted to Associate 5
  • Liz Aiello | Promoted to Senior Associate 1

SEATTLE | COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTS

  • Jacob Southard | Promoted to Associate 2

SEATTLE | CLIENT PROGRAMS

  • Sarah Bertis | Promoted to Associate 2
  • Whitney Gomes | Promoted to Associate 2
  • Morgan Nestegard | Promoted to Associate 2
  • Marina Sosner | Promoted to Associate 2
  • Connor Dimick | Promoted to Associate 3
  • Trevor Gunderson | Promoted to Associate 3
  • Darren Mobley | Promoted to Associate 3
  • Kyle Bembenek | Promoted to Associate 4
  • Willie Mak | Promoted to Associate 4
  • Brian Dobry | Promoted to Associate 5
  • Fiona Cutner | Promoted to Senior Associate 1
  • Amy Hart | Promoted to Senior Associate 1

SEATTLE | CONSUMER EXPERIENCES

  • Bridget Arnold | Promoted to Associate 2
  • Robyn Burgos | Promoted to Associate 3
  • Elle Reinhard | Promoted to Associate 3
  • Howard Schulien | Promoted to Associate 5
  • Min Jae Kwon | Promoted to Senior Associate 1

SEATTLE | OPERATIONS

  • Abbie Drake | Promoted to Senior Graphic Designer
  • Kelli Cook | Promoted to Program Manager
  • Natasha Windle | Promoted to Program Manager
  • Chelsea Pagdilao | Promoted to HR Specialist

Amongst our leadership team, MJ Munsell has been promoted to Chief Creative Officer. And, in addition to two new Principals — Risa Yuki and Mark Taylor — and two new Associate Principals — Scott Owen and Mitch Pride — we’re also excited to welcome two additional Shareholders: Melissa Gonzalez and Nick Caputo, who recently joined the MG2 family through our merger with The Lion’eqsue Group.

2020 promotions grid of photos and quote

Retail Architecture Design Leader MG2 Merges with Experiential Retail Design Firm The Lion’esque Group

Stella & Dot pop-up

International architecture firm MG2, known for its work with leading retail brands such as Target, PCC, DSW, Anthropologie, Costco, and Tommy Bahama, has officially merged with The Lion’esque Group (TLG): a New York-based experiential retail firm focused on immersive pop-up stores. This partnership enables both MG2 and TLG to offer a more extensive, scalable, and complementary array of services to their clients.

This merger is an industry first, and a direct reflection of visible trends within retail: a rapidly-evolving marketplace demanding that brands be agile and flexible enough to create immersive spaces that are interwoven with technology and designed as an interactive, community-driven story. Having both worked with forward-thinking clients such as Nordstrom, Amazon, and Shape Properties, MG2 and TLG are now combining their expertise across experiential design, operational strategy, and architectural services to create a holistic, end-to-end design practice that will help their partners shape and define the future of retail.

“From my initial conversations with Melissa and Nick, the alignment between our values, goals, and what we are most passionate about was clear, as was our mutual focus on creating memorable and transformative experiences for our clients’ customers. At the same time, I have tremendous respect for the unique perspective and expertise TLG brings to MG2 and our clients. I am excited to see what the future brings for both of us.”

—Mitch Smith, CEO, MG2

The Lion’esque Group, founded in 2009 by Melissa Gonzalez and whose clients have included Purple, Brandless, Puma, the RealReal, Citizenry, and Thrive Global, will continue their work on retail strategy and pop-up retail while working with established bricks and mortar brands to transform their spaces into personal, dynamic shopping experiences. The team will become MG2’s New York office, maintaining The Lion’esque Group brand while expanding their global footprint.

“This decision wasn’t just about expanding our capabilities and resources; it was also about aligning ourselves with a partner that shares our vision, entrepreneurial spirit, passion for transformative design, and a nimble approach to learning and adapting to an ever-changing industry. Like TLG, MG2 imagines bolder futures for their clients and helps shape the design solutions to get them there.”

—Melissa Gonzalez, CEO, The Lion’esque Group

MG2 Partner PCC Becomes First Grocery Store to Commit to Developing Stores to Living Building Challenge Standard

PCC Community Market Burien

PCC Community Markets (PCC), the nation’s largest community-owned food market, announced it will be the first grocery store in the world to pursue Living Building Challenge (LBC) Petal Certification. The Living Building Challenge, run by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), is the world’s most rigorous green building standard. To date, no other grocer has successfully pursued LBC certification.

Read more at PCC Community Markets