January 27, 2021
Crosby Studios Creates a Retro-Futuristic Flagship for Tech Accessories Brand CASETiFY
Located in Hong Kong’s Landmark Atrium mall, the new store is an immersive, Instagrammable affair that helps gild the brand’s digital identity.
CASETiFY, a global tech accessories brand (think phone cases and laptop sleeves), has landed a spaceship-inspired flagship designed to garner likes from a throng of influencers. Created by New York–based Crosby Studios, the store is a colorful and comfortable space to sit and recharge.
Centrally located in Hong Kong’s Landmark Atrium, the store offers an other- worldly refuge from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding luxury shopping center. Crosby Studios founder Harry Nuriev believes that the retail landscape is evolving, and that this laid-back atmosphere will be key for a post-pandemic world. “New retail is not just shelving but a strong and playful environment where people can not only shop but drink a coffee or hang out,” he says. “This is the only way retail is going to work.”
Through the transparent storefront, CASETiFY’s retro-futuristic interior is intended to surprise passersby. Entering between two heavy concrete pillars, customers step into a glowing series of rooms where LED displays along curved geometries provide graphic contrast to the concrete shell. One seamless, wavy wall flows throughout the space, covered in a gradient based on the company’s signature colors. Round light boxes on the ceiling illuminate Crosby Studios’ custom furnishings, including red velvet seating and curvilinear Corian tables with built-in charging stations.
Merging the digital and physical, the store functions IRL as an immersive experience where guests can customize phone cases to serve as a kind of extension of their online lifestyles. The bright, Instagrammable interior was engineered to generate content for media-savvy shoppers—helping gild CASETiFY’s digital identity. To encourage posts and hashtags, CASETiFY and Crosby Studios developed “The CASETiFY Cube,” an installation that creates a 360-degree “selfie experience” with motion graphics, sound, and mirrors, as well as directionals on the floor for optimal photo angles.
“I really stand for things that give us new emotional experiences, even if it’s just for a moment,” Nuriev says. “When you see, touch, and feel something that’s new for you—that’s what creates powerful memories.”
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