DAY creative business partners designed the new museum shop for The Van Gogh Museum, opening on September 5, at the new entrance building at Museumplein in Amsterdam. The goal was to create a distinctive retail environment for the visitors of The Van Gogh Museum. “The idea was to design a store, which is recognizable, though very flexible. We wanted it to breathe as much space as possible, contain more light and create a more welcoming and inspiring atmosphere,” says Gesina Roters, creative partner of DAY. The routing of the store is accessible and the design draws visitors’ attention to the new entrance building. It is also meant to give space to merchandise and display a variety of products.

In order to give the shop a distinctive look DAY created a concept based on the randomness of Van Gogh’s brush strokes. DAY’s senior interior designer Robert van Baarsen points out: “Structured randomness can be found everywhere in the shop; there’s not one angle that looks the same. The area is irregularly shaped, which represents the spontaneous energy of Van Gogh’s paint strokes. It was important to maintain an overall positive, inspiring and consistent experience”.

DAY wanted to place the attention on the products; therefore distinctive neutral colors and basic tones were used to make the products stand out. “There are three product segments categorized as: Souvenirs, Design and Exclusive. Each one of them represents a different product range and has its own unique theme in the store. However, it was important to make sure there was a strong sense of unity, despite having the division of the segments.” This is not the first time DAY’s worked with The Van Gogh Museum. In 2009 DAY designed the first museum shop, and continued to work on the temporary bookshop. In February 2015 DAY hosted an exclusive launch of the Van Gogh Museum’s Relievo collection in Dubai.

About DAY
DAY creates brands people love and places where people want to be. Having offices in Amsterdam and Dubai DAY works for a wide mix of international clients. Their goal is to help brands connect with their target audience on an emotional level, in turn influencing customer loyalty, purchase decisions and driving business results in their favor. DAY is the proud winner of six Red Dot awards, recognized for their strategic vision and design excellence in developing brands and creating experiences such as retail environments, visitor centres and other unique customer touch points.