Brand Building

Increasingly, companies are looking for ways to achieve market differentiation while further reinforcing their identities. We design places that integrate brand into physical surroundings, creating enriched environments that choreograph a deeper, more resonant experience for customers and employees.

Featured Projects
Duty-Free Shops
The new Duty-Free Shops Galleria in Okinawa, Japan, provides 100,000 SF of duty-free shopping in a convenient, luxurious environment. Designed to reduce the big-box feel of the one-story retail space, the team created a series of rooms, each with a different feel and featuring a particular high-end luxury brand or a collection of goods, such as Louis Vuitton, Cartier, leather goods or beauty.
SubZero/WOLF Showrooms
Showrooms in Hollywood, Florida; Atlanta; and Charlotte showcase the SubZero built-in refrigeration and WOLF cooking appliances of distributor The Westye Group Southeast. These innovative environments, which feature the products in a variety of vignettes and test kitchens, enhance their customer experience, express Westye’s mission, and create a new sales tool.
Shinsei Bank
Shinsei Bank, under new ownership, sought a contemporary, branded environment that would stand out from traditional Japanese banks. From collateral material to interiors and environmental graphics, its new comprehensive program emphasizes lifestyle in a space that combines personal touch with technological expression. Today, Shinsei is one of the world’s most recognizable brands.
Mercy Medical Center
Mercy Hospital, a downtown Baltimore mainstay, underwent a massive identity revitalization to re-connect the hospital to the community. A comprehensive system strengthens the Mercy brand through a flexible framework of identity, wayfinding and environmental graphics that fosters a comfortable, inviting patient environment.
Yankee Candle
Seeking a total brand re-imaging, Yankee Candle Company worked with RTKL to define a style that would highlight the brand’s strongest attributes. The resulting design prototype is a holistic approach that embraces new and contemporary styling while creating a sense of history and nostalgia. The project creates a strong visual connection to the brand’s traditional fragrance, value, and history.
Dennis Gaffney AIA, Vice President
“The workplace has become dynamic and integral tool for progressive companies looking to leverage their brands, attract and retain the best employees and set themselves apart from their competitors. Our job is to translate corporate mission and strategy to the built environment, so that ultimately, we create a place that is uniquely and intimately an expression of that particular company.”