Darkroom

2009 — Identity / Interiors / Retail / Art Direction

Darkroom, launched in late 2009 by Multistorey co-founder, Rhonda Drakeford and Lulu Roper-Caldbeck, is a design brand specialising in unusual, one-off and hand-made men’s, women's and interior accessories. Its first physical incarnation was a shop on a corner site on Lamb’s Conduit Street shop, in London’s Bloomsbury.

Multistorey designed all elements of the store including identity, signage, shop-fit, marketing materials, website and packaging. Following on from and echoing the custom drawn typeface and logo, we designed a bold geometric pattern which became the literal foundation for the shop-fit — a handpainted tiled floor provided a grid within which the modular cubic display plinths were placed.

The shop space was designed to have high visual impact, whilst also providing a very functional framework to display a large cross section of products. To reflect the merchandise, quality of production was key to the approach, from a hand painted sign and interiors, thermographically printed stationery and hand bound brochures to the custom made canvas carrier bags.

In 2016 the brand evolved to meet the challenges of contemporary retail, closing its doors to focus on Darkroom-designed products accessible through e-commerce, wholesale, workshops and special pop-up experiences.