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We’re not sure how many people can check off repainting Pottery Barn stores and manufacturing murals at Domino’s from their career checklist, but Jen Abernathy is one of them. Now, she’s a national accounts executive at VGS / Studio D, where she focuses on design strategy. One of her most recent undertakings? Helping reengineer The Halal Guys’ new design into a “Store in a Box” kit that lets chain scale quickly—and cost-effectively.
How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I help brands reinvent themselves, or implement already-developed brand strategy, by designing and making unique visual elements for their brick-and-mortar spaces.
One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile: Some days we make (super-stylish) order-pickup kiosks, and other days we produce larger-than-life, cardboard Baby Yodas. Creativity is a limitless concept today.
What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? Working with Shake Shack on their first-ever drive-thru system. We helped them take their brand experience out to the car—where around 75% of a QSR brand’s interactions with their customers occur.
Name your must-follow (retail) accounts: @foxtrotmarket (love what they’re doing!), @wendys, and does Britney count?
An emerging trend that you’re most excited about? The in-store experience, and how retailers plan to drive traffic there. With influencers, livestream shopping, and now the metaverse, I think the successful retailers will need to make some changes in the way their (IRL) real estate functions. We’re seeing apparel retailers offering kombucha or mimosas, DJs spinning on weekends, and grand seasonal installations.