Travel retail design for Kai Tak in Hong Kong

23rd December 2014

You may remember at the beginning of the year we mentioned our ongoing travel retail design project at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong. The Duty free store is  now open for business so we can tell you a little more about the project.

The 1925 Club

Hong Kong Cruise Plaza

We were commissioned to create the brand identity and design and plan the retail and interior environments of the new cruise terminal – known as ‘Hong Kong Cruise Plaza’ – including the duty free store and food and beverage areas. The entire retail space is over 22,000 square feet, with a similar sized area for restaurants and other food outlets. On top of the terminal an 850 metre long roof garden provides spectacular views overlooking Victoria Harbour.

Logo

Logo inspiration

The terminal itself is built on the site of the former airport and is intended as a regional transport hub for cruise liners. It was designed by British architect Norman Foster, famous for award-winning and cutting edge architectural designs like the London ‘Gherkin.’ The terminal can berth two of the world’s largest passenger ships at any one time, with 6,000 passengers expected to pass through the terminal each day.

Branding

Barber’s role in developing branding and communications for the Plaza included developing the branding and corporate identity for the site, signage and way-finding, customer communications and the branded environmental look and feel.

The logo developed by Barber is based on the history of Kai Tak. the area was first licensed as an airfield back in 1925 and became a commercial airport 20 years later. The logo was inspired by the area’s shift from aeronautical to nautical and is based on a design inspired by an airplane propeller and a ships engine propeller.

The propeller logo forms the basis for umbrella branding which is then derived into different sub brands such as the Plaza’s luxury ‘1925 Club’ or the ‘Plaza Café’.

Plaza cafe

Design and Planning

Barber were also instrumental in the planning and design of the Plaza interior and the retail experience and anticipated  customer journeys within this area. This included:

  • Design of the entrance/ interior/ exterior
  • Concept design/layout/ planning public facing zones
  • Concept design/layout/ planning of the entire commercial area
  • Concept design/layout/ planning duty free store: perfume and cosmetics, general merchandise, luxury and couture
  • Concept design/layout/ planning food and beverage areas, including the creation of 2 premium food and beverage  propositions for passengers and visitors: the ‘Plaza Café’ and ‘The 1925 Club’ (a luxury fine wine and champagne bar)

Signage

Here you can see the layout for the perfume, cosmetics and destination area which has two distinct spaces to reflect the different characteristics of the different types of merchandise sold in this area.

Perfume and cosmetics

This is the plan for the luxury and couture area which sells famous watch and jewellery brands, fashion and leather goods and accessories.

Luxury Couture plan

hk-luxury-couture

The  Hong Kong Cruise Plaza is a unique destination for both shopping and eating, located in  spectacular surroundings. Barber has worked hard to create the right environment for international vendors to showcase their brands and products in such an exciting, purpose-built retail space – not just for cruise passengers but also local residents and other travellers as a unique destination for shopping and relaxation.