For five weeks in the spring, Rockefeller Center was home to the Yahoo! Shopping Playhouse. The 400-square-foot store was devoted to the promotion of online shopping, connecting the infinite world-wide-web to everyday life. Yahoo! intended for the store to link brick-and-mortar shoppers with e-tailers, to spark ongoing shopping relationships. Each day, an e-tail guest would make an appearance, often handing out free samples. And visitors to the store were supplied with a laptop for a little surfing on the side.
Designers Andre Kikoski & Victoria Blau Inc. (New York) chose a vibrant, fun-loving design, punctuated by huge, abstract forms like the “big purple portal,” which lead shoppers into a fantasy backyard. CLIENT: Yahoo!, Santa Clara, Calif. — Linda Bennett, principal-in-charge; Glenn Tokunaga, visual merchandising director DESIGN: Andre Kikoski & Victoria Blau Inc., New York — Andre Kikoski and Victoria Blau, principals CONSULTANTS: Blue Garage Inc., New York (lighting and project manager); Nastasi Construction, New York (build-out construction) SUPPLIERS: Sony, Park Ridge, N.J. (audio/video); Benjamin Moore Paint Co., Montvale, N.J. (paint); SLD Lighting, New York (lighting); La-Z-Boy Contract Furniture Group, Monroe, Mich. (furniture); E-Ink Corp., Cambridge, Mass. (signage)