Camp Flagship Store
Mission: To reimagine a toy store inspired by childhood camp nostalgia.
Behind the secret door of a seemingly ordinary canteen lies Camp—a new-generation toy store in NYC’s Flatiron District.
For a long time, traditional toy stores have struggled to stay alive due to their uninspiring model of having customers shop in sterile, icy warehouses—especially when paired with poor customer support, if any. Modern customers are attracted to building brand relationships and being part of the story. No breadth of inventory these days can overcome the lack of customer engagement.
Camp wanted to try something new. Not only did they want customers to have the latest and greatest merchandise but also to be part of the retail space’s narrative. At Camp, customers are encouraged to roam, play, and interact with the environment and staff. They believe the retail experience should be a dialogue between the space and its users. And that is precisely what we set out to make.
OkiDoki and I teamed up to transform Camp’s 10,000-square-foot space into an intricate labyrinth of play. We wanted to create, from the ground up, a shopping experience that takes kids and parents back in time to a faraway land of complete camp nostalgia.
Camp opened its doors on December 15, 2018.
Retail Store
Design, Strategy, & Illustration | Edmund Liang
Studio | OkiDoki
Design Process
With all projects, I like to begin with broad strokes. The team had ideas but nothing was concrete—which is how most projects typically begin. Over time, I identify patterns, motivations, which ultimately led us to a clearer and clearer understanding of the space's purpose or “function”. This function is then used to shape the “form”. Below, you'll find the initial blueprint that everything started from.
Blueprint
Extruding The Blueprint
Establishing Shot
We wanted to explore what customers see when we walk past the initial “portal” experience. This is the equivalent of Alice, in Alice in Wonderland, when she lands in the dream world after descending down the rabbit hole.
All things start rough and become more refined as the vision slowly solidifies.
Then we focused on areas of interest within the store and detailed them out.
The Grove
Below is what CAMP calls The Grove. Inspired by light-dappled forest clearings, this area was at the heart of the store. We envisioned it being filled with hidden “easter eggs”. Our goal was to creatively conceal merchandise throughout and have kids embark on a treasure hunt guided by sensory cues.
Designing For Merchandise
It’s a whole new way of thinking when designing for kids. We had to be in their minds—something we adults haven’t experienced for decades.
Playing SIMS After I designed and modeled all the shelving systems, I tested them in 3D.
Grove Shelves How do we disguise fixed elements (like columns), stay within theme, and display merch?
Sports & Merch
Logs & Stumps How can we get creative with low-height merch displays?
Brainstorming Shelf Systems Infinite possibilities. Good and bad. Choices, choices, choices…
Reach From All Sides Mid to high level movable shelving designed to be accessed from all sides.
Details, Details, Details. Building low-poly 3D models for previsualization—textures, materials, smells, sounds, and ergonomics.
Ready, Play Ball
Other Microzones
Big or small, each zone of the store had to be carefully considered. We wanted to be intentional with every cubic feet.
Kid's Cabins Figuring out flow of foot traffic.
Variations Upon Variations You never know. What if another options works better?
Arts & Crafts A space to kids to play and get messy.
Big Log Cabin For those who like to play house.
Production Process
Nothing compares to seeing the actual project being built.
Press Coverage
It was incredibly heart-warming to see how much fun the kids and their parents were having. Seeing them play together made me wish I was a kid again (for a moment).
It's So Wholesome It Hurts
Completely Magical
Calling All Campers
Your Kid's Next Obsession
Camp Is Open For Business
S'more Kids Should Explore
It's An Experience