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MK: You have designed for brands and agencies and even founded your own studio, Noise Noise Noise? What was it like starting your own studio?

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BC: I had worked for M&C Saatchi, a small boutique studio called Inochi, and then the Cotton On Group before I founded Noise Noise Noise. Each of the experiences taught me something different whether it be about designing for brands and their customers, the retail operations side of things or the most optimal design process. Nothing really prepared me to start a business however. I made a lot of mistakes, asked a lot of questions and relied on the expertise of my build vendors to bring concepts to reality. I made great relationships with clients, collaborators and vendors and many became friends or mentors - I think this was my greatest learning - the importance of relationships. I won awards including the IDEA Emerging Designer of the Year in 2021 which was such an honor to be respected by the Australian design industry. I think starting a business is tough - for all the things you don’t know until you know. However once you are thrown into the deep end, everything gets figured out and most of the time it becomes a positive experience you look back on and say “remember that time….?”

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MK: I think what I notice most about your work is color and materials. Where do you gather a lot of your creative inspiration from?

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BC: I love playing with colour, it is definitely my signature handwriting. I’m not afraid to take spaces to the extreme with an all-in monotone or contrasting colour approach, playing with texture and pattern variation. You start to see themes of colour pop up in waves (even I have ‘Brat green’ nails right now) but the skill is being able to remove the ‘trend’ and ensure there is longevity in the colour palette you choose. I gather inspiration from album cover art, sneaker colourways, fashion magazines and even food styling photography.

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MK: What’s one of your favorite Nike installations or store installs/ designs that you’ve worked on?

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BC: I was the Design Director for Nike Brand Experience for North America - so the number of projects I worked on over the 4 year period was crazy, each of them came with their own highlights and challenges. I think one of my favourite installs was for Nike’s 50th Anniversary. We dove deep into the Department of Nike Archives and created a fully immersive storytelling moment around some of Nike’s most well known innovations - for example the waffle sole and the Nike Pegasus (in which there has been 41 variations of to date!). I wanted the Nike House of Innovation NYC installation for 50th to be an expression of Nike’s past, present and future, showcasing the innovations that contributed to the brand and product categories of today, but also a celebration of the future innovations and innovators. To do this, I collaborated with 6 artists and designers from NYC to showcase their work instore that tapped into a particular brief or with nods to Nikes past, as well as offered them a space to host free workshops for Nike Members. The workshops created such a buzz, we had over 1000 participants coming through to learn new skills such as mold casting with Original Rose, bag design with reclaimed materials with Local Stranger Workshop, footwear design using previous season footwear components with Andy Martinez, jewelry design with Mark Sabino, fashion rework with Makayla Wray, and furniture design and model making with Studio Guapo. Seeing customers from all demographics sit together and take a moment to embrace a creative outlet felt like the initiative we created offered a memorable experience of the brand. 

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MK: Where do you feel the future of retail design and brand activation is heading?

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BC: We are working harder than ever to move O2O (online to offline) to O+O (online plus offline) bringing the digital and physical worlds more closely together. Retail environments are adapting to the need as physical spaces are no longer simply a product or service provider. The future of retail and brand experience is about creating spaces that are memory providers with the focus on an emotional experience and storytelling - conjuring a deeper connection than ever before between the consumer and the brand.

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The experience economy will be an important vehicle for retailers to create engaging cultural experiences via pop ups and activations. Creating accessible moments and memories that embed their brand universe into people’s memories. Retailers are starting to position themselves as cultural curators by creating a place for wonder, exclusivity and connection. 

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In addition, multi-narrative experiences across food and beverage, wellness, travel, or hyper personalised services that go beyond a brand’s core proposition and embed themselves in a customers life is the future. This is one of the largest opportunities for physical retail channels to grow and exist.

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MK: Can you think of any store installations or branded experiences that have really blown you away lately?

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BC: Gentle Monster always hits it out of the park with their kinetic retail experiences - the artful expression throughout the store and the unique story that is told in each location offers a whimsical playfulness mixed back with an often sci-fi uneasiness. Their latest collaboration with Mugler is a powerful expression of femininity and distinctive silhouettes shown instore via robotics and artful kinetic overlays.

Louis Vuitton are masters at their windows and facades and the recent ‘Victory travels in Louis Vuitton’ windows in Paris for the Olympic Games had a stunning interplay of luxury and sport with a playful graphic and sculptural overlay. 

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MK: What do you think is the most important aspect of your design practice at this stage in your career?

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BC: After 15 years of being in the industry, I have designed a lot of stores and experiences, some tight timelines and low budgets, others more lavish. I think that no matter how large or small the project is, it is important to remain truly connected to project process of creation and never loose touch with your ability to visually communicate. I think there is often a perception that the higher up you sit on an org chart, the less involved in the work you are. Whilst this can be true to an extent considering the other responsibilities that come with leading a team, for me, being involved in the project at all stages from concept through to delivery is very important. I love working collaboratively with a team, however I know where my skill set is better suited and when to pass the baton to the project team. Having this trust is paramount. When it comes down to it though, I still like to map the consumer journey plans, offer ideation and sketch the initial concepts, source the materials and finishes, present the pitch deck and even clean the glass and install the decals on an install. I don’t want to loose touch with the hands on work, so immersing myself in a project with the team is the only way to remain in touch and relevant in my eyes.

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MK: I have to say every time I visit your apartment it feels like an episode out of Architectural Digest. What’s your favorite piece?

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BC: Oh thankyou! I have designed most of the pieces of furniture in the apartment and had them hand made by some of my brilliant vendors back home in Australia and here in NYC, which makes it even more special as I feel like I have memories of our collaborations and the relationships we built over many years of working together. Everything is bold in terms of colour (Yves Klien Blue being my fave!) and playful form and definitely speaks to my personal design style. I wouldn’t say there is a favourite piece, I think everything works best together as a collection, and is offset by large scale art I have collected by photographer Pol Kurucz and Nick Thomm.

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MK: You’ve recently left Nike to go back to being independent, what are your plans for 2024 and beyond and where should people keep a look out?

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BC: Yes, after 4 years with Nike I decided that I wanted to continue to design for a variety of clients and brands and be able to flex different design languages. I’m currently taking on projects and collaborations from both a design and retail design consulting perspective. My website gives a bit of a feel of my approach to design and the process behind it (check out the ‘Play’ page) so if there feels like an alignment between what I do and what clients or collaborators may need lets catch up! 

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https://www.blair--cooper.com/