Manchester Arndale has been one the city’s key retail destination since its construction. However by 2013, the center had aged and lacked renewed appeal to evolving customer expectations. The center’s management team decided to address this head on deciding to run a full audit and revamp not only of the mall’s design but of its entire brand identity and positioning.

It also hoped to find a partner which could assist in the necessary tenant transitions towards the newly defined ambitions. In short, Manchester Arndale center was seeking an external agency which could provide both retail design AND retail design management services. Rawls is one of a few in the UK still providing this set of skills.

Due to internal budgeting, the scope of works for the design part of the project was broken down into five work streams:

1. Feasibility study for a John Lewis store implementation as an anchor to the mall
2. Audit and strategic vision for the newly branded accesses and entrances to the center – including a new brand identity proposal
3. In-depth analysis and refit proposal for the mall’s foodcourt
4. Research proposal for a new f&b offer in Halle Place, one of the center’s circulation nodes – including the development of a specific brand identity for this location
5. Overall proposals for revitalising the center’s interior

Given the scale of the project our entire design team worked together on this scheme, also at times seeking advice from the retail design managers to ensure the subsequent part of the project, the tenant design management, would run as smoothly as possible.

As the studio manager, it was my role to liaise with the partner who had taken the client brief, dispatch the work between team members, organise team brainstorm sessions, supervise individual work progression, seek feedback from our manager at instrumental moments and ensure timely delivery.

I also actively contributed to the design work, collaborating to the creative ideas and their materialisation through visual representations using photomontages.