We’re thrilled to be ranked #3 in Retail for ENR California’s Top Design Firms 2024. Meghana Joshi leads our Irvine office, which spearheads our California operations and elevates projects across the region.
As part of the Crossroads master plan, MG2 worked with ROIC and Edgeworks to design a new climbing gym. Edgeworks currently has three locations and offers fitness classes designed to complement a climbing routine. The gym, which includes a 10k SF addition to the existing 30k SF space, was completed in 2024. MG2 worked on the core and shell design and handled all phases of the project, from design through construction administration. This full-service project also featured a 45-foot interior mass filled with climbing walls, a new front desk and check-in area, public social spaces, a yoga room, new restrooms, and the renovation of existing restrooms, providing a comprehensive solution for the client.
We’re excited to be included among the Top 300 U.S. Architecture Firms of 2024.
We’re thrilled to be ranked among the top 5 in VMSD’s 2024 Top Retail Design Firms. Now in it’s 30th year, the list includes top design firms in the retail industry from around the world.
Sarah Simchuk, Senior Associate at architecture and design firm MG2, was honored with the Retail TouchPoints 40 Under 40 Award for 2024.
A trip to the movies is still regarded by consumers as the most cost-friendly yet entertaining out of home entertainment experience over sporting, live concerts, and amusement parks*. While pressures from at-home streaming are significant, movie theaters are still the leading place for out-of-home entertainment, providing large-format viewing experiences that cannot be achieved at home. In this report, we look to understand and identify the viewing experience elements that deliver the most value to consumers and the on-site amenities and activities that can elevate the traditional movie-going experience beyond what was expected.
*Cinema Foundation 2023
The full report is available for download at the bottom of this preview. Take me there now!
Per our investigation, each of our respondents self-identified with one of the following consumer personas, providing a deeper look into their moviegoing preferences and the amenities and activities that would deliver the most value to them:
Defined as individuals who go to the movies every once in a while but does stream movies at home often; comfortable with the more traditional cinema and box office experience (popcorn, soda, big screen) without all the bells and whistles.
Defined as individuals who go to the movies typically as a way to spend the afternoon or evening; may or may not have kids – values when there are attached options that complement the experience such as recreation, restaurants, or retail.
Defined as individuals who go to the movies typically for the social component of the experience; appreciates that cinema will always be a place for an intimate date night or taking part in the cultural buzz of the moment (i.e, Barbenheimer).
Defined as individuals who go to the movies often and prefer the experience to streaming; passionate about film as an art form from the storytelling to production and values cinemas that emphasize an immersive viewing experience.
Consumers will pay for a heightened experience, as demonstrated by amusement parks, Broadway shows or immersive art installations, and movie theaters share a similar opportunity. Audiences want to be entertained and even with at-home streaming available to them, there is still a desire and an appetite to go in-person to the theater. While comfortable seating, a good view and popcorn have always been table stakes, consumer behaviors and expectations of the movie theater experience are evolving. They have come to expect convenience in all things, especially with the use of smartphones, and post-pandemic being comfortable is no longer negotiable. Additionally, many consumers today identify as “foodies” and are interested in an elevated and unique food and beverage experience while watching a movie. These changing behaviors and preferences illuminate an opportunity for cinema operators who want to expand their offerings in order to surprise and delight consumers, giving them more than one reason to visit the theater.
我们很荣幸被评为 2024 年 NYCxDESIGN 室内设计大奖的获奖者。
“It’s critical that consumers experience the step-in technology Kizik is known for at the very beginning of the customer journey,” said MG2 principal Melissa Gonzalez. “It’s an AHA moment that captures and celebrates the magic of the brand.”
Retail TouchPoints is announcing winners of the fifth annual Brand Experience Awards, a program designed to spotlight the brands and retailers that are reimagining and elevating customer experiences across all channels.
Sorel and MG2 won the Pop-Ups, Events, Partnerships & Other Brand Activations category.
Kizik, the innovative footwear brand renowned for its hands-free technology, is making significant strides in its retail expansion strategy.
The new Mall of America store is also a brand new design, embodying the full Kizik experience and the new “Motion is Magic” branding. Melissa Gonzalez and her team at MG2 continue to design the Kizik stores but with some changes.
“Mall of America and King of Prussia are iconic shopping destinations,” said Kizik CEO Monte Deere. “When we observed the incredible consumer reception of our first store in Fashion Place Mall last year, we knew it was important to us to open more physical retail locations as part of our long-term growth strategy. We are excited to provide additional points of entry in Mall of America and King of Prussia for new adopters to experience the magic of Kizik. The feeling people have when they first try on our shoes is not something that can be replicated online.”
One year after opening it first brick-and-mortar location near Salt Lake City, Kizik is doubling down on a retail expansion plan that includes new stores and further extension into wholesale.
According to Kizik’s chief executive officer Monte Deere, the kicks into high gear on Friday with the opening of its second permanent store – this time at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.
The SOREL project has been selected as a finalist for the NYCxDESIGN Award 2024. The award is given to recognize excellence in design and innovation in New York City. We are honored to have been selected and look forward to the results.
To celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, MG2 and the city of Bellevue are collaborating on an art exhibition that highlights artists with AANHPI backgrounds and ties to the Pacific Northwest. This event not only provides an opportunity to showcase their talent but also serves as a platform to engage with the local community and promote cultural diversity.
We’re thrilled to be named one of Interior Design Magazine’s 2024 Sustainability Giants.
As a seasoned project manager, Eli’s expertise spans both the design and technical sides of projects, a perspective that gives him a holistic understanding of how concepts can be woven into functional spaces. Working hand-in-hand with stakeholders, he consistently goes above and beyond to translate and integrate client goals, his team’s abilities, and the needs of end-users to bring to life exceptional experiences.
Once again, the design world filled the city of Milan for an inspiring week of immersive brand experiences and events.
Global Home, Auto, and Fashion created a variety of unique and memorable moments ranging from large-scale tech-enhanced pop-ups to full-scale lifestyle installations to smaller room-sized experiences with hand-crafted products. The common thread among these experiences is the commitment and success of building a connection between the brand and the consumer through crafting multi-sensory and imaginative interactions.
Our standout experiences from this year’s city-wide events were…
The anticipation around Alcova every year lies not only in the chance to explore the unique and crumbling beauty of bygone days but in the curation and individualized setting that each artist creates to display their work.
This year was no exception as two abandoned and historic villas, Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, became the sprawling architectural backdrop. Featuring over 80 independent exhibitors from all over the world, the immersive and otherworldly locations allow you to “experience the intersection of design’s past, present, and future.”
“Wow…imagine living here.” Those thoughts surge repeatedly through your mind as you move with wide-eyed awe into each room of Bocci’s Apartment Showroom. So richly layered and dripping in their illuminated creations, you are instantly immersed in the brand’s lifestyle vision.
Located in the heart of the Brera district, Casa Mutina featured Ronan Bouroullec’s newest ceramic designs. The shape of Adagio “involves a play of interactions” between the tile and the wall, creating an expressive three-dimensional woven sculpture.
The showroom, designed by Patricia Urquiola, features floating walls and floors, allowing a flexible canvas for transforming space and showcasing ever-changing vignettes.
Walking into Paola Lenti, you feel a sense of calm wash over you. The hectic pace of the city fades away, and you are invited to feast on the extensive and colorful outdoor collections surrounded by greenery. This year’s space also featured Paola’s collaboration with Nendo, which used production cut-offs to create petal-shaped tables, lighting, and seating, calling “attention to nature as a source of inspiration for a more conscious and happier life.”
“A Life Extraordinary” is Moooi’s yearly fantastical immersion into their world. This year’s event featured a scent-making machine, where after answering non-standard yet perfectly Moooi questions like “Do you want to go—Up / Down?” and “What surface are you drawn to—Sharp / Smooth?” your custom scent is created and bottled.
It was a unique and memory-making experience.
Dolce & Gabbana’s Dal Cuori Alle Mane exhibition transports visitors into a realm of opulence, where iconic high fashion is meticulously arranged in lavish, detail-rich rooms. Immersed in the essence of Italianità, deeply ingrained in the brand’s DNA, attendees embark on a journey inspired by the Arts, Music, History, and Tradition through the designers’ eyes.
As visitors wander from room to room, each space is imbued with a captivating wow factor, ensuring a continuous sense of awe throughout the journey. Each collector piece, meticulously curated, serves as a testament to the brand’s long-standing tradition of craftsmanship and storytelling.
Simply elegant is the best way to describe the Tacchini booth at Salone. Storytelling for each designer, process, and piece leads you into gallery-like room settings where each object feels celebrated and special in an understated yet refined curation.
CC Tapis’ distinctive ethos shines brightly at their booth, showcasing a thoughtfully crafted collection. Collaborating with renowned designers, CC Tapis honors their commitment to hand-crafting techniques, contemporary design, and sustainable practices. The uncomplicated setting at Salone allows the products to command the center stage and effortlessly highlights each unique design.
At Salone, exhibition design takes center stage. Visitors encounter innovative presentations of furniture, kitchen and bathroom fixtures, architectural materials, and decorative objects. This year, some of the most immersive experiences belonged to the bathroom category. Brands took the opportunity to create a sensory environment inspired by water, while others focused on creative ways to display their product. As retail designers, it is an enriching and inspiring experience to see how brands put their best foot forward in a global show where brands compete for the visitors’ attention.
This year at Milan Design Week, we were awed by unique and holistic product environments that will undoubtedly build lasting memories and, therefore, a connection with the brand, no matter how large or small.
Stories are told without words, curation and imagination inspire, and multi-sensory, immersive experiences build the strongest bonds.
Until next time, Milano!
Men’s grooming behaviors and habits continue to change. Long gone are the days where a shave and a splash of cologne was all that was socially acceptable. Today, men are prioritizing their appearance more than ever before, resulting in many male consumers seeking out skincare regimens, makeup, and hair health products as part of their self-care pursuits. This evolution in behaviors has led to the destigmatization of the men’s grooming industry. In this report, we examine how brands and retailers can benefit from knowing what their male consumers want and need from the in-store shopping experience, going from provider to partner on their grooming journey.
The full report is available for download at the bottom of this preview. Take me there now!
Per our investigation, our respondents shared the following key insights as it relates to their perception of men’s grooming offerings in-store and the touchpoints that matter most:
Nearly 50% of respondents chose private testing areas for trying new products and brands in a dedicated grooming zone as a key driver of their comfortability and confidence
62% of respondents prefer to independently test and try products rather than a sales representative led experience as a means for product discovery
48% of respondents said physical or digital signage that features content showcasing best sellers in the grooming category as well as how to achieve a 5-10 minute skincare routine would be valuable to them
52% of all respondents indicated they want to see catered assortments of preventative health products in men’s grooming environments, and more than one-third were interested in products for an active lifestyle
Roughly 50% of respondents said they would benefit most from knowing which are the right products that match their skin or hair type from using a clienteling service
The desire to feel good and look good is not new however the need for education and direction is on the rise. Male consumers are eager to understand the self-care options available to them, propelling the grooming industry to new heights. The global male grooming market is expected to be worth $115 billion by 2028, which is up from an estimated $80 billion in 2022 and $74.8 billion in 2021 1. A major contributing factor are online community forums, such as TikTok’s male grooming content with their #GRWM (Get Ready With Me) multi step routine videos made by male creators. The increased demand for exposure to brands that will support their needs has also resulted in the unique positioning and promotion of grooming, such as the GQ annual Grooming Awards. Additionally, there is now a Men’s Grooming Day the third Friday of every August, encouraging men to buy and use grooming products and proactively manage their appearance. With increased familiarity, comes greater opportunities for education and connectivity. Brands and retailers can take advantage of this growing market by bringing online connectivity into physical experiences, fueling a greater sense of confidence, awareness, and brand affinity for the consumer.
1 Statista 2023
Joy Dayaw, a design PM at MG2’s Seattle office, has been named one of Visual Merchandising and Store Design (VMSD) magazine’s 2024 Designer Dozen.
“Hands-free” footwear brand Kizik has dropped anchor in New York City — and it’s staying longer than it expected.
The company, whose shoes are designed for those who hate tying their shoe laces or are unable to do so, has opened a pop-up on Greene Street in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. Created in partnership with MG2, the outpost was originally scheduled to be open only for a few days. But the response was so enthusiastic, Kizik has decided to keep the space open through Memorial Day.
Footwear brand Kizik partnered with MG2 on a pop-up concept in New York City’s SoHo to gauge market demand. The people have obviously spoken, because the brand has decided to extend the pop-up through Memorial Day.
Commentary from the Top 500 Design Firms in 2024 reveals a shift in the use of artificial intelligence to complement design services. Last year, AI was the exception more than the rule, but this year more design professionals aim to integrate tech into operations.
MG2 CEO and Chairman Mitch Smith summed up the proliferation of AI use among design firms as “exciting,” but says the technology is “daunting to comprehend.”
Kizik, a purveyor of hands-free footwear, has taken the wraps off a new brand platform with the national introduction of its brand promise, “Motion Is Magic.”
That proposition will guide Kizik’s continued growth into retail, wholesale and international markets, including an experiential pop-up this past weekend in New York and plans for six more brick-and-mortar stores this year.
Nordstrom has reliably served as a robust hub for Bellevue shoppers chasing quality casual wear, high fashion, and everything in between since 1958. Anyone who’s perused the store in the past year might have noticed, though, that the brand has been working toward a new spring look.
Photographer – Benjamin Benschneider
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