How did you discover your passion for creativity and begin working in the design industry? My mum is a fashion designer, so my interest in fashion and creativity was instilled in me from a very young age. But, as they all do, my parents wanted me to have a bit more stability in my career. I originally looked to enroll in psychology at university but eventually chose to pursue fashion management, which kind of met the two disciplines in the middle. It was still fashion, but the term management kept my parents happy.

That degree took me from Amsterdam to London and then helped me land an internship at the Tommy Hilfiger EMEA headquarters back in Amsterdam. The experience there unlocked a focus in me on brand storytelling, defining and expanding the Tommy Hilfiger narrative by crafting a story that elevated the brand. When one polo shirt is very much like the next, how can you build a brand world that sets you apart?

At Hilfiger, I worked my way up to managing the creative services team. We would do everything from corporate events to flagships, window campaigns and showrooms, telling the story of Tommy Hilfiger through a diner, for example, or Studio 54, The Hamptons or a ski resort on Aspen Mountain.

It was there I realized that, outside of just fashion, I enjoyed creating stories. It was also where a colleague first told me about an independent interior retail and hospitality agency in Amsterdam called UXUS that was doing really interesting work across the globe. Turning my back on the security of a global brand to join a smaller agency was a risk, but after meeting with founders George Gottl and Oliver Michell, I knew I needed to apply for a role. 
 
Having joined as project manager, I’m still here sixteen years later. I became chief executive officer of UXUS in 2019 and am now president of spatial design at FutureBrand following UXUS’s integration into the company.

Tell us about your current position as the president of spatial design at FutureBrand. What do you do in your role? When I was working for UXUS, we were already landing large clients like IHG Hotels & Resorts, McDonald’s and Tate Modern. Those clients very much loved our boutique approach and how involved we were in every project we touched, but I think we knew that in order to continue growing—and to provide the perceived security some of the more risk-averse clients needed—we had to be a part of a wider structure. FutureBrand is an international, award-winning branding agency working across basically every sector you can think of. So, its leadership knew how important and integral the spatial, retail and physical elements are to the wider brand experience. It was an opportunity to strengthen our existing client base and expand together.

The integration gave us immediate access to a sixteen-office network spanning the globe, which meant that we could really go after fully end-to-end projects. We now have the tools and skillsets to create a strategy, use global insight, and then translate it all the way down into brand identity and spatial expression.

My role within the network is hybrid and multidisciplinary. Overall, my role is a mix of leadership, business development, talent development and business strategy. I’m not a ‘trained creative,’ but I unpack new briefs, meet new clients as an ambassador of the agency. Often, I’m the one to ask the tough questions and interrogate what a brand truly needs commercially. At the same time, I’m the connector between client and team, sparring with the creatives. I always ask them to pitch to me, I’m as critical as any client. It’s important that I can ask the right questions to push the work forward. I also connect with the wider leadership team across all offices of FutureBrand, helping enable cross-pollination across ideas, pitch teams, skillsets and disciplines.

With FutureBrand, you helped design the flagship McDonald’s store on Jeju Island, South Korea, with a distinctive lunar-inspired aesthetic that helped reinvigorate the fast-food chain in China. What was your design thinking behind incorporating the Moon’s cultural symbology into McDonald’s storefront? The Luna interior concept was designed to bring people together in a welcoming, playful environment. The design language was inspired by the circle as a symbol of inclusivity and togetherness. In addition, the moon is of significant cultural importance in China, with its phases dictating the calendar, among other things. So, we wanted to pull on those insights to inspire the interior architecture and graphic elements. Using iconic circular shapes in a fresh, contemporary expression of the brand that still feels very much grounded in the McDonald’s brand language—curved shapes are very intrinsically McDonald’s, like the golden arches—but fresh and tailored to local culture.

McDonald’s China had a local agency, but we won the project by showing real customer journey mapping, local insights and recognizing the potential for something truly fresh. With these projects, it’s less a question of whether you like the look of the design but more about how it builds value and cultural relevance for the brand. That being said, it was also a very sophisticated decor, one that really helped elevate the McDonald’s brand. It ended up being a top decor choice in the Chinese market. The brand’s outlets have rosters of decors to select from, depending on type of location—like a central city mall or a standalone site in the suburbs, among others—and Luna ticked a lot of boxes.

You also helped create a new retail concept for beauty brand Clinique’s Chinese stores that have now become adopted by the brand in the United States. Tell us about the reasoning behind the design and how it portrays Clinique’s image. Heritage brands like Clinique often face the challenge of maintaining newness and upholding cultural relevance when compared to younger, more agile competitors. However, they equally have a past packed with legacy, credibility and trust that gives them a step up with increasingly savvy and suspicious consumers.

Amping up these qualities is important so, for Clinique, we revisited its origins as a science-driven skincare pioneer to help introduce the brand to a new generation in Asia. We didn’t want to just apply global retail norms to the project, so we instead leaned on insights provided by Clinique’s local teams in Asia to co-create designs that resonated with Chinese consumers. For example, high-quality store designs and adaptable layouts are especially important in Asia. Thus, the pilot store in China blended its laboratory heritage with the aesthetics demanded by a generation of expertise-led “skinfluencers.”
 
Brands, more than ever, need to think about multiple forms of real-world interactions to connect with that consumer. For each visitor, Clinique offers a unique, personal experience, including facial scanning software that analyzes skin to provide custom skincare and beauty solutions, a communal area dedicated to bespoke consultant-led experiences, and a table that showcases a curated selection of best-selling products. Our design plays with tension: the rigor of the laboratory and scientific elements are balanced by the use of soft curves, natural materials and dynamic lighting.

Other than the above projects, tell us about some of your favorite work you’ve created with FutureBrand. How have they changed your perception of what you can achieve through environmental design? Some of my favorite work involves collaborating with category changing clients and creating strategic solutions that drive business growth. For example, we worked to reposition L’Occitane, creating a brand-new experience that collaborated with patisserie Pierre Hermé to turn its London flagship into an experiential store, combining retail, food and beverages, and beauty services. From a distance, the display looks like a vibrant selection of macarons, but once customers get closer, they see that one half of the selection is L’Occitane hand creams. The result was a display that was both appealing from both a visual merchandising point of view but also enhanced the brand and product experience to help encourage an 180 percent increase in footfall.

We also worked with hearing aid brand HearUSA, which was a real benchmark project for me. Data showed that younger customers needed hearing aids but were reluctant to use them. The wider FutureBrand team worked to create a new, vibrant and unapologetic identity that spoke to a more independent, empowered consumer. The spatial design team worked to redefine the audiology experience, helping customers experience a new standard in hearing care—one that champions the consumer and normalizes hearing loss for people of all ages.

The new retail stores feature a design concept that is modern, innovative, welcoming, and engaging. We wanted to reimagine the way consumers engage with hearing wellness, helping them take charge of the journey. There are open spaces and product displays, which encourage the use of technology such as QR codes, iPads and interactive displays. Sound pods offer a private place for customers to listen to their favorite musician or concert to test the audio—because that’s how audio is meant to be experienced. We also took inspiration for displaying hearing aids from the likes of Swarovski, treating healthcare as more of an exciting retail experience rather than just a clinical exercise.

With many brands focusing on e-commerce and social media campaigns to attract new buyers, why would you say it’s now more important than ever to create branded spaces? Following COVID, people said there was no place for retail anymore, but that’s just not true. People are craving real-world experiences, and social media is driving footfall. We’re still seeing queues around the block for the stores doing it right. But, we need to be smart. If the shopping experience becomes purely transactional, people will go straight to e-commerce options for the sake of convenience. Instead, retail needs to act more like theater.

People like trying something new and experiencing that moment of handling something in-store for the first time. Especially in sectors like beauty or fashion, retailers benefit from hypertactical experiences where consumers can test and play—through swatches, application techniques or expert advice from consultants—and likely will continue to for a long time. But, the retail experience of the future most likely won't be tethered to stores alone. Beauty brands could be meeting customers in packed clubs (lip gloss top-up vending machines, perhaps) or busy train stations (a refreshing takeaway face-mask bar for the frazzled traveler). Those that embrace such agility will be the ones best set up for a hyperpersonalized future.

In the coming years, there will need to be a mindset shift around the position of brick-and-mortar stores in the sale process. Stores will no longer be about converting a sale there and then but about offering consumers a place to trial, learn and explore before making a sale at home. It’s a billboard they can walk through.

As president of a design firm, what are some challenges that the design industry is facing today, and how do you plan on tackling them? At the brand management level, there are often changes of leadership and changes of tactical plans, which means a short cycle and a short timeframe for retail designers to create impact. So, we need to be agile.

The world is also constantly shifting, so we need to find new ways to adapt and not get stuck in our design processes. Just because something worked five years ago doesn’t mean it will now. I’m not saying AI is the answer, but we all need to be asking more questions and avoid complacency in our approaches.

You mentioned that when you felt unsure about taking risks when you first started in the industry, but when you found fellow designers that you could trust and bolstered your network, you discovered you boosted your confidence as well. How can designers just starting in the industry today follow a similar path to yours? Young people are told by social media that they need to work for constant promotions and fancy titles and keep moving up the ladder. In my case, it paid off to invest, wear different hats within the same organization and continue to grow that way. I stayed for seven years at Tommy Hilfiger, and I’m now on year sixteen at FutureBrand. Some people suggest this makes it look like I’m not moving or I’m not ambitious. I think I just learned to follow my own path. 
 
Also, I would urge everyone to find a mentor, a sponsor, or just spend an hour talking to someone who has 15 or 20 years in the business. It can really make a difference. Send someone a DM on LinkedIn. One of our recent hires introduced themselves to me that way and not for a specific role. There are lots of networks too—for example, women’s networks, young professionals’ networks and intern opportunities. Community is a true superpower. Make sure you tap into it. ca