Porsche auf Sylt

A car dealership. Without cars?
Munich-based design agency Designliga − Bureau for Visual Communication and Interior Design has developed and realized a prototype retail concept for its client Porsche, complete with interior design, corporate design and communication material and activities.

The retail industry as a whole is currently engulfed by sweeping changes. But the automotive industry has a particular challenge to face: personal contact with customers and prospects is declining as potential customers increasingly turn to configuring their dream vehicles online. Yet especially effective ways of gaining and retaining customers can be immersion in emotional experiences, and the opportunity of honing and refining sales pitches in order to arrive at the ideal product for the customer. Given this, more and more manufacturers are moving into the everyday reality of their customers’ and prospects’ lives.

Welcome to Porsche
The concept presented and realized by Designliga focuses on the perception of the car dealership as a brand centre, where both space and time are focused on bridging the gap between desire for a Porsche and its purchase. Porsche auf Sylt acts as a hub of this desire for customers and fans of the brand; they are personally welcomed to the centre as guests of equal standing, greeted with advice, assistance and hospitality.

Experiencing the brand, generating leads
The design concept transfers the brand’s core values to the available space and to all points of contact and interaction with the customer. These attributes include the superlatives of Innovation, Performance and Design, in harmony with Function, Tradition and Everyday Usability. The concept is designed to create a hands-on experience of the uniqueness of the Porsche brand. The retail concept integrates the elements of Porsche Design Shop, Porsche Drive (car hire) and the sales preparation process, which interact in personal and assisted configuration experiences.

The personal sales pitch process involves a sophisticated interplay of digital technology and sensuous hands-on experience. Modular expandable furnishings were developed for the showroom, to present the various vehicle models and their features and details in a structured, approachable manner. All information collected is transferred to the responsible Porsche Centre, which handles the order up to the point of delivery.

Icons as identification
Changing temporary exhibitions and partnerships provide an array of brand references from different perspectives, and form a core element of the space and event concept. They bring life to the retail centre by inspiring discussion and ideas, attracting new visitors and encouraging repeat visits. Designliga worked with the Porsche Museum to curate and stage the exhibition on show up to the start of the 2017 summer season, “Carrera RS 2.7 – A Design Icon and Its Contemporaries”. The exhibition will be the first in a series of events focusing on one iconic Porsche and bringing it to life within the context of its design history and social development as a whole.

Since April 2017, Porsche auf Sylt has provided locals and visitors to the island with the opportunity to share, live and breathe the fascination of this German sports car brand, and embark on the first steps towards a purchase with personal support over a cup of excellent coffee. Porsche auf Sylt marked its opening with an island rally in the presence of brand ambassador Patrick Dempsey and racing driver Mark Webber.

Concept
To create a harmonious overall impression, the concept combined a wide variety of aspects, from retail and utilization – including customer journey – to events and exhibitions. It also covered development of brand identity, from vision/mission to the wording and tone of texts and images.

The user concept includes regularly changing curated installations, which may be exhibition series, single exhibitions, events or temporary hospitality. The curators’ task in each case is to act as opinion leaders and communicate credibility in their specific fields. The first exhibition in the Design Icons series is “Carrera RS 2.7 – A Design Icon and Its Contemporaries”, developed as a partnership between Designliga and the Porsche Museum. The Carrera RS 2.7 represents the synthesis of sportiness, performance and purist design that typifies Porsche, and captures the prevalent zeitgeist of its heyday. Exhibits include luxury and everyday items from this era, such as the first portable mobile telephone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x; the Pony “non-chair seat” by Scandinavian designer Eero Aarnio – a pioneer in the development of plastic furnishings; and the Porsche Design Chronograph I. The first watch in the world to be produced in all-black matt finish, the Chronograph was also the first product to appear under the Porsche Design banner and was created by the designer of the Porsche 911 – Ferdinand A. Porsche himself.

The tone struck by Porsche auf Sylt is authentic, welcoming and hospitable. Staff play a dual role, as concierge and as the face of the Porsche brand. The interior design of this personal location amalgamates the character of Porsche as a brand with the lifestyle of its target groups. The sales furnishings, inspired by exclusive store changing-rooms, offer a clear overview and direct, up-close encounters with the products; they form an intimate context for exploring individual style. The subtle, unobtrusive imagery developed for Porsche auf Sylt establishes a link between the brand and its environment; the vehicle becomes a natural element within its surroundings, captured in a seemingly fleeting snapshot.

Interior Design
The sales area at Porsche auf Sylt spans 360 m² over two floors, patio and terrace. Its interior design covers all phases of performance, from design draft to implementation, with the customer journey always at the centre of the space planning. Design included every aspect of end-to-end styling, from furnishings down to the last coffee spoon – and even a dog bar.

The architectural layout design features six different room modules (see press kit page 8). Sales areas are decentralized and invite visitors to explore both floors. The display furnishings were developed exclusively for the retail concept; their sales and model display units combine glass showcases with base cupboards, and include a clay model display case for use as part of augmented reality applications. The modular structure of the furnishings enables them to be expanded for additional purposes. The materials, craftsmanship and lighting create an atmosphere of unobtrusive exclusivity. Large-format digital picture frames lean against the wall like paintings in a studio, adding a casual, informal touch while they enhance their primary display function with the option of flexible use as monitors in the exhibition and vehicle configuration spaces.

Communication Design
Communication Design included logo design, imagery, photo shoot, design guidelines, image and exhibition brochures, business stationery, invitations and other communication activities and measures.

Porsche auf Sylt appears as the sender in the form of a wordmark, based on a more broadly spaced version of the company typeface for an airy, minimalist and subtle image. The Porsche company typefaces are used for printed materials, emphasizing the link with the brand. The basic colour palette eschews accent colours, instead toning harmoniously with the interior.

The photographs were produced for Porsche auf Sylt in partnership with Stefan Bogner. As publisher of Curves Magazine, he is practised at attracting passionate drivers, and here chose to capture images that awaken the longing for unique, unforgettable driving experiences. At the photo shoot on Sylt, he was delighted to be greeted by “genuine” Sylt weather. His images communicate tranquillity and space, the unique feeling of sublime power that characterizes both

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