For any retailer, finding the right designer for a new store concept can be a tricky yet highly rewarding endeavour. Get it right, and you elevate the brand to new heights. Get it wrong, and there's a lot to lose.

Striking up the perfect partnership, contemporary fashion brand Theory recently asked acclaimed Japanese design studio Nendo to redesign nine of their stores in California, Paris, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Osaka. For this mammoth undertaking, Nendo combined vibrant yet simplistic design with functionality. The result? A refreshing and original set of designs that took as their inspiration the city streets.

Explaining his design process, Nendo founder Oki Sato says that "by coming up with a circulation plan as an urban planner might locate new roads within a city, we made careful provisions for people to flow into the shop naturally and move smoothly around it.” Looking to direct the flow of customers, the team designed a clear-cut plan for easy movement throughout each store by integrating a ‘road system’ into each shop. In making these provisions the spaces reflect the close connection between the flow of people in a retail space and transit in general.

This minimalist approach to store design is compelling, and complimentary to Theory’s pared-down colour palette’s and geometric shapes, effectively demonstrating that by fusing simplistic design with functionality it is possible to enhance the visitor experience.