More than just a bookstore, Reading Mi is a multi-hyphenated lifestyle destination that lends richness to the physical retail experience.
July 29th, 2015
Given the convenience and growing popularity of e-readers, physical bookstores doubtlessly have to do more to draw in the customer.
Located in 9 Square, a shopping mall in Shenzhen, China, Reading Mi is a lifestyle bookstore and concept store that aims to capture the huge market of 300,000 residences situated in the new and developing Long Hau District.
At Reading Mi, visitors can spend their leisure time pouring over books, but also shop for cultural design products, have coffee, and participate in workshops and seminars.
“The brand in Chinese is pronounced as ‘Mi’, which literally means ‘to search’. It is an ancient word so not many people know how to read it, and many would see it as a combined word of ‘不’ & ‘見’, which reads as ‘not seen’. So it is this ambiguity that makes up the magic of the brand story: since you can’t see the truth, therefore you are searching. Reading Mi [is a place] to search for your inner self. The bookstore is the cultural core, everything [else] spirals around it,” explains Hong Ko, partner at KL&K Design – the firm responsible for creating the project’s total brand experience.
The brand identity is based on the graphic representation of bookshelves. The overall layout of the store therefore neatly follows the linear grid of bookshelves, but as Hong Ko points out, there are also “a lot of [examples] of the witting marriage of graphics and space”, which is a one of the firm’s core strengths.
The bookstore makes up a third of the 994 square metre space, with the remaining areas allocated to a cultural/design product section, a café, and a children’s illustration book house.
A cylindrical floor to ceiling bookshelf with cushioned seating serves as a key focal point in the store. “We call it ‘the man and book united nook’,” says Hong Ko, “It serves as a strong visual DNA as well as a social media ‘photo opportunity’ (which has proven to be quite successful).”
By incorporating multiple retail and lifestyle experiences in a single, cohesive space, Reading Mi has certainly considered all ways to attract the customer of today.
KL&K Design
klandk.com
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Sub-Zero and Wolf’s prestigious Kitchen Design Contest (KDC) has celebrated the very best in kitchen innovation and aesthetics for three decades now. Recognising premier kitchen design professionals from around the globe, the KDC facilitates innovation, style and functionality that pushes boundaries.
The Sub-Zero Wolf showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne provide a creative experience unlike any other. Now showcasing all-new product ranges, the showrooms present a unique perspective on the future of kitchens, homes and lifestyles.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
With over 300 events planned, the eighth edition promises another marathon week of design and its theme is at once a proposition of hope and an urgent call-to-arms.
Lacquered in warm timber tones and complemented by high-quality furniture and fixtures, the new HQ for Salta Properties is a home away from home.