CASE STUDY

Cirque du Soleil Front of House / Retail

m+ services provided

Retail Design
Marketing Strategy Consulting
Brand Strategy Consulting
Product Display Design
Custom Portable Display System
Food Service Design
Lighting Design
Custom Furniture Design
POP Design
Environmental Graphics

marquardt+ (work performed as Design Collaboratives), in partnership with Miller-Zell Atlanta, was selected by Cirque du Soleil to create a portable and completely new front of house/retail experience. This is the complete interior public entry space of performance tents or hosting venues, which contain retail, food concessions, corporate sponsorship information, and wayfinding performance space entryways.

After 25 years of creating their own front of house presentation internally, Cirque du Soleil came to the conclusion that they needed to source creative assistance with expertise in retail environments, product display, and information presentation to create the maximum experience. As well, the front of house solution had to be designed to allow set-up and take down in one day, to be mountable within the restrictions of the existing tent structure and engineering, and to pack tightly into their transport semi-trucks. The design solution had to be turnkey and in line with the Cirque du Soleil brand, performance experiences, and energy. The format needed to express the idea of the traveling shows while supporting the efforts to increase retail sales.

After being shortlisted through a competitive Request for Proposal process, our team was selected by Cirque du Soleil to become the first outside creative group in Cirque’s history of existence to provide design services to the organization.

We developed three alternative ideas based on the abstraction of a perceived cultural experience that is not specific to any country or culture, much like Cirque du Soleil performance experiences themselves.

Concepts: Gravity, Promenade, Souk

Concept: Gravity

Gravity (…or not) exploits rigging, suspension, weight, air, and ultimately the defiance of gravity in the Cirque set-up and performance. Shopping becomes an experimental and interactive event as the product is curiously engaged to see what it will do. Product mix is enhanced with rigging, key chains and belts, added used tent products, workout bands, weights, gear, and inflatables. Light is focused on product and displays. Atmosphere evolves from the chiaroscuro technique, from bright to dim at each phase to move customers to product and then to the show.

Concept: Promenade

A stroll on the promenade, with a cave-inspired atmosphere uses shadow projections, dramatic lighting, and soft wind to create an other-worldly transition from the outside world to the world of Cirque. Skeletal stretched fabric awnings suspend over retail shops, with foldable web displays, stalagmite tables, and mesh drips filled with merchandise. Lighting is dappled and moody, with a focus on products, food, and beverages. Rustling leaves and exotic insects chirping are the vaguely familiar sounds just outside the world of Cirque.   

Concept: Souk du Soleil

Souk du Soleil is an outdoor, eclectic and global market form the world of Cirque. The exotic and busy street has overhead fabrics suspended from a taut ceiling cable and laced to the front of each display unit, to create an individual tent or cabana experience for product groups. The fabric cloaks masquerade and shroud the units, feeling alive but not human. The audio atmosphere has a mid-level energy of subtle voices and music from the world of Cirque. Projection and lighting move from day to evening, and product mix changes at key buy points as the performance evolves through the start, intermission, and closing. A unique and transitional Souk du Soleil experience occurs each time the tent is re-entered to enhance and extend the Cirque performance memories.

creative food and beverage counters

Left: Food & beverage display; Right: Food & beverage display concepts

The Souk du Soleil direction was selected by the Cirque team, with elements of the other concepts interspersed to create a final solution that is both flexible and abstracted, becoming a perfect retail manifestation of the Cirque philosophy and performances themselves.

This idea allowed for the development and application of the selected design to be incorporated into any present and future show touring the world as well as in permanent locations, without specific customizations other than projection.

The m+ team completed the finalized design and development package and Miller Zell proceeded with fabrication resolution, production, and installation of the first new front of house performance debut of Cirque du Soleil’s show, OVO, premiering in Montreal.

To really understand how we approach work such as retail, seeing the design presentations can be as informative as the outcome. Capturing an understanding of the client essence, world and needs circumvents any imposition of our own aesthetics in the process. Thus, the images profile the complete presentation of the design direction including ideation and concept development, documentation photography, and narrative shots of the first installation in use. The documentation photography was graciously provided by Miller Zell and the narrative photography was taken by Mary Beth Rampolla while attending the OVO Montreal premiere and debut of our solutions that still are a part of their retail approach, to this day.

Retail displays

Selected “Souk” concept

Retail displays

    design team, marquardt+ (work performed as Design Collaboratives)
    + Mary Beth Rampolla: design
    + Billie Knipfer: design
    + Gretchen Miller: design
    + Evelyn Legowiak: design

    design team, Miller Zell
    Keith Curtis, Vice President, Director of Design

    Photography: ZJN Photo, Montreal; Mary Beth Rampolla