Soft touch: Clothing displayed on foam shelves

Jo Nagasaka, founder of Schemata Architects, is known for his sparse, incomplete style, using renewable materials to bring the focus to the items on show. For the pop-up store, the designer used a foam material throughout and shipping crates to make display cases. The changing room is made out of an expandable soft material, like a cocoon shielding the customers as they sample clothing.

The softness of the materials creates a new experience for customers used to pressing against hard counters when they lean in to feel clothing. They will be surprised to feel the displays mould to their body.

Creating unanticipated interactions with unusual materials is a good way to add a sense of amazement for consumers. To explore other examples, see our Haptic Illusion design direction.