pureseoul – The home of K-Beauty
Design4Retail were delighted to partner with pureseoul to design the new store concept as they begin their retail expansion journey, starting with Westfield, White City.
A new UK home OF K-BEAUTY EXPERTS
pureseoul looked to create a store concept that established them as the go to destination for everything K-Beauty; a hub of expertise and knowledge that celebrates an extensive range of Korean brands.
Idea
The beauty retailer challenged us with designing an inviting and accessible space where skincare lovers and makeup enthusiasts could discover and fall in love with Korean cosmetics. The store needed to feel calm and welcoming, catering to both dedicated K-Beauty fans and curious newcomers. A key focus within the retail identity was to create a highly adaptable display framework, designed to easily accommodate fluctuating stock levels, spotlight emerging brands, and showcase products trending on socials.
Insight
To bring purseoul’s brand values to life, we defined four strategic pillars that shaped the foundation of the new retail concept: focusing on building a community, celebrating inclusivity, inspire customers through meaningful context, and, most importantly, expressing a distinct and memorable brand personality. The concept took cues from pureseoul’s existing Soho store but amplified its core elements to deliver a more playful, thematic experience. The colour palette included layers of blue tones, soft-whites and warm nudes to evoke a sense of purity – offering a fresh contrast to the often vibrant, high-gloss aesthetic typical of K-beauty. Whimsical design details, like cloud-inspired curved tabletops, sculpted wall alcoves, and flowing, ambient lighting, add a dreamlike quality throughout the space.
Three distinctive zones were carefully curated to build a cohesive and intuitive customer journey, accommodating both self-guided exploration and staff-led interactions. Two key focus areas for pureseoul were the ‘New Brand Launch’ zone and the ‘Masks” zone. Positioned at the front of store is the ‘New Brand Launch’ zone which features
curated edits inspired by Tik-Tok trends and bestsellers, satisfy the want for the most hyped products. The ‘Masks’ zone was designed to target all customers, with a particular focus on younger audiences – offering an accessible way to experience the brand without paying the premium price tag. This area was designed with a strong visual impact, spotlighting pureseouls extensive collection of sheet masks in an eye-catching and engaging way.
Woven throughout each zone are educational yet inspiring messages and graphic content designed to resonate with and represent every type of customer. This was achieved through a “show, don’t tell” approach to comms, creating an inclusive and engaging experience. Most notably, every fixture within the store is designed with a “free-dress” approach, allowing pureseoul to customise, rearrange and reconfigure the layout as each brand evolves and grows. This flexibility ensures the store remains adaptable and future-ready.
Realisation
The ‘Playful Sky-Scape’ concept gave customers a compelling reason to step into a physical store rather than shopping online. It brought pureseoul’s brand personality to life, adding depth to its storytelling and fostering emotional connection through memorable, distinctive moments. The store serves as a unified visual expression of the brand, immersive, evocative, and unmistakably pureseoul, establishing itself as the UK’s go-to destination for K-Beauty.
Testimonial
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