New DNA-based anti-aging brand Geneu has launched a London flagship, designed by Imagination-owned consultancy Virgile & Partners, which worked with Geneu creative director and Duran Duran founder Nick Rhodes on the project.
The store, on New Bond Street, invites people to give a saliva swab, from which DNA is extracted. This is analysed for genes that effect the way skin ages, and store staff then “prescribe” bespoke anti-ageing serums.
The consultation takes places in Virgile & Partners-designed “experience pods”, while a “tech wall”, interactive table and lounge offer further information on the brand and its products.
The branding for Geneu was designed by its in-house creative director Rhodes, who worked alongside consultancy Tomato.
The Geneu serums come in black, “gunmetal” or “pearlescent white” cartridges, developed alongside packaging specialists Toly.
Rhodes says: “ We were going for a fashion, luxury culture.”
The branding uses the “u” from Geneu with a small “+” symbol as a device shown on photographs of faces in campaign imagery, which is displayed on the walls of the store.
Martin Stow, Geneu chief operating officer, says: “The ‘u’ symbolises ‘you’, and the plus demonstrates how lifestyle effects gene expression. The ‘u’ also symbolises an element on the periodic table which coverts DNA.”
The retail space designed by Virgile & Partners aims to convey a “luxury, high-end feel”, says Stow. Features include large-scale, brightly coloured close-up images of microchips displayed on the walls in the downstairs area.
“We want to take away the intimidation of medical technology”, Stow says.
According to Virgile & Partners, the store needed to “reflect the brand’s values, decode science and bring it to life, expressing the innovative nature, and stories, of the products and art in technology.”
Reflective walls are used to create the illusion of a wider space, and look to reference “the concept of our own reflection and the idea of beauty”, says the consultancy.
Other features include concrete-like flooring, reflective surfaces, stone, white marble and translucent soft coloured resins aiming to create what Virgile & Partners calls a “luxury lab” and “theatrical” feel.
The concept was designed to be flexible to enable the flagship designs to be adapted to other sites in future.
Courtesy Design Week