Glåsmalning: A Case Study in Brand Strategy
Ashley Street
When consumers shop, they expect a consistent experience across all brand interactions—whether in person through physical touchpoints like stores and packaging or online through apps, social media, and advertising. Brands that achieve this successfully implement an omnichannel marketing strategy—a cohesive approach that integrates multiple platforms to cultivate a unified customer experience. In today’s landscape, this level of integration is essential for brands to remain competitive.[1] Through the creation of a conceptual eyewear brand with a retail installation, physical brand applications, and a digital presence, this thesis explores how the design of a cohesive brand ecosystem works to create compelling and memorable experiences for consumers.
One way retail brands achieve this is through interactive, sensory-driven design.[2] Glåsmalning, an eyewear brand inspired by stained glass, applies this approach to fashion.
[1] Mason, Tim, and Sarah Jarvis. Omnichannel Retail: How to build winning stores in a Digital World. London, United Kingdom ; New York, NY: Kogan Page, 2023.
Historically, stained glass was exclusively used in religious spaces as both decoration and a medium of storytelling, with colored light influencing the atmosphere and feeling of these environments. Similarly, Glåsmalning eyewear transforms perception by recoloring the world, positioning itself as more than an accessory, with each lens color offering both aesthetic and practical benefits for the wearer.
As a brand, Glåsmalning shows how tinted lenses can act both as a fashion statement and a functional accessory. It challenges the historical application of stained glass, showing instead how it can be a tool for sensory interaction and brand differentiation. This exhibition invites visitors to consider how brands create cohesive stories for consumers and reflect on the evolving role of retail activation in an increasingly digital world.
[2] Helmefalk, Miralem, and Bertil Hultén. “Multi-Sensory Congruent Cues in Designing Retail Store Atmosphere: Effects on Shoppers’ Emotions and Purchase Behavior.” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 38 (September 2017): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.04.007.
