On October
2014, when I was sent by KT Group for a business trip to Moscow,
like always I visited the GUM.
The GUM is a shopping gallery in Red Square and is considered by many as one of
the most beautiful shopping centers in Europe. It was built in 19th
century, during the Soviet period it was a shopping center for government and
for the past 20 years it has developed to be the most premier center for
shopping in Russia.
Spending 3
hours in GUM, eating their famous ice-cream and walking around beautiful shops,
I noticed that it is very difficult to find a shop that I looked for as well as
other information regarding the center. It took me some time to find an
information kiosk (information stand), which was located on the other side of
the GUM. Another interesting observation I did was a lack of electronic
equipment in open areas except one ATM covered by a wood board to hide its
“modern” design.
When I came
back I got this concept in my mind: “what if we can design an information kiosk
terminal which can be multifunctional and interactive but in the same time be a
part of the main design concept of GUM?”. KT Group
known for its bespoke design kiosk terminals, manufactured according to client
wishes and in most of the cases designed to accept payments. In this particular
case, the process is different since KT is the initiator of this concept.
During 3
months 2 young designers, under the supervision of KT team, developed a concept
and came up with the kiosk design. To achieve this goal the team had to
investigate about the history of GUM, its design, cultural aspects, visitors’
behavior and many other aspects.
As a
result, KT offered a design which exactly matches the style of GUM and fits in
to the harmonious atmosphere of the center. It based on a 42” 4K LG
Screens on both sides, with multi touch capabilities. It also have HD camera,
barcode scanner, printer and powerful Wi-Fi transmitter.
By using
this kiosk terminal the visitors can easily find what they looking for and
navigate to the desired shop using their mobile phone (smart way finding
system), or they can send their own photos from GUM to their friends. In
additional, this kiosk terminal can be used by GUM administration as an
advertising kiosk, information collecting and addressed marketing.
The project designs is now ready for implementation and KT Group has finalized its preparatory work.
