SUNGLASS!

DESIGN CONCEPT

The SUNGLASS! store in Cancún is conceived as an immersive urban gallery that merges street-art culture with refined product display. The design frames sunglasses as collectible objects, using layers of graphics, light, and material contrast to create a vibrant yet controlled environment. The architecture embraces the energy of the resort city, translating it into a compact, expressive retail space that feels dynamic from every angle of the circulation corridor.

The concept emphasizes permeability and visibility. A fully open storefront, supported by slender metal profiles and clear glazing, blurs the boundary between mall passage and interior, turning the store itself into a luminous showcase. Customers are visually drawn by the interplay of neon-like signage, colorful murals, and precisely lit display volumes that appear to float above the floor.

LAYOUT AND CUSTOMER FLOW

The plan is organized around a U-shaped perimeter display system complemented by freestanding central showcases. This configuration allows for intuitive circulation: visitors enter through the widest open edge, are guided along the perimeter to explore the full collection, and naturally loop back toward the service counter placed as a focal anchor.

The central vitrines are dimensioned to maintain clear visual corridors across the entire store, ensuring constant eye contact with both merchandise and brand imagery. Their elevation off the floor, on slender metal frames, maintains openness and promotes uninterrupted sightlines to perimeter walls and murals. The counter is positioned slightly off-center to avoid visual blockage, functioning simultaneously as a service point and an additional display surface.

MATERIALITY AND COLOR PALETTE

The material palette balances warm natural finishes with a graphic, almost digital aesthetic. Wood veneers with a medium warm tone wrap the lower cabinetry and portions of the perimeter walls, providing a tactile counterpoint to the sleek metal structures and glass shelves. This warmth is essential in grounding the otherwise highly luminous, image-driven environment.

Neutral light-toned flooring and white solid surfaces act as a canvas that amplifies reflections and enhances product visibility. Thin metal frames in a dark, almost black finish outline counters and support structures, echoing industrial references from urban streetscapes. The color palette is intentionally restrained in the architectural elements so that the high-saturation street-art murals and product lenses can stand out as the primary chromatic accents.

LIGHTING AND BRAND ATMOSPHERE

Lighting design plays a central role in defining the brand atmosphere. A continuous band of integrated LED lighting at the base of the perimeter showcases and under the central vitrines generates a floating effect, adding depth and lightness. The main ceiling grid employs modular panels with concealed linear fixtures, delivering uniform ambient light while avoiding glare on the glass lenses.

Accent lighting is focused directly onto the display shelves and vitrines, calibrating color temperature to enhance frame materials and lens tints. The backlit logo and the vibrant graffiti panel at the fascia function as luminous beacons in the mall environment, reinforcing brand recognition from a distance. Reflections on glass and polished surfaces are controlled to maintain clarity of merchandise while still achieving a dynamic play of light.

GRAPHICS, BRANDING AND VISUAL MERCHANDISING

The interior walls serve as a curated graphic backdrop that positions the store within a youthful, cosmopolitan aesthetic. Large-format photographic panels and illustrated street-art characters are integrated into the shelving system, always framed by clean white bands carrying the SUNGLASS! logo. This alternation of image and logo generates rhythm and visually segments the collection without physical partitions.

Merchandise is presented on slender horizontal glass shelves and within museum-like vitrines, encouraging a gallery-style exploration. The varying heights of central showcases allow for tiered product storytelling, highlighting key collections at eye level while reserving the upper perimeter shelves for broader assortment display. The visual merchandising strategy supports quick orientation while allowing for expressive thematic compositions tied to seasons or trends.

SUSTAINABILITY AND PERFORMANCE

The project incorporates several strategies to enhance environmental performance while maintaining a high-impact retail image. LED technology is used exclusively for all general and accent lighting, substantially reducing energy consumption and minimizing heat gain in the compact volume, which is particularly relevant in Cancún’s warm climate. Dimmable systems allow adaptation to natural light conditions in the mall and extend lamp life.

Furniture elements are designed as modular, demountable units. Metal structures and glass shelves are easily reconfigurable, extending the store’s lifecycle and avoiding waste when collections or layouts change. Where possible, wood finishes are specified with certified or low-VOC products, and durable materials have been selected to withstand high traffic, reducing the need for frequent replacement. The open storefront also leverages shared mall conditioning, decreasing the need for additional mechanical systems within the store envelope.