A space built to showcase and sell a semester of student product design work.
Designed not to be seen
Yet this space housed and helped to sell over 200 individual student products and make over $8100 in sales.
What is EPOP?
Environmental Products of Design is a stem of the Environmental Design Major at CU Boulder. EPOP is the, pop-up-shop that showcases twelve handmade products, made from sustainable materials. Each product is developed over the course of a semester by a group of three product design students. My job, was to design, and build a space to display all twelve of these items at the Boulder Firefly Handmade Festival.
Don’t make it stand out.
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Dream it.
Get comfortable with every single restraint. Immerse yourself in the environment. Figure out what’s working, what’s not. Imagine what you want a person to feel while in this space. What senses should be engaged? How to engage curiosity, comfort, free movement. How can a space elevate and enhance the beauty of a product, while properly merchandising and giving a customer all they need to feel safe and secure with their purchase. Dream it.
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See It
Throughout the design process, one of the most important aspects has been visualising and immersing ourselves in the space. It is here where the smallest details of design shine through and impact the experience of being in this space. After all the sketches, design arguments, and weaving through ideas, seeing the space we want is where the important fine-tuning happens. Sketching, rendering, and prototyping were all techniques our team used to help us see it.
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Build and Celebrate It.
After the form is final and decided, its build time. Days and nights spent sanding, rounding, treating the wood to create a clean and elevated space. Navigating spacial issues and dozens of unexpected challenges, all while battling the clock. Each detail must be considered all while knowing that each component of the shop must be free-moving in order to relocate. After the space is set up and details made perfect, time to celebrate our hard work by seeing the crowds drawn to the space. Final step of a wonderful project, to build and celebrate it.
A learned appreciation, for collaboration
Leading a group of designers, all with different styles and desires for the space was a challenge to say the least. But it’s through this process, the back and forth, the arguments, where common ground is found and priorities of design are discovered.
