Objective: Design an experiential installation in the Champs Sports Chicago flagship store to highlight Chicago’s creative community (working with photographers @trashhand and @swopes) and reinforce ’47’s connection to urban creative culture.
My role / contribution: I directed creative strategy and all design execution — I conceptualized climbable sculptures that reflect the photographers’ work (one a vantage-point structure, the other a tunnel experience), engineered the spatial build within the new store to avoid permanent damage, integrated a 25′ LED screen with animation by Hugo Leick, and incorporated guest interaction elements (Fujifilm Instax giveaways, custom Spotify playlist tied to the activation, gallery brochure). Dave Bates Design
Key highlight / impact: Delivered an immersive gallery-meets-brand activation that elevated the in-store experience from typical photo display to active visitor engagement, reinforcing ’47’s cultural positioning and giving the store a standout creative moment.
We knew we wanted to build a photography gallery right away. But our challenge was to create something different, something that was more impactful than simply hanging pictures on the wall. Not to mention, hanging pictures would be difficult, as the space within the flagship was new and we had to avoid causing any permanent damage.
As we looked through the works of @trashhand and @swopes, we found our inspiration - they are street photographers who capture their images through physicality: they climb buildings or crawl deep into subway tunnels to access spaces that are off-limits to the rest of us. The physical piece of their story was exactly what we needed to explore to make the gallery special.
We ideated a pair of climbable sculptures, one for each photographer, that invited gallery visitors to climb, crawl, and explore the images on display.
@swopes deals in dreamy imagery, often taken from above, and challenges the viewers' perspective. Her sculpture was designed so the viewer can climb up, and look down inside to reveal a skylight picture, adding one additional level of perspective shift for the viewer.
@trashhand needed to push people further, as his work famously shows subway tunnels and other locations which are difficult for most to visit. We created a tunnel to crawl through which flows into an isolated chamber. The visitor finds themselves in this confined space, surrounded by images, which gives some sense of what he experiences in his creative process.
Champs Sports activation room features a 25' LED screen which is perfect for creating unique content to supplement the experience. With the help of our friend Hugo Leick, we were able to bring the photographers' featured images to life as an added texture.
Our brand reps were armed with Fujifilm Instax cameras, a nice detail to coincide with the gallery concept and provide a takeaway for guests.
As one last touchpoint, we asked the artists to share their favorite musicians. We built a custom playlist on Spotify which played throughout the space to fully bring the activation to life. Guests were able to scan the gallery brochure and follow the playlist.
