Context
Samsung was launching the Galaxy S9 into a U.S. retail landscape where the new camera and AR features only made sense if shoppers actually picked the device up. The job was a touring pop-up program that could land in multiple malls of different sizes inside the launch window.
My Role
Led the design of a kit-of-parts pop-up system for the Galaxy S9 launch: clarified the brief with Samsung's retail team, organized the demo logic, designed the spatial layout and fixtures, and aligned the build with the fabrication and rollout partners so the same system could install cleanly across very different mall environments.
Challenge
One designed system had to absorb varied mall footprints, varied staffing levels, and varied dwell times while still teaching the same product story. It also had to support product trial, accessories, and upgrade conversations in the same footprint, install fast, hold up to high-traffic abuse, and stay ADA-compliant across every site.
System & Approach
The pop-up was organized as a sequence of jobs (arrival, product gallery, camera and AR trial, accessories, upgrade conversation, staff-assisted close) rather than as a single hero environment. Each zone was a discrete module the rollout team could include, omit, or resize depending on the venue, while the sequence and visual language stayed consistent.
Operating Logic
Staffing was light, so the fixtures had to do the work the staff could not. Demo stations were self-explanatory at first contact, with assisted-selling moments concentrated where shoppers signaled intent. Sightlines from the mall concourse were treated as the real front door.
Rollout & Buildability
Every component was sized to ship flat, install inside short overnight windows, and survive months of public handling. Material spec and ADA clearances were locked at design so the rollout team did not have to re-engineer per site. The built result matched the visualization across every footprint.
Outcome & Value
A modular launch platform that deployed across multiple mall footprints inside the launch window, holding the same demo logic and brand spine in spaces of very different size and shape.
