ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN MUSEUM HELSINKI
The objective of the Architecture and Design Museum’s shop refurbishment was to bring the warm aesthetic, storytelling, and visual rhythm of the Escape to Moominvalley exhibition into the retail experience.
As part of the renewal, the previously separate Architecture and Design shops—formerly located in different buildings—were merged into a single space. The shop’s visual identity emphasises ingenuity, timelessness, and the heritage of Finnish design.
Floor graphics connect the extended shop area to the museum’s lobby, providing a base for the furniture and subtly guiding the flow of visitors.
Design: Retail Rebels
2025
HelsinKI CITY MUSEUM
The design of the Helsinki City Museum shop was driven by the desire to create a new kind of museum retail experience that is immersive, bold and full of character. As the shop tells the story of Helsinki, the surfaces of the furniture feature patterns inspired by the city’s “skin”: cobblestone streets, the shimmer of the sea, and the distinctive flooring of a metro station.
The furniture was designed to be modular, allowing four different layout configurations to be created. This enables the shop’s look and feel to be refreshed at regular intervals.
Some of the glass wall decals were produced as static stickers, which are also replaced whenever the floor plan is changed.
Design: Virve Arvola, Anne Törmä
Visual merchandising concept: Liisa Hyyrynen
Fixtures: Stara, Teutakaluste
Graphic design: Saraeleni
Signage & decals: Hansaprint
Lighting: Imoon Finland
Photography: Sami Saastamoinen, City of Helsinki / Roope Pokki
2024
“The strengths of the design work were an inspiring and open mindset, an encouraging approach, and strong, up-to-date professional expertise. The shop design fully met expectations — and even exceeded them!
The space is striking, bold and inspiring. Customers spend more time in the shop and clearly slow their pace. The displays look better and more inviting as a matter of course, and they are easy to maintain.”
SERLACHIUS PÄÄKONTTORI
The client wished for an experiential and inspiring museum shop with a visual identity drawing on the style of 1950s shops and trade fair stands. The design focus was shifted slightly towards the retro-futurism of the 1960s.
The final visual concept was built around a bold colour palette, a distinctive floor pattern, and an art collage created for the space by Aada Nykänen. The furniture was designed to be adaptable and sized to better suit the museum shop’s product range, enabling more commercial displays.
The project made use of the hypnoaesthetic method of art priming, in which art is used to shape the way customers perceive products.
Design: Virve Arvola
Visual merchandising concept: Liisa Hyyrynen
Fixtures: Palokan Puutuote
Graphic design: Saraeleni
Art collage: Aada Nykänen
Decals: Punamusta
Photography: Suvi Rauhala
2024
“The shop turned out beautifully! The overall look is fresh, engaging, inviting and clear — everything you could hope for from a successful store!”
BRANDS WE HAVE WORKED WITH:
