Designers
Designers
Designers
Human Retail
The Future of Retail Environments in an Age of Declining Social Wellness
Key Words
Designers
Brianna He
SUMMARY
My project began with a simple question: Can retail environments be social? Growing up, stores were where I connected, observed, and learned—not just where I bought things. But as digital life accelerates, we’re losing “The Village,” the everyday social layer built through casual, in-person interactions. My work reimagines retail as a contemporary third space, exploring how quiet, site-specific design opportunities can rebuild connection and redefine what retail can be for.
challenge
Digital life has reshaped how we interact, especially for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who spend far less time in shared physical spaces. At the same time, the U.S. lacks strong social infrastructure to support everyday connection. Retail once played this role, but its social function is fading. Through research and field observation, I identified a critical gap—and opportunity—to reframe retail as a platform for rebuilding the casual, communal interactions that are disappearing.
Outcome
Partnering with a New York retailer, I prototyped a new approach to retail design and founded Interience Studios—an agency focused on uncovering quiet, local opportunities that strengthen connection within stores. Blending systems thinking with on-the-ground observation, the work shifts retail from a transactional model to a relational one. By redefining value around belonging rather than just sales, the project positions retail as part of the social infrastructure we urgently need.
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Brianna He