Client profile

Phoenix Mills Limited has carved a leadership position for itself in the retail landscape all across Asia. In 2011, three of the company’s four Phoenix Marketcity malls were launched in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru followed by the latest at Chennai last year. Phoenix Marketcity is a JV whose concept is born out of a bold vision to offer India’s urban consumers a place where they can find the best brands, entertainment, convenience and an overall exciting experience.

Basic moves

VersionAbsolute Design Studio (VADS) has been associated with Phoenix Group as sign design and way-finding solution consultants since the launch of the latter’s Palladium and High Street Phoenix projects. Phoenix Marketcity is the group’s large-format retail and mixed-use development brand. Ever since its association with Phoenix Group, VADS always keeps in mind all exclusive requirements to give a new avatar to the overall outlooks of the malls in terms of environment designs and finishes. All these things were considered right from a planning and management point of view and taken into consideration at the appropriate stages of the projects. When the projects were launched, all these factors had been catered to the best of VADS’ ability and a well-designed signage design programme ensuring all these different users’ experiences around the environments and its amenities successfully without any hindrance.

Focused applications

Signs are interface which allow users or visitors to navigate, explore, learn, discover and relate to the environments and offerings at Phoenix Marketcity malls. For a brand with multiple developments in varying geographies, it helps create a consistent brand experience. It can also be used to celebrate regional and local sentiments and culture thereby negating (to an extent) the humdrum of a modern retail centre experience.

Key requirements

Analyse what are the signage requirements of the various user types in such environments. Why do people come to Phoenix Marketcity mall? With the ever increasing complexity and cross programming of retail center developments, these developments are gradually catering to most of the urban needs. Shopping malls are no longer mere places where people just come to shop, eat, drink and entertain themselves — it now has offices, wellness centers, even day care/kindergartens. Essentially visitors of all age groups do rush in at varying points of time in a day. So, various kinds of information highlighting various activities have to be displayed within a defined physical space. And what VADS bears in mind include: visitors’ profiles, common areas for all users, required information, graphic language, interactive information, brand establishment, to mention a few. In nutshell, most of the important points that VADS keeps in mind when designing Phoenix Marketcity projects include the importance depending on the specific context of each project like language, addressing systems, etc that one has also to bring to attention while designing.

Methods & materials

Landmark design graphics and way-finding signs of VADS implemented to Phoenix Marketcity malls located at Kurla in Mumbai and Whitefield in Bengaluru gave totally different brand new outlooks to the overall ambiences of the two shopping centers. The malls are two of the largest mixed-use developments in the country, for which VADS has standardised the sign design schemes, which include addressing system, colour coding system, form language, branding signs and logo usage on signs, material usage and construction & fixing details. This allowed VADS to create a sign design scheme that was common to both Phoenix Marketcity projects.

The façades of both Phoenix Marketcity malls were fabricated using acrylic and aluminium PU painted sheets with LEDs for night illumination. The escalator disclaimer signs were constructed using 3M interior grade vinyl media. All the internal directional signs were constructed utilising aluminium sheets mounting with 3M vinyl. Other environment graphics and designs which have changed the whole stance of the malls were implemented in those high traffic areas in the forms of floor landing signs in elevators, entrance condition signs, wall graphics, washroom signs, mall directory signs and lots others.

About VersionAbsolute Design Studio VersionAbsolute Design Studio (VADS) is a New Delhi-based design consultancy firm engaging in the process of conceptualisation, strategising, design and development of solutions for a given environment. This firm believes in adhering to the evolutionary and exciting, encompassing a range of design activities from architecture, interior designs to communication designs in the built environments. VADS intends to provide a cohesive and a comprehensive design solution for the clients, from architecture/retail interior designs to graphic designs, often combining both the disciplines to value-add to the required products. For more information, log on to: www.versionabsolute.com