Wonderwall office, Tokyo
The way we shop is changing. ‘Retail stores — no matter what well loved products they stock, or brands they promote — are slowly being replaced by the oligopoly of the internet marketplace,’ said Masamichi Katayama when designboom sat down with him recently, exactly one year since the last time we visited the designer in Tokyo. ‘The age of the world wide web has brought about a shift in every facet of our society, from the ways we teach, talk and govern, to how we travel, work and design’. It’s a shift that has been gradual but ubiquitous, and its symptoms have long been showing. The antidote is a new kind of shopping experience, one that draws consumers to an experience rather than a product, and it’s a recipe that Katayama and studio Wonderwall, founded in 2000, have been perfecting for years. (Photos © designboom)