The project focuses on comprehending the function of retail space design in the field of competitive education in the form of an Ed-Tech Experience Center by the brand "Unacademy".
The project familiarized the student with more nuanced aspects of retail design and an opportunity to work with retail designers, interior designers, architects, strategy designers, marketing teams, visual designers, and vendors. This project focused on understanding the role of ed-tech experience centers while designing and developing the pilot project for the brand. It started with an understanding of offline coaching centers and online platforms for competitive exams, their values & principles, the classification of the target audience, and their competitors.
A co-create workshop with top stakeholders helped to understand the brand goals, requirements, and intent. It helped envisage the experience center road map from the brand's standpoint. Vital decision makers got to discuss and define overarching goals and priorities, potential strategic planning parameters, key design drivers, and vision. The findings became the foundation for the prototype center design concept. The conclusions were validated and supported through interactions with potential users, such as learners and parents who were also actively involved. Their emotions and expectations from these centers were mapped as a result.
The project involved designing spaces for three domains, namely the retail space, learning space and the casual or unwinding space. It was designed with the hope of building a subconscious relationship and fondness for exams in the mind of learners. There were a few challenges like finding relevant case studies considering the project's uniqueness, the changing scope of work due to client internal changes, and the inability to visit the site during crucial phases. The project gave a chance to enjoy & implement the learnings at NID, and interact with creative people, making it an enriching experience.
