Hi, I’m Donna!

Do you love retail like I do?

Have you noticed or thought about how a retail space or experience makes you feel? How one experience speaks to you while another evokes no response or worse: a negative reaction?

Here and on Instagram, I voice my musings on retail experiences, based on my decades as a strategic retail designer, industry insider, retail devotee and everyday consumer. On everything from the big picture to the details, I share my perspective.  Beyond great looking spaces, I look for great feeling spaces and retail experiences that are compelling, evocative and have soul; experiences that speak to me (and I’ll share why they speak to me too). Hopefully, these spaces will speak to you too.

Background

I’ve always been a keen observer of human behaviour (that’s probably the introvert in me), and with being particularly sensitive to my own guttural responses to spaces and experiences, I’m intrigued by growing and emerging disciplines and areas of study – environmental psychology, neuroaesthetics, phenomenology — essentially any science  that explores how we respond to space and/or design and how space, design and experience impact our behaviour.  

(BTW My focus will not be on taking a deep dive into the science but rather the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of emotional response)

I’m also fascinated by the beauty of imperfection and spaces and experiences that feel effortless or… have a certain something; the kinds of spaces and experiences that don’t feel forced or contrived but simply are. (think wabi sabi or sprezzatura)

My career itself has been spent in strategic retail design, where I have grown and evolved my point of view, as retail has morphed and changed over the decades, shifting from being focused on bricks-and-mortar to multi-sensory and experiential. During that time, I’ve created many retail experiences from scratch, leveraging or manipulating the inherent characteristics of the raw space, or working magic where there was nothing to work with. I have built that career on balancing pragmatism, creativity and a touch of psychology to create spaces and experiences that resonate with consumers and drive results for brands.

Most recently I led creative store design at Starbucks, guiding a team of designers in creating on-brand, locally relevant cafes as we refined the Canadian store portfolio. We navigated through several directional changes, pivoting our approach to align with the brand vision, including the most recent shift — back to Starbucks roots and community coffeehouse — which is evocative and squarely centered on human connection.  

This was my first foray on the client or brand side. Previously, I was on the consultant side.

In my role as a creative and strategic leader, at both large and small design firms including Perennial Inc., Studio Watt, Watt Intl., The International Design Group, Citizens and Collaborators plus Fiorino Design, I created brand environments and experiences that worked both functionally and aesthetically to resonate with customers. My work in wide-ranging sectors, for clients including Canadian Tire, La Maison Simons, Aldo, Mendocino, LCBO, Air Canada and Cineplex, has been acknowledged with well over 30 industry awards. Over the years, my work has also been highlighted in such periodicals as Canadian Interiors, Canadian Retailer, Chain Store Age, VM&SD, Inspiration and Travel Retailer. I have also penned articles for Canadian Retailer and The Americas Duty Free & Travel Retailing.

I’m a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University, with a degree in Interior Design. Since graduating, I’ve obtained my NCIDQ professional certification, and full designation as Registered Interior Designer. Throughout my career I’ve been dedicated to the profession, serving a term as President of the Toronto chapter of ARIDO and the ARIDO Board of Management; volunteering for various ARIDO committees; acting as a judge for the ICSC Shopping Centre Awards and teaching part-time at George Brown College.

In my spare time, when I’m not living and breathing retail, I enjoy; bubbly (you can’t go wrong with a good French Crémant!), books (my library is forever expanding), and British TV (especially crime procedurals).