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Design Category
Environmental graphic design, 1998
Design firm
i.e., design (Canton, Georgia)
Collection
(1999) Communication Graphics: 20
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The Harbinger showroom in the Chicago Merchandise Mart was designed to showcase the company’s high-end commercial carpets in an elegant, clean, and functional setting. The design was inspired by elements of haute couture fashion to emphasize the apparel-like detail of Harbinger’s trend-setting colors, patterns, and textures.
The goal was to make the architecture of the showroom space disappear in relation to the product line, while incorporating strategic design elements of the recent brand repositioning. i.e., design took the bold step of incorporating neutral concrete floors with carpet insets to display new introductions in a series of “dressing rooms” equipped with full-length mirrors to show pattern repeats on smaller samples. A ’50s carpet “cat walk” lures clients into the space alongside a series of large photo murals presented in heavy wooden frames. The space was designed to be open, clean, and inviting. It created a safe haven for designers to escape the excessive product proliferation, noise and marketing overload associated with NeoCon, the largest industry trade show.