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Architect David Rockwell Builds A Brand Consultancy

Reena Jana reports that David Rockwell, architect and Broadway set designer, has moved his 240-person firm into Brand Consulting Land for clients such as Coca-Cola, Jet Blue and Gap. Rockwell gave Nobu, the high-end Japanese restaurant, its simple, no-tablecloth look when it opened in New York in 1994.

In an accompanying video, Rockwell is asked why it's important to invest in design in a downturn. His immediate answer demands the respect, if not necessarily the sheckles, of true believers everywhere: "It's important to invest in design because I'm a designer," he says. He then goes on to suggest that in a challenging economy, businesses should be looking to use space more creatively and efficiently -- things like using a restaurant as a place for cooking classes, or a hospital as a forum for meetings.

Rockwell says demand for his firm's insight on shaping brand identities led him to form a 10-person branding-strategy division in the last year. He also added a software and engineering lab where employees can invent displays, such as a video projection that reacts to the movements of passersby, for both theater productions and shops.

Admittedly, not everything works. Rockwell tried to differentiate Gap's Forth & Towne chain with a floor plan that included fitting rooms placed in a circle instead of straight lines. The retailer killed the chain after 18 months because of poor sales at its 25 pilot stores, but Gap remains a Rockwell client.

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